ULACITPresent and past tense

Lower beginnersFriendship

By Angie Arias Cordero

Quick review about the present tense

RULES -Subject + root verb

I drink tea every morning and evening.

He/She/ it + root verb + ‘s’Every day he walks to school.

A third person subject (he/ she/ it) + a root verb ending in either ch, sh, o, s or x + ‘es’

She washes our clothes.

A third person subject (he/ she/ it) + root verb ending ‘y’ is replaced by ‘I’ + ‘es’

This child cries all the time.

Present progressive describes an ongoing action that is happening at the same time the statement is written. Am/is/are + ‘-ing’.

The socialist is examining the effects of discrimination.

Present perfect tense describes an action that happened at an indefinite time in the past and continue in the future. Has/ have + past participle + ‘-ed’ or irregular verbs.

Women have voted in presidential elections since 1921.

Present perfect progressive describes an action that began in the past, continues in present and may continue in the future. Has/have been + present participle + ‘-ing’.The CEO has been considering a transfer to the state of texas.

Quick review about the past tense Past tense expresses an action or situation that was started and

finished in the past. Verb + -ed. The irregular verbs have special past tense forms that we have to memorize.

W.W.II ended in 1995Ernest Hemmingway wrote “The Old Man and the Sea”.

We also have: did and was/were

Past progressive tense describes a past action which was happening when another action occurred. Was/were + verb + ‘-ing’.

The explorer was explaining the lastest discovery in Egypt when protest began on the streets.

Past perfect tense describes an action that took place in the past before another past action. Had + past participle of the verb.

By the time the troops arrived, the war had ended.

Past perfect progressive tense describes a past, ongoing action that was completed before some other past action. Had been + present perfect of the verb ‘-ing’.

Before the dudget cuts, the student had been participating in many extracurricular activities.

Class Activity #1 Go to the following link and answer all the questions about Present

and Past Tense, once you have finished them please let the teacher know for a quick review.

Time: 20 minutes

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs17.htm

Class Activity #2 Read the following story about “Uncle Spider”

There will be underlined Simple Present and Simple Past tenses that you will have to identify (when the teacher ask for it).

Let´s have some fun!

The spider is the hero of many West African tales. Nobody knows why a spider, of all creatures, should be so honored. Some say the spider represents a legendary warrior of ancient times, a man renowned for his cunning as well as for his valor. Others say the spider is a solar symbol, perhaps because its legs radiate out from a central orb, like the rays of the sun. 

Here is a spider tale from northern Nigeria. 

When Mother hyena was away, Anansis, the spider, went to her den and informed her cubs that he was their uncle, For-you-all. "Wake me up when your mother brings food," he said and curling up in a corner, went to sleep. 

Presently Mother hyena came with meat which she gave to her cubs, saying: "This is for you all." 

The cubs woke up the spider and gave him the meat which he devoured. Motherhyena brought meat twice more, on each occasion saying, "This is for you all," while handing over the food to her cubs. Each time, the cubs dutifully woke up Anansis and gave him the meat. 

In the evening when Mother hyena came home the cubs started crying for food. 

"Still hungry after all the meat I gave you?" she asked, surprised. 

"Uncle ate it all!" they wailed. The spider, realizing that it was time to run, darted out of the cave and sprinted away. 

"That's Uncle For-you-all!" shouted the cubs. 

"Is he!" said their mother, grimly, and bounded after the spider. Anansis rushed into Dog's house and sat beside him. 

"I've just finished eating," said the dog. "I've nothing to offer you." 

"That's all right," said the spider, "I've already eaten. That's why I'm here." 

The hyena came in just then. 

"Which of you was the rascal I was chasing!" she demanded. 

The spider pointed to the dog. "He has been running," he said. "See how he's panting with his tongue hanging out." 

The hyena pounced on the dog that twisted away and jumped out of the window. The hyena followed him. The uncle spider, knowing that it would be a long time before the dog got back, stretched out on his bed for a short snooze. 

Thank you guys!

Please do not forget to practice at home!

Simple present

Simple Past