Hook

“I saw her…” — when? Time expressions tell us exactly when a past action happened.

Notice

Look at these time expressions:

  • yesterday, yesterday morning/afternoon/evening
  • last night, last week, last month, last year, last weekend
  • two days ago, a week ago, three years ago
  • in 2020, on Monday

Examples: I called her yesterday. We visited Paris two years ago. She started her job last month.

Rule

Time expressions usually go at the end of the sentence (or sometimes at the beginning for emphasis).

Ago comes AFTER the time period: two days ago, a week ago (NOT ago two days).

Last comes BEFORE the time word: last week, last year (NOT week last).

Practice

  1. Complete: I saw him ___ (yesterday). Put it in the sentence correctly. (Answer: I saw him yesterday.)
  2. Put in order: ago / two / years (Answer: two years ago)
  3. Put in order: week / last (Answer: last week)
  4. Choose correct: I visited my grandma (last week / week last). (Answer: last week)
  5. Complete with a time expression: We moved here three ___ ago. (Answer: years / months, etc.)
  6. Write a sentence using “last weekend”. (Answer: e.g. I visited my family last weekend.)

Connect

Review time vocabulary with our Vocabulary lessons.

Try the Vocabulary Lessons →

CEFR A1: Writing — can use simple time expressions to place past events in time.

Azizul Hakim
Latest posts by Azizul Hakim (see all)
PreviousNext