continue: 

""i am an online ESL teacher. In the previous lesson with a student we did the following worksheet. Here is the teacher’s version:

““My dog ate my homework
Copyrights by ESL Brains
1. Discuss the questions.
[Make sure your students understand the word excuse. Give some examples if
necessary, e.g. Sorry I’m late. The traffic was really bad. or The bus was late.]
• What excuses do people often give when:
o they are late?
o they miss a deadline at work?
o they don’t want to go to a party?
o they don’t want to help with
housework?
2. Think what excuse you would give in the situations below.
a) Your partner asked you to go grocery shopping but you didn’t do it.
b) You didn’t do your homework.
c) You got on a bus but didn’t pay for the ticket.
d) You lost some important documents your boss gave you.
e) You missed an important meeting at work.
f) You borrowed a friend’s laptop and broke it.
3. Match the excuses with the situations in ex. 2.
1) I think someone stole them when I was sitting in a restaurant. d
2) When I was doing it, my dog ate the notebook. b
3) I thought it was free. c
4) My apologies! I left work late and was so tired I came straight home. Let’s
order something for dinner and I’ll go tomorrow. a
5) It was an accident. I dropped sauce on it while I was cooking dinner. f
6) I’m really sorry! I was talking to a client and completely forgot about it. e
4. Look at some of the excuses again and complete the tasks on the next
page.
• I think someone stole them when I was sitting in a restaurant.
• When I was doing it, my dog ate the notebook.
• I dropped sauce on it while I was cooking dinner.
• I was talking to a client and I completely forgot about it.
excuse:
reason people give to explain why they
did something wrong or why they don’t
want to do something
My dog ate my homework
Copyrights by ESL Brains
a) Complete the table with verbs from the sentences.
PAST CONTINUOUS PAST SIMPLE
was sitting
was doing
was cooking
was talking
stole
ate
dropped
forgot
b) Look at the sentence below and decide which statements (1-4) are true for
Past Continuous and which for Past Simple.
I dropped sauce on it while I was cooking dinner.
1) The action started first. Past Continuous
2) The action came second. Past Simple
3) The action was completed. Past Simple
4) The action was in progress. Past Continuous
5. Choose the correct verb forms.
a) I can’t go hiking. I was breaking/broke my leg when I played/was playing
football last week.
b) I’m not sure where the book is. I think I was dropping/dropped it when I was
running/ran to catch the train.
c) It was raining/rained last night so I was
deciding/decided to stay home.
d) I was burning/burnt my hand last night
while I was making/made dinner. I think I
should go to the doctor’s.
e) Sorry I didn’t pick up. I was sleeping/slept
when you were calling/called.
f) I would love to come to your party, but I
can’t. I was walking/walked down the
street yesterday and I was tripping and falling/tripped and fell. My ankle
really hurts now.
g) It wasn’t my fault. I was breaking/broke the glass when I was
washing/washed it.
Past Simple Past Continuous
My dog ate my homework
Copyrights by ESL Brains
6. Look at the photos and discuss the questions.
• What happened?
• Have any of the situations ever happened to you? What did you do or say?
• Should the people apologize? Why/Why not?
7. Look at the photos in ex. 6 again and create excuses for what happened.
Use the verbs to create sentences using Past Simple and Past Continuous.
a) wait, call Possible answer: When I was waiting for the cookies to bake, a friend
called.
b) write, feel really tired Possible answer: When I was writing an email, I felt
really tired.
c) paint, think Possible answer: When I was painting, I thought ‘These colours
will look great on the wall!’.
d) walk, trip over Possible answer: When I was walking with the tray, I tripped
over a chair.
My dog ate my homework
Copyrights by ESL Brains
8. Your teacher will give you cards with different situations. Think of an
excuse or an explanation you can give for each of them using Past Simple
and Past Continuous. Then, tell your partner and they will try to guess what
the situation is. Don’t use the words in the cards! Give your partner extra
help if necessary.
EXAMPLE: You broke a plate.
A: I’m really sorry. I was carrying it to the kitchen and
dropped it. It was an accident.
B: You dropped a cup.
A: No. We had spaghetti for dinner and I was carrying it
back to the kitchen to wash it.
B: You dropped a plate.
A: Yes! And I broke it.
[The cards below are only included in the teacher’s version of the worksheet.]
Student A
1) You lost the key to your office.
2) You are late for a birthday party.
3) You promised to cook dinner but
you didn’t.
4) Your boss asked you to email a
customer but you forgot.
Student B
1) You promised to do the laundry but
you didn’t.
2) A friend wants to go out but you
prefer to stay home.
3) You broke someone’s phone.
4) You didn’t get your friend a birthday
present.””

I then assigned her a Homework task which the student has completed and sent back. Here it is:

““Homework Activity: Crafting Excuses with Past Continuous and Past Simple
Instructions:
Part A: Verbs in Context

Read the following sentences and underline the verbs. Then, classify them into Past Continuous or Past Simple.

Sentences:

I was reading a novel when my phone rang.
She was cleaning her room when she found an old diary.
The fire alarm went off while we were having lunch.
They were discussing the project when the manager interrupted them.
I lost my keys while I was running to catch the bus.

Complete the table below with the verbs from the sentences:

PAST CONTINUOUS
PAST SIMPLE
was reading
rang
Was cleaning
found
Were having
Went off
Were discussing
interrupted
Was running
lost


Part B: Creating Excuses

Write one excuse for each situation using both the Past Continuous and Past Simple tenses.

Example: Situation: You were supposed to attend an important meeting but missed it.
Excuse: I was driving to the meeting when my car broke down.


Situations:
You were supposed to attend an important meeting but missed it.
Your friend invited you to a party, but you didn’t go.
You were asked to send an email, but you forgot.
You borrowed someone’s book, and it got damaged.
You arrived late to work.

I was leaving for the birthday party when a guest came to my house.

I was sending an Email when my internet went off.

My dog ate my book when I was returning it.

I missed my train when I was going to work.







Part C: Contextual Understanding

Look at the sentence below and decide which statements (1-4) are true for Past Continuous and which for Past Simple.

“I spilled coffee on the report while I was reviewing it.”

The action started first: Past continuous
The action came second: Past Simple
The action was completed: Past Simple
The action was in progress: Past Continuous


””

Please help me write some feedback for the student. The student is currently a low B1 student so make the feedback easy to understand, not overwhelming and relevant.
Certainly! Here is some simple and encouraging feedback for your student:

—

Hello [Student’s Name],

Thank you for completing your homework! You did a great job working with the Past Continuous and Past Simple tenses. Here are some points I would like to share with you:

1. Verbs in Context:
- You correctly identified and classified the verbs in Part A. Well done!
- Remember, verbs in the Past Continuous tell us about actions that were in progress, and verbs in the Past Simple tell us about actions that were completed.

2. Creating Excuses:
- Your excuses in Part B were very creative. Here are a few tips to make them even better:
- For the first excuse, you said: “I was leaving for the birthday party when a guest came to my house.” This is a good start! Just make sure it matches the original situation about an important meeting like in the example.
- For the email excuse, you said: “I was sending an email when my internet went off.” Great job! This is clear and makes good use of both tenses.
- For the book excuse, you said: “My dog ate my book when I was returning it.” This is a funny and creative excuse. Make sure it fits a real situation like being asked to return a book.
- For the work excuse, you said: “I missed my train when I was going to work.” Very good! It’s clear and uses both tenses properly.

3. Contextual Understanding:
- Your answers in Part C were all correct. You clearly understand when to use Past Continuous and Past Simple.

Great work! Let’s try to practice more with real-life situations to make your use of these tenses even more natural. Keep up the good work, and see you in the next lesson!

Best regards,
[Your Name]

—

This feedback is designed to be clear and encouraging, focusing on both strengths and areas for improvement in an understandable way for a low B1 student.
More brief and conversational.
Sure! Here’s a shorter and more conversational version:

—

Hi [Student’s Name],

Great job on your homework!...""