How Many Tenses?
While English teachers and textbooks consider there to be several different tenses (anywhere from 12 to around 20), many grammarians claim there are only two tenses. Why the discrepancy, and which two are the 2?
Student Projects
Tag: tenses
Words Associated with Positive vs Negative/Interrogative Expressions
There are some words we use almost exclusively in negative or interrogative clauses, most of which have corresponding words used almost exclusively for positive clauses. There’s just a handful of these, but they’re pretty common.
Why ‘Will’ is a Modal
When we think of ‘will’ on its own, we probably only think of its designation of the future. But then why is it considered a modal verb? Maybe there’s more to the word than we realize.
Review by Way of Ordering
One way to review is by putting things in order – whether it’s sequential, by likelihood, or other – since it requires students to compare things see how they relate to one another, which means they’ll need a solid understanding of the topics.
Why We Sometimes Use the Present Tense for Future Meaning
Sometimes we use the Present Simple tense or the Present Progressive tense for future meaning. For native English speakers, this seems normal. But when learning this (or teaching it for the first time, for that matter), it seems a bit odd. Why would we do this?
Review Activities
Here are some activities that you can use with your class to review vocabulary and grammar. There are quite a few to choose from, and each is customizable; use whatever is best for your class!
Teach Aspects instead of Tense Combinations
It’s hard to keep all the tenses straight when they’re taught independently. Try instead to teach the patterns: What is a continuous tense? What is a perfect tense? After you answer those, try applying more specific tenses.