Paul Holmes -
University
English Professor

Free Materials For ESL Teachers and Learners

“Past” ESL Discussion Questions

1. What do you wish you’d done more of in the past?
2. What is the past perfect tense?
3. What was your favorite subject in school?
4. What is the past?
5. If you have siblings, did you get on well when you were growing up?
6. Where did you live when you were young?
7. What are some things that are better now than they were in the past?
8. What do you miss most about being a child?
9. Please tell me about your grandparents.
10. What are some things that are harder now than they were when you were younger?
11. What are some tenses that you can use to describe what happened in the past?
12. What was the worst part about growing up for you personally?
13. Did you have a good day at school today?
14. Who was your childhood hero and why were they so important to you as a child?
15. What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
16. How was your weekend?
17. What is the difference between past perfect tense and simple past tense?
18. What’s a fun thing about being young now that wasn’t so fun when you were younger?
19. What was your least favorite subject in school?
20. What did you do yesterday?
21. What are some examples of the past tense?
22. What do you think was the best part of growing up?
23. What were some of the most interesting things that happened to you in the past?
24. What did you do that was really fun and exciting in the past?
25. What was your biggest accomplishment in the past?
26. Do you have any regrets from your childhood? If so, what are they and why do you regret those things?
27. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of your childhood?