Teaching Past Tense

8/12/2019 Teaching Past Tense

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Teaching Past Indefinite TenseBeginner level

Anees Ahmad 4/14/14 Bs-English, Semester 8th


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Teaching Past Tense.

In foreign language teaching process, teaching grammar is one of the stressed points that teachers

cannot disregard. Tenses are taught to the students for a lot of time but they are unable to

understand, identify and use it in communication and they are unable to produce grammatically

correct sentences.

Native speakers have grammatical competence in their native language; by this we mean that they

have tacit knowledge of their language. In other words, they are aware of how to form and interpret

words, phrases and sentences in the language. They do not think while speaking that what form of

verb should be used or what tense to use they just speak because the mind direct them In speaking

because the rules are present in the mind that they have acquired. Just like when we speak Pashto,

grammar is there in Pashto but we never think of that that and our every sentence is grammatically

correct.

Grammar, either directly or indirectly, is taught from the elementary education until theundergraduate studies for about eight years in Pakistan. Clark argued that native-speakers listeners

typically draw upon a range of comprehension strategies when they are listening. They focus on

how syntactic and semantic strategies may be used to recover the meaning of what is heard in a

rather improvisatory manner (Candlin & Mercer, 2001).

Teaching tenses are important or not, we should not go into the discussion but one tense that is

most important is Past indefinite tense because while speaking and writing usually students commit

mistakes using this tense. Just like in the use of verbs because in interrogative sentence first form

of the verb is used while in positive sentences second form of the verb is used.

When someone is speaking English he doesnt think which tense he is using or which tensehe should use because if he thinks then he will take a lot of time in producing sentences.

I will be telling about how to teach Past Indefinite tense. But before teaching this tense there are

some grammatical components that should be taught first just like verbs and its different time

especially regular and irregular verbs.

Regular and Irregular Verbs

Verbs are subdivided into two groups, regular verbsand irregular verbs, on the basis of how

their past tense and past participles are formed. See below for tips on how to distinguish between

them.

Regular Verbs:

Most verbs are regular verbs. Regular verbs are those whose past tense and past participles are

formed by adding a -d or an -ed to the end of the verb.

"To roll" is a good example of a regular verb:


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roll, rolled, rolledSometimes the last consonant must be doubled before adding the -ed ending. For example:

plan, planned, plannedIrregular Verbs

There is no formula to predict how an irregular verb will form its past-tense and past-participleforms. There are over 250 irregular verbs in English. Although they do not follow a formula, there

are some fairly common irregular forms. Some of these forms are:

break, broke, broken cut, cut, cut run, ran, run meet, met, met come, came, come repay, repaid, repaid swim, swam, swum be was/were been

Distinguishing Regular and Irregular Verbs

Dictionaries are perhaps the most valuable tool one can use in distinguishing between regular and

irregular verbs. If only one form of the verb is listed, the verb is regular. If the verb is irregular,the dictionary will list the principal parts of the other forms.

Practice with regular and irregular verbs:

Below is an edited version of a VOA News article. Read it and underline all the regular simple

past tenses you can find?

American History: Nation Grows More Conservative in 20sAmericans experimented with many

new customs and social traditions during the 1920s. There were new dances, new kinds of clothesand some of the most imaginative art and writing ever produced in the United States. Many people

labeled theperiod The Roaring Twenties, to show the exuberance and vitality of the artistic andsocial scenes. But in most ways, the 1920s were a conservative time in American life. Voterselected three conservative Republican presidents: Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert

Hoover. And they supported many conservative social and political policies. Most Americans in

the 1920s shared some ties through blood or marriage to the first Americans who came from

Britain. Many people with these kinds of historic ties considered themselves to be real Americans,true Americans. Americans traditionally welcomed newcomers from such western European

countries as Britain, France, or Germany. But most of the people coming to New York City and


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other harbors in the 1920s arrived from the central, eastern and southern areas of Europe. Some

Americans soon worried about these millions of people arriving at their shores. They worried that

the immigrant newcomers might steal their jobs. Or they feared the political beliefs of theimmigrants. Pressure to control immigration increased following. World War I. Congress passed

bill that set a limit on how many people would be allowed to enter from each foreign country.

A second sign of the conservative feelings in the 1920s was the nations effort to ban the sale of

alcoholic drinks, or liquor. This policy was known as Prohibition, because it prohibited-- orbanned-- alcoholic drinks. Many of the strongest supporters of Prohibition were conservative

Americans living in rural areas. Many of them believed that liquor was evil, the product of the

devil. However, Prohibition laws failed terribly from the start. There was only a small force ofpolice to enforce the new laws. And millions of Americans still wanted to drink liquor. It was not

possible for the police to watch every American who wanted to buy a drink secretly or make liquor

in his own home. Some people imported liquor across the long, unprotected border with Canada

or on fast boats from the Caribbean islands. By the middle of the 1920s, most Americans realizedthat Prohibition laws were a failure. But the laws did not change until the election of President

Franklin Roosevelt in 1932.A third sign of conservatism in the 1920s was the effort by someAmericans to ban schoolbooks on modern science.

Warm up:

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stopquestioning. ~ Albert Einstein

Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward. ~ Soren Kierkegaard

What do these quotes mean to you?

First of all talk with the students about the events that happened in the past. Ask question like

Talking about the past:

When were you born? I was born in ____________________________ (date)

Where were you born? I was born in ____________________________ (city, country)

Study:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wasan Austrian musician and composer.He livedfrom 1756 to 1791. Hestartedcomposing at the age of five

years old and wrotemore than 600 pieces of music. He wasonly 35

years old when he died.

The verbs "was, lived,started, wrote, died" are in the simple past

tense.


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Notice that:

The simple past tense is used to describe actions that are completed in the past. It is formed byaddinged ord to the infinitive of a verb, except for irregular verbs. Most verbs in English

are regular but some of the most used ones, such as to be, to have, to go and to do (to

name a few) are irregular.

How to form the simple past tense for regular verbs: When the verb ends with the combinationconsonant + e oree, addd to the verb:

Examples: He tapes all the games / he taped all the games. They plant a tree / they planted a

tree. She kisses him / she kissed him. Our ears buzz / our ears buzzed.

When the verb ends with two different consonants or with two similar consonants, added to the

verb. If it ends in consonant + y, replace the y by i and add ed:

Examples: I work / I worked. They plant a tree / they planted a tree. She kisses him / shekissed him. You study a lot / you studied lot.

Monosyllabic verbs ending with one consonant (except forx) you generally double the

consonant and added*:

Examples:

He stirs his coffee / He stirred his coffee. The mechanic fixes the car / the mechanic fixed the car.

Past Simple Tense

It is used to express an action that happened or completed in past, usually a very little time before speaking,

or action which is just completed. Time of action is not specified in terms of long time ago or short ago but it

make a sense that the action has done a little time ago. For example, a person says, I watched a movie, it

means the speaker of this sentence watched a movie a little time ago or little time ago in the same day.

Rules:2nd form of verb (past simple) is used as main verb in the positive sentences and base form is used in

negative and interrogative sentences.

Structure of sentences:

Positive Sentence

Subject + main verb (past simple) + object Subject + 2nd form of verb (past simple) + object


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Examples

a. I killed a snake.b. He ate a mango.

Negative sentences

Subject + (auxiliary verb + not) main verb (base form) + object Subject + did not + 1st form of verb or base form + object

In negative sentence did not is written and the 1st form of verb (base verb) is used instead of using 2nd

form (or past simple verb).

Examples.

I did not kill a snake He did not eat a mango

Interrogative sentences

Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb (base verb) + object Did + subject + 1st form of verb (or base verb) + object

Interrogative sentence starts with did and the 1st form of verb (base verb) is used instead of using 2nd

form (or past simple verb).

Examples

Did I kill a snake? Did he eat a mango?

More Examples:

Positive sentences:

He gave me a gift They went to cinema. She wrote a letter to him. I made a table. You answered correctly.

Negative sentences:

He did not give me a gift They did not go to cinema. She did not write a letter to him. I did not make a table. You did not answer correctly.


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Interrogative sentences

Did he give me a gift? Did they go to cinema? Did she write a letter to him? Did I make a table? Did you answer correctly?

More Examples.

Positive Sentences

They have gone to school. They have bought a new car. I have started a job It has rained. The guests have arrived John has left for home. You have told a lie.

Negative Sentences

They have not gone to school. They have not bought a new car. I have not started a job It has not rained. The guests have not arrived. John has not left for home. You have not told a lie.


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Worksheet:

Put the verbs into the simple past:

1. Last year I (go) to England on holiday.2. It (be) fantastic.3. I (visit) lots of interesting places. I (be) with two friends of

mine.

4. In the mornings we (walk) in the streets of London.5. In the evenings we (go) to pubs.6. The weather (be) strangely fine.7. It (not / rain) a lot.8. But we (see) some beautiful rainbows.9. Where (spend / you) your last holiday?

Write the past forms of the irregular verbs.

Infinitive Simple Past

1. meet .

2. drive .

3. speak .

4. put .

5. write .

6. sing .

7. do .

8. sit .


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9. stand .

10. run .

Complete the table in simple past.

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

He wrote a book.

He did not sing

Was she pretty?

Put the sentences into simple past.

1. We move to a new house. 2. They bring a sandwich. 3. He doesn't do the homework. 4. They sell cars. 5. Does he visit his friends?

Write sentences in simple past.

1. Janet / miss / the bus 2. she / tidy / her room 3. Nancy / watch / not / television4. she / read / a book

Choose "Wasor"Were:

1. The teacher nice.2. The students very clever.3. But one student in trouble.4. We sorry for him.5. He nice though.


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ReferencesBeck, Catherine Schel & Dr. Gerard. "Lesson Plans for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) (Teachers Guide)."

Beck, Catherine Schel & Dr. Gerard. Regular verbs: Simple past tense. The Classroom VOA, n.d.Lesson 10.

Dillon, Frost. English Tenses: conversation and Grammer. Confident English, 2010.

http://careersplay.com/complete-english-tenses-present-past-future-pdf-chart-download/. n.d. 8 4 2014.

http://www.englishleap.com/grammar/regular-and-irregular-verbs. n.d. 8 4 2014.

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Teaching Past Tense