Emma is a small cat 🐱. She lives with a boy named Tom 👦. Every day she eats fish, plays with a ball and sleeps in the sun. But yesterday was different! Come and learn about Emma's days — and yours — in easy English. Twelve small games. Green ticks when you win.
Twelve small games. In each game Emma the cat helps you learn one tiny thing. Ready? Let's play! 🎈
Answer 3 questions. Say them out loud — just 1 sentence for each. Tap ♪ to hear the question.
1. What time do you get up in the morning? 🌅 ♪ tap
2. What do you eat for breakfast? Name two things. 🥞 ♪ tap
3. What is your favourite toy or game? 🧸⚽ ♪ tap
"Hello! I always get up at seven. I eat fish for breakfast — I love fish! My favourite toy is a red ball. I play with it every day. 🐱"
cat
dog
fish
ball
book
sun
house
garden
milk
apple
bed
run
jump
sleep
play
Does the word mean "all the time" or "how often"? → Present 🌞. Does it point to "one time in the past"? → Past 🌙.
English uses two different verb shapes for things you do all the time and things that happened one time and are finished. That's it. Change the shape, change the world!
When: every day, usually, always, sometimes, never, on Mondays
Shape: base verb (add -s for he/she/it)
Feeling: it happens again and again.
When: yesterday, last week, two days ago, in 2020, this morning
Shape: verb + -ed (or a funny past form — saw, ate, went…)
Feeling: it happened once. Finished. Over.
When?
every day · usually · always · never · on Mondays
I / you / we / they
I play. You eat fish. We go to school.
he / she / it (add -s!)
He plays. She eats. Emma sleeps.
Question
Do you play? Does she eat?
No
I don't play. He doesn't eat.
When?
yesterday · last week · two days ago · in 2020
Same for everybody!
I played. She played. They played.
Regular verb
play → played, cook → cooked, jump → jumped
Question
Did you play? Did she eat?
No
I didn't play. He didn't eat.
In Present Simple only he, she or it put a little -s on the verb.
To make a Past Simple regular verb, add -ed. But careful — sometimes the shape changes a little!
The -ed ending has three sounds — but you don't choose, the last letter of the verb chooses for you!
Tom: Hi Emma! Do you like fish?
Emma: Yes, I do. I love fish!
Tom: Do you eat fish every day?
Emma: Yes! For breakfast. Big and yummy.
Tom: Did you eat fish yesterday too?
Emma: Yes, I ate two! Tom gave me two fish.
Tom: Where do you sleep every night?
Emma: On Tom's bed, in the sun. Always.
Tom: Did you sleep on the bed last night?
Emma: No, I didn't. I slept in the garden. Under the tree.
Tom: Wow! Why?
Emma: Because I saw a little bird. I wanted to see it again.
🌞 every day, always → do / does. 🌙 yesterday → did / didn't.
Hello! My name is Emma. I am a small cat. I live with a boy — his name is Tom. Every day I eat fish for breakfast. I play with a red ball. I sleep in the sun on Tom's bed. My friend Milo is a big cat. He lives next door.
But yesterday was a big day! I woke up early. I ate my fish very fast. Then I ran into the garden. I saw a little bird in a tree. I jumped up, but the bird flew away. Tom came to the garden and gave me some milk. I didn't sleep in the sun that day. I was too happy!
🌞 Hello! My name is Emma. I am a small cat. I live with a boy — his name is Tom. Every day I eat fish for breakfast. I play with a red ball. I sleep in the sun on Tom's bed. My friend Milo is a big cat. He lives next door.
🌙 But yesterday was a big day! I woke up early. I ate my fish very fast. Then I ran into the garden. I saw a little bird 🐦 in a tree. I jumped up but the bird flew away. Tom came to the garden and gave me some milk 🥛. I didn't sleep in the sun that day. I was too happy!
🟡 Not Stated = the story doesn't say — you can't know from Emma's text.
Milo: Hi Emma! Do you go to the garden every day?
Emma: Yes, I do! Every afternoon.
Milo: Did you go there yesterday?
Emma: No, I didn't. It rained a lot.
Milo: Does your brother like fish too?
Emma: No, he doesn't. He only likes milk!
Milo: Do you and Tom always play with a ball?
Emma: Yes, we do! Every afternoon in the garden.
Milo: Did you play with a ball yesterday?
Emma: No, we didn't. Tom read a book instead.
CAPital letters are OK — Do and do both work. Read the whole line first!
Type the new sentence. CAPital letters and dots are OK — I only look at the verb!
The word in ( ) is the base form. You put the right shape in the box!
"Yesterday I woke up at seven o'clock. I ate fish for breakfast — yummy! 🐟 Then I ran into the garden and saw a bird. I didn't sleep in the sun yesterday. In the evening Tom gave me some milk and I was very happy. 😻"
Speak for about 15 seconds per question. Try to use the little word from the question!
🌞 a) What is your favourite toy? ♪ tap
🌙 b) What toy did you play with yesterday? ♪ tap
🌞 a) What do you eat for breakfast every morning? ♪ tap
🌙 b) What did you eat for breakfast today? ♪ tap
🌞 a) Where does your family go on Sundays? ♪ tap
🌙 b) Where did you go with your family last weekend? ♪ tap
🌞 a) "My favourite toy is a red ball. I play with it every day! 🎈"
🌙 b) "Yesterday I played with a soft mouse. It was fun! 🐭"
Tap the answer. Green = yes! 🟢 Red = try to remember why 🔴.
Three quick tasks to lock in what you learned. Do them in any order. If you only do one, do Task A — it's the fastest way to keep the tenses apart.
Change every underlined verb to Past Simple. Watch for the irregulars — 3 of the 6 are irregular.
Two questions in Present (routines) + two in Past (about yesterday). Use the prompts.
This paragraph has 5 wrong verbs. Cross out and rewrite. Signal words tell you the tense.
A · Rewrite in past: 1-walked · 2-ate · 3-went · 4-cooked · 5-took · 6-didn't watch.
B · Questions (auxiliary + base): 1-does…eat · 2-does…go · 3-did…do · 4-did…go.
C · Fix 5 mistakes: "Every morning I wake up at seven (was 'woke'). I eat breakfast with my sister (was 'ate'). But yesterday I woke up at nine (was 'wake'). I didn't have breakfast at home (was 'don't have'). My father took me to a café last Saturday (was 'takes')."