Search results for 'tag:Present simple tag:Tenses' matching tags 'Present simple' and 'Tenses'

Re: tense

Newguest — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:42:39 GMT

Ok, from what you both wrote I understand that it should be "he's teaching" and "I'm learning" because this is something that is on-going and this is something that is happening only once over a certain period of time. It's quite clear to me that we both do it (teach and learn) every day or twice a week or three times a week (and this repetition would imply the use of the present simple tense in my view), but this is something that we keep doing every day and only for a certain period of time eg. one year. It's not like going to work for 30 years, because in this case we would say: I go to work instead of I'm going to work.

What about learning languages?

Are you learning languages Kate? Yes, I'm learning Spanish.

What about: Do you learn languages Kate? Yes, I learn Spanish every day.

I guess that the progressive form is better because it's an on-going process, however this process, unlike driving, may take years.

Re: why present tense?

Malinka — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:25:50 GMT

I came across the following explanation:

The Present Simple is used to give life and colour to the telling of a story. The Past Simple does not have the same dramatic effect. That is why jokes are often told in the present.

Re: grammar check!

AlpheccaStars — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:03:57 GMT

Ellisa:

This is a very long passage, and your other post seems to be even longer.

The editor at this web site makes it difficult to make corrections to long passages. Also, many teachers do not want to devote a long time working on a single post. If you post only one paragraph at a time, then different teachers can work on them and you will get your corrections faster.

Ellisa

Hello teachers!
I'm summarising a book which is about teaching methods.
I guess there are millions of errors.
Please ~~check those to right one~~ suggest corrections to my sentences.!
Thanks in advance!

13. Teaching grammar

There are two main ways to teach~~ing~~ grammar.(or you can say "ways of teaching grammar". The word "teaching" is a gerund, and must be used as a noun. In this example, it is object of the preposition "of")
One way is ~~both~~ planning grammar teaching in advance and relying on the coursebooks which can help us teach grammar. The other way is teaching grammar as a result of other work. In other words, it is ~~has~~ done as a peripheral activity. In this chapter, we will look at the various different ways to teach grammar. We will look at the range of activities which satisfy not merely efficiency but also ~~appropriacy~~ (not a word; you can use the adjective forms - a range of activities which are efficient as well as appropriate). . Lastly, we will discuss grammar books and their usages.

(You need to be consistent in using imperative versus declarative sentences)

A. Introducing grammar

The following ~~1 to 4~~ examples (, numbered 1 to 4,) are activities which represent a range of possibilities for introducing new grammar.

Ex1) It's making sentences using the present simple in the third singular. First, the teacher holds up a number of flashcards which are about a specific job. Then (? subject - the students )make sentences in ~~contained~~ present simple tense for ~~the~~ each pictures. It consists (or The exercise consists of) of three affirmative and three negative sentences. Then (? subject - the teacher )makes the students guess what kind of job it is. Once students are confident in ~~with~~ these sentences, the teacher asks them to think of one profession and make 6 sentences. Now, they can do activities guessing what profession is being described.

Ex2) It's using texts which contained (present tense) what the students are being taught (past simple irregular verbs). While the students read the text, they come across blanks that they must fill in with the past tense form of certain verbs. Then, (? subject - the teacher )makes them write these past tense verb forms down in the blanks and also write them phonetically using ~~which are shown~~ ~~their~~ phonemic symbols.

Ex3) This is aimed to show the differences between ~~reporting~~ direct speech and reporting things that were said in the past. The teacher draws ~~Draw~~ two people on the board. One, whose name is Jack, is holding a phone and smiling ~~whose name is Jack~~. The other is just standing. The teacher gives the ~~Give~~ students the information that Jack is talking to a girl who he met in the school canteen. Then, the teacher asks the students what Jack tells his friend while taking on the phone. The answers might be in the present form such as ' She says I'm really nice'. In this process, the teacher makes sure that the students understand how 'you' changes to 'I'. The teacher now tells the students that Jack is back home and he was spurned by the girl. He is telling to his mother that 'She said I was really nice' which is past form. The teacher can write both past and present forms on the board to help students.

Ex4) Here, the language which the students are ~~were~~ going to study is ~~was~~ embedded in the texts which they read. The teacher makes the students read the story first. After confirming that they ~~are~~ fully understanood the story by asking comprehension questions, the teacher asks them to make bad or insensible statements using the story. Then, the ~~get~~ students to come up to the board and write the sentences. ~~so that T~~he sentences have to use the modal auxillary "should," such as ~~ncluding~~ 'Should have p.p.' or' Shouldn't have p.p'.(especially here.)

grammar check!

Ellisa — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 14:12:49 GMT

Hello teachers!
I'm summarising a book which is about teaching methods.
I guess there are millions of errors.
Please check those to right one!
Thanks in advance!

13. Teaching grammar

There are two main ways teaching grammar. One way is both planning grammar teaching in advance and relying on the coursebooks which can help us teach grammar. The other way is teaching grammar as a result of other work. In other words, it has done as a peripheral activity. In this chapter, we will look at the various different ways to teach grammar. We will look at the range of activities which satisfy not merely efficiency but also appropriacy. Lastly, we will discuss grammar books and their usages.

A. Introducing grammar

The following 1 to 4 examples are activities which represent a range of possibilities for introducing new grammar.

Ex1) It's making sentences using the present simple in the third singular. First, the teacher holds up a number of flashcards which are about a specific job. Then make sentences contained present simple for the each pictures. It consist of three affirmative and three negative sentences. Then make students guess what kind of job is. Once students are confident with these sentences, the teacher asks them to think of one profession and make 6 sentences. Now, they can do activities guessing what profession is being described.

Ex2) It's using texts which contained what the students are being taught (past simple irregular verbs). While the students read the text, they come across the past tense form of certain verbs. Then, make them write these past tense verb forms down in the blanks which are shown their phonemic symbols.

Ex3) This is aimed to show the differences between reporting speech and reporting things that were said in the past. Draw two people on the board. One is holding a phone and smiling whose name is Jack. The other is just standing. Give student information that Jack is talking to a girl who met in the school canteen. Then, ask the students what Jack tells his friend while taking on the phone. The answers might be in the present form such as ' She says I'm really nice'. In this process, make sure that the student understand how 'you' changes to 'I'. The teacher now tell the students that Jack is back home and he was spurned by the girl. He is telling to his mother that 'She said I was really nice' which is past form. The teacher can write both past and present forms on the board to help students.

Ex4) Here, the language which the students were going to study was embedded in the texts which they read. Make student read the story first. After confirming that they are fully understood the story asking comprehension questions, ask them make bad or insensible statements using the story. Then, get students to come up to the board and write the sentences so that the sentences including 'Should have p.p.' or' Shouldn't have p.p'.(especially here.)

Re: increasing/increases

Clive — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:43:50 GMT

Hi,
1. The population of the world is increasing very fast.

2. Every day the population of the world increases by about 200 000 people.

--- Do I have to use the present simple in the 2nd example just because of the word "every day"?Yes.

What if I left out this word? Would it be OK then to use the progressive tense? I would wonder why the population is increasing by 200,000 right now.

I understand that in the first example this population is increasing continuously, steadily Yes, but the focus is on 'at the present time'. Maybe 20 years ago this was not true, or 20 years in the future it will not be true.

and if I wrote: The population of the world increases very fast, it would be wrong? No. It makes the statement more general, less related to the present time.

Best wishes, Clive

increasing/increases

Newguest — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 10:44:37 GMT

Hello

1. The population of the world is increasing very fast.

2. Everyday the population of the world increases by about 200 000 people.

--- Do I have to use the present simple in the 2nd example just because of the word "everyday"? What if I left out this word? Would it be OK then to use the progressive tense? I understand that in the first example this population is increasing continuously, steadily and if I wrote: The population of the world increases very fast, it would be wrong?

Thank you

Re: verb "to be"

Newguest — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:05:36 GMT

CalifJim
They all use the simple present tense of be.

CJ

I see. So I should say that these sentences are all in the present simple with the verb "to be". Right?

Re: Tenses and Sentences

alda1119 — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:02:45 GMT

1. John is working hard --> Present Continuous (be+ing)
2. Isabel had finished her lunch when I arrived --> Past Perfect (had+pp)
3. Niges lives in London --> Present Simple (this is correct)
4. I've had a cold for 5 days --> Present Perfect (have+pp)

Present Perfect Continuous (have+been+ing)
Past Perfect Continuous (had+been+ing)

Re: verb "to be"

Newguest — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:07:43 GMT

So what are these sentences actually:

1. Is it for me?

2. Is her father a policeman?

3. Am I really here?

Are these just simple statements and I shouldn't say that they were written in either the present simple or continuous tense?

Re: A myriad of grammar problems :(

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:02:52 GMT

Thanks for confirming what I got right, and what I got wrong, appreciated :).

I'll try the answers so, but just to let you bear in mind, when it comes to tenses, I have to choose between the following options:

Present Perfect
Present Simple
Present Progressive
Past Simple

And...obviously Past, present, future for the Time Reference.

Here's my answers so:

Exercise 2
Look through the following sentences and select the TENSE and the time reference used.

E.g. 1. If I won a lot of money, I'd travel the world.	Past Simple	Future
2. I wish I had more time to finish this exercise.
3. When you have finished, you can go home.
4. 'Major calls for peace summit' (headline).
5. I'm meeting some friends at the pub tonight.
6. We've got the next lesson in the language library.
7. I am to give a speech at the conference next week.

Question 2: Past Simple, Present Time Ref.
Question 3: Present Progressive, Future Time Ref.
Question 4: Present Simple, Present Time Ref.
Question 5: Present Progressive, Future Time Ref.
Question 6: Present Perfect, Present Time Ref.
Question 7: Present Simple, Future Time Ref.