Past Experiences & Holidays – A2 ESL Lesson | Lingua Corner
A2 · Lesson 6 of 10

Past Experiences & Holidays

Master the key grammar and vocabulary for this topic with a full Cambridge-style interactive lesson.

🏖️ Holidays✈️ Travel🔵 Past Simple📅 Regular verbs⚡ Irregular verbs

Past Experiences & Holidays

A2 Pre-Intermediate · Past Simple Regular & Irregular

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Past Simple — Regular & Irregular Verbs
A2 Pre-Intermediate · Past Simple Regular & Irregular
ExampleRuleNotes
I visited Rome last summer.Regular verb + -edvisit→visited, stay→stayed, walk→walked
We went to the beach.Irregular — learn by heartgo→went, see→saw, eat→ate, take→took
She didn’t enjoy the food.Negative — didn’t + infinitiveDidn’t works for ALL subjects
Did you have a good time?Question — Did + subjectDid + infinitive, never Did + -ed

💡 Cambridge A2 tip: Regular verbs add -ed (visited, stayed, walked). Irregular verbs change completely (went, saw, ate, took). Learn them by heart!

1️⃣
Warm-Up – Irregular Past Tense
Choose the correct past simple form
DescriptionAnswer
go
eat
see
buy
2️⃣
Vocabulary
6 key words for this topic
🏖️ resort
a place where many people go on holiday
“We stayed in a beautiful beach resort.”
🗺️ sightseeing
visiting famous places as a tourist
“We went sightseeing in the old city.”
🧳 luggage
bags and suitcases you travel with
“I lost my luggage at the airport!”
🏨 accommodation
a place where you stay, e.g. hotel
“The accommodation was excellent.”
📸 souvenir
an object you buy to remember a place
“I bought some souvenirs for my family.”
☀️ sunburn
red, painful skin from too much sun
“She got sunburn on the beach.”
3️⃣
Reading
Read carefully — answers are in the text!

Last summer, Mia and her family went to Spain for two weeks. They stayed in a small hotel near the beach. Every morning, they ate breakfast at the hotel.


On the first day, they went to the beach and swam in the sea. The water was warm and clear. Mia’s brother got sunburn because he didn’t use sun cream!


They also visited a beautiful old castle and took lots of photos. Mia bought some souvenirs for her friends. They tried local food and loved the paella.


On the last day, Mia felt sad because the holiday was over. “I didn’t want to come home,” she said. “It was the best holiday ever!”

4️⃣
Reading Comprehension
Choose the correct answer for each question
1. How long was Mia’s holiday in Spain?
2. Why did Mia’s brother get sunburn?
3. What did they visit?
4. How did Mia feel on the last day?
5️⃣
Matching Exercise
Choose the correct option for each sentence
SentenceAnswer
We ___ to Paris by train.
She ___ a souvenir for her mum.
They ___ swim in the sea. It was too cold.
___ you enjoy the trip?
6️⃣
Use of English
Cambridge A2-style multiple choice
1. Last year I ___ on holiday to Italy.
2. We ___ a fantastic restaurant near the hotel.
3. ___ did you go for your holiday last year?
4. The hotel ___ very comfortable.
7️⃣
Gap Fill Exercise
Choose the correct word for each gap

Last summer I to Italy with my family. We in a hotel for one week. We many beautiful places. I any souvenirs because I forgot my money.

8️⃣
Speaking Practice
Discuss these topics with your partner
Topic 1
🏖️ Your last holiday
Where did you go? What did you do? Did you enjoy it?
Topic 2
✈️ Best trip
Describe the best trip you ever had. Use Past Simple.
Topic 3
😬 Holiday disaster
Did anything go wrong on a holiday? What happened?
Topic 4
🌍 Dream destination
Where do you want to go on holiday? Why?
9️⃣
Writing Task
Write and practise the grammar from this lesson
✏️ Write 5–6 sentences about a past holiday or trip. Use the Past Simple — at least 3 irregular verbs and 2 regular verbs.

Example: Last year I went to Greece with my family. We stayed in a small hotel near the beach. Every day we swam in the sea and visited beautiful old ruins. I took lots of photos and bought souvenirs for my friends. The food was delicious — we tried lots of new dishes. It was the best holiday I have ever had!
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Lesson Complete!

Your quiz score:

Brilliant! You passed A2 Holidays! ✈️