Mastering Past and Present Tenses in English Grammar

• English Grammar
• Lower Secondary (Key Stage 3)

Mastering Past and Present Tenses in English Grammar

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to identify and correctly use past and present tenses in English grammar, and avoid common mistakes.

Introduce the objective of the lesson to the students and explain why it is important to master past and present tenses in English.

What are Tenses?

Tenses are forms of verbs that show the time, or tense, of an action or a state of being. There are three main tenses: past, present, and future.

Explain to the students what tenses are and introduce the three main tenses in English.

Present Tense

The present tense is used to describe actions or states of being that are happening now, or are generally true. Example: She sings in the choir.

Explain the present tense and give examples. Encourage students to ask questions and participate in the discussion.

Past Tense

The past tense is used to describe actions or states of being that happened in the past. Example: He played basketball yesterday.

Explain the past tense and give examples. Encourage students to ask questions and participate in the discussion.

Common Mistakes with Past Tense

One common mistake is using the wrong form of the verb, like saying 'buyed' instead of 'bought'. Another mistake is not adding '-ed' to regular verbs, like saying 'run' instead of 'ran'.

Explain common mistakes that students make with past tense and give examples. Encourage students to ask questions and participate in the discussion.

Common Mistakes with Present Tense

One common mistake is using the wrong form of the verb, like saying 'I am go' instead of 'I am going'. Another mistake is using the present continuous tense for future actions, like saying 'I am playing tennis tomorrow'.

Explain common mistakes that students make with present tense and give examples. Encourage students to ask questions and participate in the discussion.

Practice Exercise

Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the verb: 1) She __________ (watch) TV every evening. 2) They __________ (go) to the beach last weekend. 3) He __________ (study) for his exam right now.

Provide a worksheet or an online quiz for students to practice using past and present tenses. Ask students to work individually or in pairs to complete the exercise.

Which sentence uses the present perfect continuous tense correctly?

1. I have been studying for three hours.
2. I had been studying for three hours.
3. I have studied for three hours.
4. I am studying for three hours.

What is the correct future tense of the verb 'to be'?

1. will being
2. being will
3. be will
4. will be

Which sentence uses the past continuous tense correctly?

1. She was studying when her phone rang.
2. She has studied when her phone rang.
3. She studied when her phone rang.
4. She had studied when her phone rang.

What is the correct past tense of the verb 'to eat'?

1. ate
2. eat
3. eated
4. eaten

Which sentence uses the present perfect tense correctly?

1. I have seen that movie before.
2. I seen that movie before.
3. I saw that movie before.
4. I have see that movie before.