I Brushed My Teeth in January
Time expressions with Past Simple and Present Perfect poems activities
Read the poem below and discuss which verse (pair of lines) you think is silliest. Then ask about any lines you don’t understand.
I haven’t slept or drunk since June.
I hope to do so very soon.
I’ve only eaten chocolate twice.
Once with potatoes and once with rice.
I haven’t breathed since half past ten.
I’m not quite sure what happened then.
I haven’t eaten since December.
But I had two breakfasts in November.
I have only climbed a mountain once.
I did it for eleven months.
I got up late on the seventh.
And got to school on the eleventh.
I’ve been waiting for weeks and weeks.
Can’t wait till my plant grows up and speaks.
Won at the races? I haven’t yet.
But then again I’ve never bet.
I’ve been knitting gloves since May.
I finished a finger yesterday.
On Sunday I slept very late.
I got up at twenty five to eight.
I learnt Greek two weeks ago.
But why I did I do not know.
I brushed my teeth in January.
And then again in February.
I can’t explain the many ways.
That I’ve got lost in the last five days.
I haven’t had a shower recently.
But I did in nineteen eighty three.
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Matching lines activity
Without looking at the whole poem for now, try to put the lines on the right-hand side in the right place under the lines on the left, thinking about what makes sense, what words rhyme, what times match, etc. The poem is split into two parts to make the activity easier, so you only need to look in half of the poem for each answer.
Section 1
I haven’t slept or drunk since June. And got to school on the eleventh.
I’ve only eaten chocolate twice. But I had two breakfasts in November.
I haven’t breathed since half past ten. I hope to do so very soon.
I haven’t eaten since December. I’m not quite sure what happened then.
I have only climbed a mountain once. I did it for eleven months.
I got up late on the seventh. Once with potatoes and once with rice.
Section 2
I’ve been waiting for weeks and weeks. And then again in February.
Won at the races? I haven’t yet. But I did in nineteen eighty three.
I’ve been knitting gloves since May. But then again I’ve never bet.
On Sunday I slept very late. But why I did I do not know.
I learnt Greek two weeks ago. Can’t wait till my plant grows up and speaks.
I brushed my teeth in January. I finished a finger yesterday.
I can’t explain the many ways. I got up at twenty five to eight.
I haven’t had a shower recently. That I’ve got lost in the last five days.
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Ending sentences activity easier version
Without looking below for now, try to think of words which would fit the gaps below, making sure that they rhyme, make sense and match grammatically.
I haven’t slept or drunk since __________________.
I hope to do so very soon.
I’ve only eaten chocolate ________________________.
Once with potatoes and once with rice.
I haven’t breathed since half past __________________.
I’m not quite sure what happened then.
I haven’t eaten since December.
But I had two breakfasts in __________________.
I have only climbed a mountain ________________.
I did it for eleven months.
I got up late on the seventh.
And got to school on the _____________________.
I’ve been waiting for weeks and ____________________.
Can’t wait till my plant grows up and speaks.
Won at the races? I haven’t ______________.
But then again I’ve never bet.
I’ve been knitting gloves since May.
I finished a finger _______________________.
On Sunday I slept very late.
I got up at twenty five to _____________________.
I learnt Greek two weeks ________________.
But why I did I do not know.
I brushed my teeth in ___________________.
And then again in February.
I can’t explain the many ways.
That I’ve got lost in the last five ___________________.
I haven’t had a shower recently.
But I did in nineteen eighty _________________.
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Mixed answers
Put the words below into the gaps above, thinking about rhyming, meaning and grammar.
ago
days
eight
eleventh
January
June
November
once
ten
three
twice
weeks
yesterday
yet
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Ending sentences activity more difficult version
Put these words into the gaps below, thinking about rhyme, meaning and grammar.
ago bet days December eight eleventh February
January June know late May months November
once recently rice seventh soon speaks ten
then three twice ways weeks yesterday yet
I haven’t slept or drunk since __________________.
I hope to do so very ______________________.
I’ve only eaten chocolate ________________________.
Once with potatoes and once with ______________________.
I haven’t breathed since half past __________________.
I’m not quite sure what happened ________________________.
I haven’t eaten since ______________________________.
But I had two breakfasts in __________________.
I have only climbed a mountain ________________.
I did it for eleven _______________________________.
I got up late on the _______________________.
And got to school on the _____________________.
I’ve been waiting for weeks and ____________________.
Can’t wait till my plant grows up and _______________________________.
Won at the races? I haven’t ______________.
But then again I’ve never ________________________.
I’ve been knitting gloves since ___________________.
I finished a finger _______________________.
On Sunday I slept very __________________.
I got up at twenty five to _____________________.
I learnt Greek two weeks ________________.
But why I did I do not _______________________.
I brushed my teeth in ___________________.
And then again in _________________.
I can’t explain the many __________________.
That I’ve got lost in the last five ___________________.
I haven’t had a shower ________________________.
But I did in nineteen eighty _________________.
Look at the half complete version on the previous page to start checking your answers.
Check your answers with the original poem.
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Time expressions with Past Simple and Present Perfect presentation
Without looking above or below for now, put suitable time expressions into the two columns below.
| Time expressions with Past Simple (“I… ed…” etc) | Time expressions with Present Perfect (“I have …ed” etc) |
|
|
Without looking at the poem for now, put the time expressions below into the right columns above.
since June
twice
since half past ten
then
since December
in November
once
for eleven months
on the seventh
on the eleventh
for weeks (and weeks)
yet
never
since May
yesterday
on Sunday
at twenty five to eight
two weeks ago
in January
in February
in the last five days
not recently
in nineteen eighty three
Check with the poem.
Check the other things that you wrote above as a class.
Put these other expressions into the table above, thinking about which ones that are in the table already they are similar to.
already
since nineteen eighty five
in January
since January
since the seventh of June
three times
since ten o’clock
at ten clock
at that time
for two years
for two weeks
for a long time
the day before yesterday
on Monday
two months ago
in the last few weeks
recently
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