ESL Lesson Plan · CEFR A2

Past Simple Subject and Object Questions ESL Lesson Plan (A2, 60 Minutes)

A complete 60-minute A2 lesson on Past Simple Subject and Object Questions, built round the theme "The Mystery of the Missing Cake".

CEFR A2
60 minutes
Teenagers and adults
Grammar
Question Forms
Past Simple Subject and Object Questions

About this lesson

Who it is for. Elementary students who form present simple questions correctly. In the past they say Where you went? or Did you went?, and they add did to every question with who / what (Who did eat the cake? meaning Who ate it?).

Everything the lesson needs is on this page: the language analysis, the timed stages with the teacher's own words and instruction-checking questions, the differentiation, the printable handouts and the answer key.

At a glance

Level: CEFR A2 (Elementary)
Learners: Teenagers and adults
Length: 60 minutes. For 45 minutes, run only "Investigation" of the two tasks in "Freer practice" and cut "Feedback and wrap-up" to board-based error correction.
Skills: Speaking and writing
Language focus: Grammar: Past Simple Questions and Subject vs Object Questions (Who called you? Who did you call?)
Framework: PPP (presentation, practice, production)
Materials: Handout 1 (the mystery story), Handout 2 (practice), Handout 3 (role cards for the investigation), Handout 4 (detective's notes).
Preparation: About 10 minutes: print Handouts 1 to 4, one per learner, and read the language analysis. The answer key is for you, not the class.

Download this lesson plan

Google Docs · 60 minutes · PPP (presentation, practice, production)

Download the PDF Word Make a copy

The PDF prints as it stands. The Word file and Make a copy are for adapting it: your copy is yours to change, and the original stays as it is.

Aims

Main aim. To clarify and practise past simple questions with did + base verb, and to contrast subject questions (no did: Who ate the cake?) with object questions (did: Who did you see?).

Learning outcome. By the end of the lesson, students can investigate a mystery by asking and answering past questions accurately, e.g. Who ate the cake? What did you do at 3 o'clock? Who saw you?

Subsidiary aim. To develop fluency in asking follow-up questions.
Subsidiary aim. To practise weak did you /dɪdʒə/.

Language analysis

What to know before the lesson: the meaning, form and pronunciation of the target language, and the problems learners usually have with it.

Past simple questions

Type	Form	Example
Yes / no	Did + subject + base verb?	Did you see him? Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.
Wh-	Question word + did + subject + base verb?	Where did you go? What time did she leave?
be	Was / Were + subject?	Were you at home? Where was she?

Past simple questions: notes

After did, the verb is in the base form: Did you go? (not Did you went?)

Subject vs object questions

	Question	Answer
Subject question (who / what = the doer)	Who ate the cake? (no did; past verb)	Nimal ate the cake.
Object question (who / what = the receiver)	Who did Nimal see? (did + base verb)	Nimal saw the cook.
Subject question	What happened?	The cake disappeared.

Subject vs object questions: notes

Test: if the answer replaces the subject of the sentence, there is no did.

Pronunciation

Did you is often /dɪdʒə/: What did you do? /wɒt dɪdʒə duː/.
Wh- questions fall; yes / no questions rise.

Concept-checking questions

Who ate the cake? · Do we know who ate it? (No, that's the question.) · Is the answer the person who did the action? (Yes.) So is there did? (No.) · Who did Nimal see? · Who did the seeing? (Nimal.) · Is the answer the person Nimal saw? (Yes.) So is there did? (Yes.)

Anticipated problems and solutions

Problem	Solution
Missing did (Where you went?).	Board arrows: did at the front; drill.
Past form after did (Did you went?).	Board: did + base verb; cross out went.
did in subject questions (Who did eat the cake?).	Answer test: point to the subject of the answer.
What did happen?	Teach What happened? as a fixed chunk.

Board plan

Left: vocabulary	Centre: grammar	Right: pronunciation
cake · kitchen · cook · guest · disappear · crumbs · witness · suspect · alibi
Did you see him? Yes, I did. · Where did you go? (did + base verb) · not: Did you went? ✗ · SUBJECT Q: Who ate the cake? → Nimal ate it. (no did) · OBJECT Q: Who did Nimal see? → He saw the cook. (did) · What happened?
What did you do? /wɒt dɪdʒə duː/ · Did you see him? ↗ · Where did you go? ↘

Warm-up5 minutes · Whole class

Aim: To create interest in the context.

Say: "Yesterday, someone ate my lunch at school! I want to find out who. What questions can I ask?"

Take ideas and board two questions exactly as students say them. Don't correct yet.

Presentation20 minutes · Individual, pairs, whole class

Aim: To present past questions and subject / object questions in context and clarify the rules.

Part A: Reading (6 minutes)

Give out Handout 1. Say: "Read the story about the birthday party. What happened to the cake? Three minutes."

Pairs compare. Students answer the questions. Check as a class.

Part B: Noticing (4 minutes)

Say: "Look at the detective's questions at the end. Which questions have did? Which don't?" Pairs compare.

Part C: Clarification (10 minutes)

Past questions. Board You went to the kitchen. → Did you go to the kitchen? → Where did you go? Highlight did + base verb. Cross out Did you went?

be. Board Were you at home? Where was she? (no did with was / were).

Subject vs object. Board Somebody ate the cake. → Who ate the cake? and Nimal saw somebody. → Who did Nimal see? Ask the CCQs. Show the answer test.

Teach What happened? as a chunk.

Return to the questions from Stage 1 and correct them together.

Pronunciation. Drill: What did you do? Where did you go? Who ate the cake?

Controlled practice10 minutes · Individual, then pairs, then whole class

Aim: To practise the forms accurately.

Give out Handout 2. Say: "Exercise A: write the past questions. Exercise B: subject or object question? Seven minutes."

Pairs check. Check as a class.

Freer practice18 minutes · Groups of five, then whole class

Aim: To use past questions fluently in a role-play investigation.

Give out Handout 3. In each group, one student is the detective and four are suspects (the cook, a guest, the neighbour, the little brother). Suspects read their role cards (2 minutes).

Investigation (10 minutes). The detective questions each suspect and takes notes on Handout 4: "Where were you at 3 o'clock? What did you do? Who saw you? Who opened the kitchen door?" Other suspects can also ask questions.

ICQs: "Can suspects tell the truth?" (Yes, except the guilty one!) "What does the detective do?" (Asks questions and takes notes.)

Solve it (4 minutes). Each detective tells the class who ate the cake and why: "The neighbour ate it! She said she was at home, but the cook saw her in the garden."

Monitor and note errors.

Feedback and wrap-up7 minutes · Whole class

Aim: To give feedback and consolidate.

Board four questions from Stage 4 (two with errors). Students correct them.

Ask: "When do we NOT use did?" (Subject questions; was / were.)

Set the homework.

Homework Write 8 questions to ask a family member about the best day of their life. Include two subject questions (Who ...? What happened?). Write their answers.

PPP (presentation, practice, production). Stage times add up to 60 minutes.

Differentiation

Support: Give the detective a list of question starters. Weaker students play suspects (answering is easier than asking).
Stretch: Stronger students add Why ...? and How ...? questions and follow-up questions. They use Whose and Which: Whose plate was that? Which door did you use?

Adapting the lesson

For	What to change
A large class (40 or more)	Keep the pairwork in "Freer practice" in fixed pairs rather than a mingle, and take feedback from four or five pairs instead of the whole room. Run "Investigation" once, with two pairs reporting, rather than hearing every pair. Monitor one half of the room during "Controlled practice" and the other half during "Freer practice".
A class with no photocopier	Put the exercises from Handout 2: Practice on the board for learners to copy into their notebooks, and read any text aloud twice instead of printing it. Handout 3: Role Cards works read out from the front: learners note what they need rather than holding a card. The board plan above is this lesson's minimum - with that on the board, it runs on no paper at all.
An online class	Send Handouts 1 to 4 in the chat before the lesson and put the board plan on a shared slide. Use breakout rooms for "Investigation" and visit each room once. Have learners type the controlled answers in the chat, so you see every answer at once instead of nominating.
A different age group	With young learners, cut the writing at the end and give that time to the speaking task; keep the drilling short, and let them draw or mime where the plan allows it. With adults, keep the writing and ask for a short spoken summary in place of anything drawn or mimed.

Checking learning

8 out of 10 or better on Handout 2, Exercise A. In the investigation, the detective uses did + base verb in object questions and no did in subject questions. Students use What happened? correctly.

Teacher's reflection

Did students overuse did in subject questions? Was the mystery role-play engaging?

Handout 1: The Mystery of the Missing Cake

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

It was Ruwan's 10th birthday. His mother made a beautiful chocolate cake and left it in the kitchen at 2 o'clock. At 4 o'clock, when the guests sang "Happy Birthday", the cake was gone! There were only a few crumbs on the floor.

Ruwan's mother called Detective Silva. These are her first questions:

Answer the questions.

Which of the detective's questions don't have did or were? ______________________________

"What happened?"
"When did you put the cake in the kitchen?"
"Who saw the cake after 2 o'clock?"
"Did anyone go into the kitchen?"
"Who opened the back door?"
"Who did you invite to the party?"
"Where were the guests at 3 o'clock?"
What did Ruwan's mother make? ______________________________
What time did she leave it in the kitchen? ______________________________
What did they find on the floor? ______________________________

Handout 2: Practice

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

A. Write the past simple questions.

B. Subject or object question? Write the question for the bold words.

you / go / to the party? → ______________________________
Where / she / buy / the cake? → ______________________________
What time / they / arrive? → ______________________________
you / at home / yesterday? (be) → ______________________________
What / you / eat / for lunch? → ______________________________
he / see / the film? → ______________________________
Why / you / leave / early? → ______________________________
Where / your parents / last weekend? (be) → ______________________________
How / you / get / home? → ______________________________
she / call / you? → ______________________________
Kasun broke the window. → Who ______________________________?
Kasun broke the window. → What ______________________________?
The dog ate my homework. → What ______________________________?
I called my grandmother. → Who ______________________________?

Handout 3: Role Cards

Detective: Find out who ate the cake. Ask each suspect where they were, what they did and who saw them. Take notes on Handout 4.

The cook: You were in the kitchen from 2.00 to 2.30. Then you went to the shop to buy candles. You came back at 3.30. When you came back, the back door was open. You saw the neighbour in the garden.

The guest (Ruwan's cousin, Dilini): You arrived at 3.00. You played cricket in the front garden with Ruwan's little brother until 4.00. You didn't go into the kitchen.

The neighbour (Mrs Fonseka): You ate the cake! You came through the back door at 3.15 when the cook was out. Say you were at home all afternoon watching TV. Don't tell the truth!

The little brother (Kumar, 6): You played cricket with Dilini in the front garden. At about 3.15 you went to get the ball from the back garden, and you saw a lady with chocolate on her face!

Handout 4: Detective's Notes

Who ate the cake? How do you know?

..........................................................................................

Suspect	Where?	What did they do?	Who saw them?
The cook
Dilini
Mrs Fonseka
Kumar

Answer Key

Handout 1

Handout 2, Exercise A

Handout 2, Exercise B

Handout 3 (solution)

Mrs Fonseka (the neighbour) ate the cake. She says she was at home, but the cook saw her in the garden and Kumar saw her with chocolate on her face.

Common errors to watch for

A chocolate cake · 2. At 2 o'clock · 3. A few crumbs
Questions without did / were: What happened? · Who saw the cake after 2 o'clock? · Who opened the back door? (subject questions)
Did you go to the party? · 2. Where did she buy the cake? · 3. What time did they arrive? · 4. Were you at home yesterday? · 5. What did you eat for lunch? · 6. Did he see the film? · 7. Why did you leave early? · 8. Where were your parents last weekend? · 9. How did you get home? · 10. Did she call you?
Who broke the window? (subject) · 2. What did Kasun break? (object) · 3. What ate my homework? (subject) · 4. Who did you call? (object)

Error	Correction
Where you went yesterday?	Where did you go yesterday?
Did you went to the party?	Did you go to the party?
Who did eat the cake? (meaning who ate it)	Who ate the cake?
What did happen?	What happened?

Prints without the site's menus or advertisements.

Download this plan

Google Docs · 60 minutes

Download the PDF Word Make a copy

The same document as the one at the top of the page.

Elsewhere in Global English

Pages that help with this lesson in particular, rather than everything we have.

Written by RCF English to the RCF English international standard: levelled by the CEFR, original throughout, and suitable for classrooms in any country. Last reviewed 22 September 2026.

Past Simple Subject and Object Questions ESL Lesson Plan (A2, 60 Minutes)

About this lesson

At a glance

Download this lesson plan

Aims

Language analysis

Past simple questions

Past simple questions: notes

Subject vs object questions

Subject vs object questions: notes

Pronunciation

Concept-checking questions

Anticipated problems and solutions

Board plan

Warm-up5 minutes · Whole class

Presentation20 minutes · Individual, pairs, whole class

Controlled practice10 minutes · Individual, then pairs, then whole class

Freer practice18 minutes · Groups of five, then whole class

Feedback and wrap-up7 minutes · Whole class

Differentiation

Adapting the lesson

Checking learning

Teacher's reflection

Handout 1: The Mystery of the Missing Cake

Handout 2: Practice

Handout 3: Role Cards

Handout 4: Detective's Notes

Answer Key

Download this plan

Elsewhere in Global English

Share this lesson plan

More question forms plans