Engl 4510/5510 Modern English Grammar and Usage

• The learner will understand the concept of simple verb tenses.
• The learner will understand the concept of perfect verb tenses.
• The learner will be able to make the correct choice of verb tense in practice sentences.
• The learner will be able to compose sentences and paragraphs using all verb tenses to convey his/her ideas clearly to an audience in written and oral form.
• The learner will be able avoid errors in verb tense use to improve clarity and convey meaning for the audience.

• Set:
  • The teacher will have a volunteer read the following sentence: "By the time you get this letter, I went."
  • The teacher will ask, "What is wrong with this sentence?"
    
• Teaching Tools/Materials (Board, visual aids, handouts, etc.; be    creative):
• Handout including pertinent definitions, guided practice, and instructions for group exercise.
• Board work for clarifying examples.

• Instructional Procedures:

• The teacher will explain/discuss what is wrong with the example.
• The teacher will link this material to the previous lesson.
• The teacher will go over the definitions on the handout.
• The teacher will go over the examples.
• The teacher will guide students through the sample exercise.
• The teacher will give clear instructions for the group exercise & its purpose.
• The teacher will invite and respond to all questions.

Guided Practice (behavioral objective): see handout

Group Activity (contextual & rhetorical objectives): see handout

• The teacher will have students talk about the concepts they have learned today and what importance they attribute to them in attaining clear communication.

• For next time: The progressive tenses express a continuing action. They are formed with the helping verb be + present participle.

• Present progressive: I am walking.
• Past progressive: I was walking.
• Future progressive: I will be walking.
• Present perfect progressive: I have been walking.
• Past perfect progressive: I had been walking
• Future perfect progressive: I will have been walking.

"Verbs change form to show whether an action happened in the present, the past, or the future. This change of form is called tense, and through tense a verb can show, for example, that one action began yesterday and is still going on, but that another action began yesterday and ended yesterday" (Harbrace 121). Tense forms are made from each verb's principal parts (see Harbrace 116-19).

1. The present tense expresses an action taking place now (timeless or habitual).

Example: I see the picture in the newspaper.

Example: I see pictures in the newspaper everyday.

2. The past tense expresses an action that has already taken place.

Example: I saw the picture in the newspaper last week.

3. The future tense expresses an action that has yet to take place.

                    Example: I will see the picture in the newspaper, if they ever print
                    it!

1. The present perfect tense expresses an action that occurred at an indefinite time in the past and may still be going on. It is formed with have or has + past participle.

   Example: I have read the newspaper everyday this week.

2. The past perfect tense expresses an action that occurred before another past action. It is formed with had + past participle.

Example: I had read the newspaper by the time I had my second cup of coffee.

3. The future perfect tense expresses an action that will be completed before a definite time in the future. It is formed with will have or shall have + past participle.

                    Example: By this time next year, I will have read 355 copies of
                    the newspaper.

A. Name the tense of each verb.

1. Has used     2. Will have fixed     3. Had marked     4. Have seen

B. Complete each sentence using the verb in the tense form indicated.

1. Donna says that her in-laws _______________ her to drink. (drive, past perfect)
2. Archaeologists _______________the ruins of an ancient Inca city. (discover, present perfect)
3. Besides music and philosophy, he also _______________medicine. (study, past perfect)
4. The movie _______________by the time we get to the theater. (start, future perfect)

Group Exercise (Use in context): Get in a group with six other classmates and make up a short, three-sentence paragraph in which you make use of at least two of the new tenses we have just discussed. Be sure to pay close attention to meaning and clarity as you compose.