UNDERSTANDING TENSES Miss Melton 8 th Grade Pre-Ap Language Arts

DIRECTIONS  Please grab a piece of colored paper for your notes.  Take out a writing utensil and label the paper “Tenses”  As we go through the presentation copy down the things that are in UNDERLINED.

WHAT ARE TENSES?  Tenses provide an indication of the time when something occurred.  These are the variations of verb forms which function to establish a time frame in which the action occurred.  There are three main forms of tenses with reference to time, and three different aspects with which each can be viewed.  Past- this describes something that has already occurred  Present- this describes something that is occurring  Future- this describes something that will occur

POP QUIZ!!! WHAT IS A PARTICIPLE? Present participle= (verb)+(ing) Past participle= (verb)+(ed)

FORMS OF PAST TENSE  Simple Past- describes things that were completed in the past  [VERB]+ed or irregular verb  You called Debbie.  Bruce swam yesterday.  Past Continuous- used to describe things which occurred in the past over a span of time.  [was/were + present participle]  You were studying when she called.  It was snowing last winter.  Past Perfect-things that are happened before a specific time or event in the present.  [had + past participle]  She had already seen the movie.  It had been many years since she went sailing.

FORMS OF PRESENT TENSE  Simple Present- express the idea that an action is repeated or normal  [VERB] + s/es in third person  He runs daily.  Cats like milk.  Present Continuous- express the idea that something is happening now, at this very moment  [am/is/are + present participle]  He is watching tv.  The puppies are sleeping right now.  Present Perfect- to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now  [has/have + been + present participle]  You have been taking notes all hour.  She has been sleeping all weekend.

FORMS OF FUTURE TENSE  Simple Future- describes things that will happen  [will + verb] or [going to + verb]  You will succeed on your exam.  He is going to hike this afternoon.  Future Continuous- used to describe things which will occur in the future over a span of time.  [will be + present participle] or [am/is/are + going to be + present participle]  You will be studying when she called.  You are going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.  Future Perfect-things that are happening and are continuing to happen habitually  [will have + past participle] or [am/is/are + going to have + past participle]  You will have finished the exam by tomorrow.  How many countries are you going to have visited by the time you turn 50?

WORKS CITED   For extra help try these sites:   

ASSIGNMENT  Review the assignment sheet.  You are to write a narrative in which you tell your life story as if you are 60 years old. Be sure to use the appropriate tenses in your paper.  Additionally, you should incorporate information from previously studied texts in your paper.