11/8/2023 0 Comments Verb teach past tense![]() If I used a verb like “to throw” to introduce verb tenses, students would have to focus on the irregular forms of the verb “threw,” “thrown,” and also consider a direct object that makes sense. I also try to use intransitive verbs, or verbs that don’t require a direct object, like “walk,” when introducing the verb tense system, so the focus can stay on the verb. I also use a regular verb to model the tenses, such as “to walk,” whose variations and inflections are easier to teach and remember: “-ed” for past, for example. For now, i'ts not addressing the cariations of these basic tenses like the perfect progressive: I have been walking. I keep it simple as the purpose of a chart like this is just to introduce students to this complex system. Students will get an overview of the various tenses with a chart like this. I find it helpful to put the time frame across the top of the board or handout and the aspect down the side: The purpose of this is not to get students to learn or memorize the material right away but to get an overview of the variety of tenses and see how they relate to each other. Give students an overview of the entire verb system in the different time frames. Why should the tenses be taught in this manner? There are multiple reasons tenses should be taught within a time frame. If you’re teaching ESL students one on one, then a board game is a perfect class activity for learning the past tense. ![]() ESL Present Simple or Past Simple PowerPoint Quiz. Rather than ploughing through simple present, then simple past, and simple future, because supposedly these are easier to learn, I suggest all of the present tenses be taught together, then all of the past, and then future. This interactive quiz helps ESL students notice and identify the difference between the present and past simple tense. I suspect, however, something else is going on-there is a problem with the sequence of instruction. That may be so, but it begs the question of whether drills in verb tense make sense if students aren’t “developmentally ready” for the material anyway. Teachers often shrug and say “ It’s developmental.” ![]() The concern is student papers coming in, even after weeks of drill in the simple present and past, missing all of the “ -ed” “ -s” endings. The correct past tense form of the verb to teach is taught. So the attention to verb tenses is not the problem. ![]() This value of time may be why so much attention is given to verb tense instruction: given our obsession with time, we need a way to talk about it. The English-speaking world is obsessed with time and its passage: clocks of various types are ubiquitous in most English-speaking countries a watch is still considered a fine gift marking the passage into adulthood tardiness is frowned on, and so forth. And with good reason: there are 13 verb tenses in English, if you look at tense as a way to discuss time. ![]()
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