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Four present tenses: Present simple, present continuous, present perfect and present perfect continuous. Subjects are: I/You/We/They and He/She/It PRESENT SIMPLE = 'to do' Using the subject 'I/You/We/They' and adding the base form of the verb, followed by the rest of the sentence, i.e. cook. And using 'He/She/It' we have to conjugate the verb by adding 's' to the verb word i.e. He cooks. We have some patterns that we have to conjugate when using 'He/She/It'. Most base forms of the verb, we can add 's'. When using the word ending with o,s,z,sh,ch we add -es. i.e. do - does When using the word ending with 'y', we replace the 'y' with '-ies'. i.e. cry - cries Then we have the irregular verbs 'be' and 'have': - 'be' am, are, is i.e. I am, you are, we are, they are, it is. - 'have' have, has i.e. I have, he has, she has, we have. Here are some examples of using the base form of the verb in present simple: Affirmative Negative Question [subject + verb] [subject + aux.verb 'do' + not + verb] [aux.verb 'do' + subject + verb] I cook I do not cook Do you cook? He studies He does not study Does he study? USE - We talk about general things using the base form of the verb in the present simple tense. Habitual/routine - I cook for the family everyday. Permanent/fact - He studies to better himself. Historical - Jenny was born in 1960, married Tom in 1981, then baby Johnny was born in 1985. Commentary - Johnny swims passed Tom, Tom only manages to take second place. Story telling - So they understand the noisy bands coming passed are an a festive event. Directions - Take a left and go straight fifty yards to see the public swimming pool. Headlines - Burgess goes to prison for bank robbery. ACTIVITIES: timing, age, language levels, culture and likes Q&A based on habits or routines are ideal for present simple tense activities. Depending on time, type of activity, age, language level, culture, etc. Each answered question can be elaborated in further follow-up questions. 1. Find someone 'who' = A. One student or teacher gets a list of statements in present simple tense i.e. 1. ________ has a dog. B. Teacher or student goes around the class asking in present simple tense i.e. [NAME], do you have a dog? C. Fills in the [BLANK] in the list and tells the rest of the class what's on the list... "Jenny has a dog." 2. Guess my profession?... - ONE student chooses a profession from a card... other students have to guess (20 questions) i.e. Do you wear a uniform? Do you work in an office? --- PRESENT CONTINUOUS = The present continuous tense uses the auxillary/helping verb 'be' I am, we are, he/she is, they are and the present participle verb ending with the form 'ing'. - Affirmative Negative Question [subject + aux.verb + verb(ing)] [subject + aux.verb 'be' + not + verb(ing)] [aux.verb 'be' + subject + verb(ing)] I am cooking I am not cooking Am I cooking? We are swimming We are not swimming Are we swimming? They are walking They are not walking Are they walking? The most common usage of the present continuous are actions 1. 'in progress' or 2. 'around' the time of speaking, i.e. 1. 'in progress' "He is studying in his room". 2. 'around' the time of speaking "I'm learning how to draw." ACTIVITIES: The present continuous tense is quiet a visual tense, ideas can be as follows: 1. A picture with many activities that are going on... actions that are happening. Dividing the class into pairs or small groups and teacher gives a time limit where the students have to spot activities and make as many sentences as they can. i.e. "He's throwing a ball." The teacher then asks for some feedback at the end of the time limit, to see what type of answers the pairs/groups have come back with. The teacher can elaborate/elicit with follow-up questions... This activity is great for answers with the correct use of the 'noun' = He/She/They. 2. Spot the difference... Teacher pairs students up, and presents each with a picture card of activities. Each have to give the classroom a statement of the activity they see on their card. The other student looks up for the activity in his/her card and presents his findings of the same action but with different result. i.e. he is looking at... painting on the wall / a mirror on the wall --- PRESENT PERFECT = The present perfect tense uses the 'have' auxillary verb, i.e. have, has. The form for the present perfect tense: The subject I/You/We/They He/She/It The helping verb is have has (conjugated/changed) The verb is past participle cooked/driven/eaten (regular) read/read, go/gone be/been (irregular) continued... Other past participle factors to consider are: Most of past participle verbs end with 'ed', however, words ending with consonant + 'y' are changed to '-ies' (cry/cried) Then we have consonant + vowel + consonant = write/written, hide/hidden But there are still some exceptions to this rule which can be elaborated later in our activity phase. Examples: - Affirmative Negative Question [subject + aux.verb + past participle] [subject + aux.verb 'have' + not + past participle] [aux.verb 'have' + subject + past participle] I have cooked meatballs I have not cooked meatballs Have I cooked meatballs? We have driven We have not driven Have we driven? So, the use of the present perfect tense is to bring 'past activity to present'. The way we use it is in either a definite or in an indefinite format. Definite Indefinite Past with Present Results (with a time frame) (without a time frame) I've lived here for 12 years. I have been to London once. He has found his dog. It has snowed a lot today. It has been snowing all day today. She has her test results. ACTIVITIES: Activity ideas about the present perfect tense is to talk of the types of 'past-present time of activities'... 1. Sentence prompts = Each small group receives a series of picture-base form verbs and object and each student has to change that into question format. i.e. sleep/in the classroom? Possible question - "Have you ever slept in the classroom?" Possible answers - "Yes, I have..." or "No, I haven't." The teacher can then ask the groups to share their question/answers with the rest of the class, and encourage the students to come up with some questions of their own too. 2. Spot the difference = either using in 'picture card', whereby the teacher initiates by showing that the object has moved or changed. i.e. plate on the table, no plate on the table. Students are encouraged to then use the designated 'verbs' to construct 'sentences' on the board or the card. Feedback will be ilicited by the teacher from the students at the end of the activity for the classroom to benefit. i.e. "He has washed the dishes" 3. Talking about 'changes' ... Local town, my 'young and present photos', favourite past-and-presnt toys, etc. --- PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS = The usages of the present perfect continuous tense is similar to present perfect with some minor adjustments. The helping verb 'have been' is used in this tense with the verb(ing). This tense indicates an uninterrupted action up until the present point in time and likely to continue. Past activity-to-present ... and it continues... [have + been +verb(ing)] She has been nursing for 6 years. Has she been nursing for 6 years? She has not been nursing for 6 years. We have been walking all day. Have we been walking all day? We have not been walking all day. Tense Usage: We have been practicing everyday for the August trials. [activity is... incomplete, ongoing with a timeframe.] My muscles are stiff, because I've been doing intensive exercises. [activity is... recently finnished, uninterrupted with present result] ACTIVITIES: Comparing and contrasting activity ideas of the 1. present perfect and 2. present perfect continuous tenses. 1. Comparing and contrasting Card EXAMPLE verb+action = students are encouraged and discover which tense category it will fall into, when creating the sentences. Present perfect - i.e. I'm happy... Why are you happy? Because I have an A+ for my test paper. Present perfect continuous - i.e. I'm exhausted... Why are you exhausted? Because I've been studying since early morning. 2. Roll the dice game... Read the statement/question and give the answer. i.e. I've gone fishing. I've been fishing for a long time. This can be followed by follow-up questions from the rest of the students or teacher (depending on the activity). 3. Guess what I've been doing? Student receives question and answer... But only relays the answer. Students have to guess the present perfect continuous tense of the action. i.e. Have you been ....? Set a 2-minute time limit or 20 questions... Then the student gives the answer if not guessed. Overall, this tense lesson can be difficult for some students and a teache receives better results with advanced students. However, it is a good introductory way to get students to relate about themselves to the rest of the class. ---