Christmas in history - Past tenses quiz

Christmas in history - Past tenses quiz

Past Simple, Past Simple passive, Past Continuous and Past Perfect

Work in pairs or small groups, with one Student A worksheet and one Student B worksheet per group. Don’t look at the other worksheet. Choose one fact from your page. Turn it into a question with two answers (either a Yes/ No question, or a Wh- question with a right option and a wrong option, like the example questions at the top of your page). See if your partner can choose the correct one of the two answers, then take turns doing the same.

When your teacher stops you, ask about any facts, numbers, etc, you are not sure about.

Try to remember or think of the correct tenses to fill each gap here:

• When ____________________________________________________________ (British, French and German soldiers play) football on Xmas Day, in 1914 or in 1939?/ Did British, French and Italian soldiers play football on Xmas Day in 1914?
• Charlie Chaplin ________________________________ (die) on Xmas Day in 1977.
• Cristopher Columbus ______________________ (land) in Haiti on Xmas Eve in 1492.
• William the Conqueror __________________________________________ (crown) King of England on Xmas Day in 1066.
• The Coronation Stone _____________________________________________ (steal) to be taken back to Scotland on Xmas Day in 1950.
• The Wolf of Wall Street _______________________ (release) on Xmas Day in 2013.
• Apollo 8 ____________________________________________ (orbit) the Moon when the astronauts wished the Earth a Merry Xmas in 1968.
• British King George V ______________________________________________ (give) a speech when his chair collapsed on Xmas Day in 1932.
• When Bohemian Rhapsody became the UK Xmas number 1 in 1991, it _________________ (already be) Christmas number 1 16 years earlier.
• When Christmas was made legal again in the UK in 1661, it ___________________ (be) illegal for 13 years.
• In 2022, the war film 1917 was named the best film that ____________________ (release) on Xmas Day in the 21^st
• When Xmas Day was first celebrated on 25 December, Roman already ____________ (exchange) gifts on that date.
• Mel Tome __________________________________________________ (write) for 40 minutes when he finished writing “The Christmas Song”.

Check with the first worksheets. Other tenses might be possible, so please check if you wrote something different.

Pronounce all the figures above.

Check how to pronounce the numbers with the original worksheets or as a class. Other pronunciations may be possible, so please check if you said any of them differently.

Make similar questions with two answers about your own personal past Xmases and/ or about other festivals for other people to guess the answers to.

 

Student A

Take turns choosing one of the facts on your page and turning it into a question with two answers (either a Yes/ No question or a Wh- question with a right option and a wrong option, like the example questions at the top of your page just below).

• British, French and German soldiers played football on Xmas Day in nineteen fourteen. – When did British, French and German soldiers play football on Xmas Day, in nineteen fourteen or in nineteen thirty nine?/ Did British, French and Italian soldiers play football on Xmas Day in nineteen fourteen?
• The artist Joan Miro died on Xmas day in nineteen eighty five.
• Cristopher Columbus landed in Haiti on Xmas Eve in fourteen ninety two.
• Anders Celsius introduced the Centigrade temperature scale on Xmas Day in seventeen forty one.
• Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan on Xmas Day in nineteen seventy nine.
• Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on Xmas Day in eight hundred CE.
• Isaac Newton was born on Xmas Day in sixteen forty two.
• The first electric Xmas tree lights were used in eighteen ninety five.
• Christmas Island was named on Xmas Day in sixteen forty three
• Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was executed on Xmas Day in nineteen eighty nine.
• Silent Night was first sung in Austria on Xmas Day in eighteen eighteen.
• Ringo Starr was given his first drum set on Xmas Day in nineteen fifty seven.
• The film The Wolf of Wall Street was released on Xmas Day in twenty thirteen.
• British King George the Fifth was giving a speech when his chair collapsed on Xmas Day in nineteen thirty two.
• When Christmas was made legal again in the UK in sixteen sixty one, it had been illegal for thirteen years.
• When Jesus was born, Caesar Augustus had been Roman Emperor for thirty one years.
• In twenty twenty two, the war film Nineteen Seventeen was named the best film that had been released on Xmas Day in the twenty first century.
• When Xmas Day was first celebrated on the twenty fifth of December, Roman had already been lighting candles and exchanging gifts on that date.
• Emperor Hirohito had already been ruling Japan for six years when he assumed the throne on Xmas Day in nineteen twenty six.

When your teacher stops the game, ask about any facts, numbers, etc, you are not sure about.

After doing the activities on the top page above, make similar questions with two answers about your own personal past Xmases and/ or about other festivals for other people to guess the answers to.

Student B

Take turns choosing one of the facts on your page and turning it into a question with two answers (either a Yes/ No question or a Wh- question with a right option and a wrong option, like the example questions at the top of your page just below).

• George Washington led an attack across the Delaware River on Xmas Day in seventeen seventy six. – Did George Washington lead an attack across the Delaware River on Xmas Eve in seventeen seventy six?/ Who led an attack across the Delaware River on Xmas Day in seventeen seventy six, George Washington or Abraham Lincoln?/ Where did George Washington lead an attach on Xmas Day in seventeen seventy six, across the Mississippi River or across the Delaware River?
• Charlie Chaplin died on Xmas Day in nineteen seventy seven.
• Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as President of the Soviet Union on Xmas Day in nineteen ninety one.
• St Francis of Assisi assembled the first known nativity scene in twelve twenty three.
• Louisiana observed the first official American Xmas holidays in eighteen thirty one.
• William the Conqueror was crowned King of England on Xmas Day in ten sixty six.
• The actor Humphrey Bogart was born on Xmas Day in eighteen ninety nine.
• The Soviet Union was dissolved on Boxing Day in nineteen ninety one.
• St Paul’s Cathedral in London was declared finished on Xmas Day in seventeen eleven.
• Halley’s comet was sighted by Johann Palitzsch on Xmas Day in seventeen fifty eight.
• The Coronation Stone was stolen to be taken back to Scotland on Xmas Day in nineteen fifty.
• Disney’s The Sword in the Stone was released on Xmas Day in nineteen sixty three.
• Apollo Eight was orbiting the Moon when the astronauts wished the Earth a Merry Xmas in nineteen sixty eight.
• Singer Dean Martin was having breathing problems when he died on Xmas Day in nineteen ninety five.
• Fourteen American states had declared Xmas Day to be a public holiday by eighteen sixty.
• When Jesus was born, Israel had been part of the Roman Empire for sixty seven years.
• The character Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer had existed for ten years when the famous song was written.
• When Bohemian Rhapsody became the UK Xmas number one in nineteen ninety one, it had already been Christmas number one sixteen years earlier.
• Mel Tome had been writing for forty minutes when he finished writing “The Christmas Song”.

When your teacher stops the game, ask about any facts, numbers, etc, you are not sure about.

After doing the activities on the top page above, make similar questions with two answers about your own personal past Xmases and/ or about other festivals for other people to guess the answers to.