Unit 10: A Short Story

Yesterday at the café — read a story, practise the past simple, and ask questions about what happened.

In this unit

Read a short story about Ana and her friend Leo. Then answer questions, practise past forms and use prompts to ask a partner about the story.

yesterday · last night · at six o'clock · in the café · on the table

Step 1. Read the story

A cup of tea
A table
Six o'clock

Yesterday, Ana finished work at five o'clock. She walked to a small café near the station. She was hungry, so she bought a sandwich and a cup of tea.

At six o'clock, her friend Leo came into the café. Ana saw him near the door and called his name. Leo came over and sat at her table. He had a book in his bag, but he did not take it out.

“Did you have a busy day?” Ana asked.

“Yes, I did,” Leo said. “I went to town by bus, and I saw my sister. We ate lunch together.”

They talked for half an hour. Then Leo looked at the clock. He stood up, put his cup on the table and said goodbye. He went home by bus. Ana stayed in the café and finished her tea.

The story uses some new past forms in context. Notice finished, walked, bought, came, saw, had, went, ate and stood. You do not need to memorise every new form at once.

Step 2. Check your understanding

Step 3. Past forms in the story

PresentPastFrom the story
walkwalkedShe walked to a café.
buyboughtShe bought a sandwich.
comecameLeo came into the café.
seesawAna saw him.
gowentHe went to town.
eatateThey ate lunch.

Exercise 2. Choose the correct past form

Step 4. Ask questions about the story

You already know how to ask questions with did.

Where did Ana go? — She went to a café.
What did she buy? — She bought a sandwich and a cup of tea.
Who did Leo see? — He saw his sister.
When did Leo come? — He came at six o'clock.

Exercise 3. Put the words in order

Type the whole question. Start with a capital letter.

Show model questions

1. Where did Ana go?

2. Who did Leo see?

3. When did Leo come?

Step 5. A first look at subject questions

Compare these two questions.

Who did Leo see? — Leo saw his sister. We know the subject: Leo. We ask about the person he saw, so we use did.

Who came into the café? — Leo came into the café. Here, who is the subject: we ask who did the action. We do not use did.

For now, notice the difference. We will practise subject and object questions more fully in a later unit.

Exercise 4. Choose the correct question

Which question asks who did the action?

Step 6. Tell the story again

Use these prompts to retell the story to a partner. You do not need to remember every word.

1. Yesterday / Ana / finish work / five o'clock
2. She / walk / café / near station
3. She / buy / sandwich / cup of tea
4. At six o'clock / Leo / come in
5. Ana / see him / call his name
6. Leo / go to town / bus / see his sister
7. They / eat lunch together
8. Leo / look at clock / say goodbye / go home

Exercise 5. Complete the story

Yesterday, Ana work at five o'clock. She to a café and a sandwich. At six o'clock, Leo in. Ana him. Leo to town by bus and lunch with his sister.

Step 7. Your own story

Write four or five sentences about yesterday. Use the prompts if you need help.

Yesterday, I finished …
I went to …
I saw …
I ate …
In the evening, I …

You can write your sentences in a notebook. Then read them to a partner and ask one question about your partner's story.

Teacher's note

This is the first deliberate move from sentence-level practice to a connected narrative. Read the story aloud first if appropriate; use the pictures and time expressions to establish the setting. Learners can listen for past verbs, answer questions, and retell the story with the prompts.

The text includes bought and stood as past forms encountered in context. The main focus is on the forms already introduced and on using did questions. Subject questions are introduced only as a brief contrast here; fuller practice can follow in a later unit.

Adjust the pace to the learners. Some can write their own questions and retell the story independently; others may benefit from oral rehearsal and working through fewer prompts at a time.