Talking About the Past
Primary 4 · English
Talking About the Past
Lesson 1 of 4
45 min
It is the first day of term. “What did you do in the holidays?” asks Teacher Mutesi. Niyonzima puts up his hand. “I visited my grandmother in Nyanza. I fetched water, I looked after the goats and I learned to weave a basket!”
When we tell someone what we did, we recount it. Today you will read about two children's holidays and learn to recount your own.
Listen to the whole story (audio, read by Darshan Soni). The audio reads the full story; the text below is a little shorter. You can also open the Storybooks Rwanda page to read it in Kinyarwanda and French.
Odongo and Apiyo lived in the city with their father. They looked forward to the holidays, because they went to visit their grandmother. She lived in a fishing village near a large lake.
The night before the journey, they packed their bags. They were so excited that they could not sleep. They talked the whole night about the holiday.
Early the next morning, they left for the village in their father's car. They drove past mountains, wild animals and tea plantations. They counted cars and sang songs. After a while, the children were tired and fell asleep.
When they arrived, they found their grandmother, Nyar-Kanyada, resting on a mat under a tree. She welcomed them and danced around the room, singing with joy. The children gave her the presents they brought from the city.
Then Odongo and Apiyo went outside. They chased butterflies and birds. They climbed trees and splashed in the water of the lake. When it was dark, they returned to the house for dinner. Before they could finish eating, they were falling asleep!
The next day, their father drove back to the city. The children helped their grandmother with the housework. They fetched water and firewood. They collected eggs from the chickens and picked greens from the garden. Nyar-Kanyada taught them to make soft ugali to eat with stew.
One morning, Odongo took his grandmother's cows to graze. They ran onto a neighbour's farm and ate his crops. The farmer was very angry. After that day, Odongo made sure that the cows did not get into trouble again.
On another day, the children went to the market with their grandmother. She had a stall selling vegetables, sugar and soap. Apiyo told the customers the prices, and Odongo packed the things they bought. At the end of the day, they drank tea together and helped grandmother to count her money.
But too soon the holidays were over. When their father came to fetch them, they did not want to leave. Nyar-Kanyada smiled and said, “I am too old for the city. I will be waiting for you to come to my village again.” The children hugged her tightly and said goodbye.
Where did the children's grandmother live?
In a fishing village near a large lake.
Name three jobs the children did to help their grandmother.
Any three: they fetched water and firewood, collected eggs, picked greens, looked after the cows, helped at the market stall, counted the money.
What went wrong with the cows? What did Odongo learn?
The cows ate a neighbour's crops. Odongo learned to watch the cows carefully.
A recount tells what happened, in order, in the past simple.
| Regular: add -ed | Irregular: learn by heart |
|---|---|
| pack → packed visit → visited chase → chased climb → climbed fetch → fetched hug → hugged | leave → left drive → drove sing → sang fall → fell find → found take → took teach → taught drink → drank |
The night before … / Early the next morning … / After a while … / Then … / The next day … / One morning … / On another day … / At the end of the day … / In the end …
Speak: Interview a friend about the last holidays. Ask: Where did you go? What did you do? What did you enjoy most? Did you help at home?
Write a recount called My last holidays, in two short paragraphs. Use at least four order words and six past simple verbs. Underline the verbs.
Tip
“Did” already carries the past. So the verb after it goes back to its plain form: Did you go? I didn't go. Never Did you went?
Write your answers in your exercise book, then check.
Write the past simple of take.
Answer: took
Complete: Early the next morning, they ___ (leave) for the village.
Answer: left
Make it negative: We visited the lake.
Answer: We didn't visit the lake.
Correct the mistake: Did you fetched water?
Answer: Did you fetch water?
Write the first sentence of a recount about last Saturday.
Answer: Example: Last Saturday, I went to the market with my mother.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
Quick check
Match each verb to its past simple.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
