HOW TO TEACH TENSES

Method 1 of 3:

Teaching Each Time Frame Separately

1. 
   1
   Provide a quick overview of the entire system of tenses. Draw a grid on the board, for instance, that identifies all the tenses you'll be teaching. To focus on the 9 basic tenses, for instance, write “Past,” “Present,” and “Future” along the top of the grid, “Simple,” “Continuous” (aka “Progressive”), and “Perfect,” along the side, and fill in the 9 grid boxes with examples from a single verb (e.g., saw, see, will see, etc.).^[1]
   

   • There are more than 9 verb tenses in English--some experts say 13, which includes “perfect continuous” as its own tense and “future with 'going to'” as its own category.^[2] Others claim there are actually 16 tenses, which includes “perfect progressive” and “conditional” tenses, but starting with the basic 9 is good for an introductory or ESL setting. In a more advanced class, you can also use a grid to introduce 16 verb tenses.^[3]
2. 
   2
   Focus on a single time frame, such as the present. After identifying the entire system, narrow your focus to 1 of the 3 time frames. The present time frame makes a good starting point, since it is often the easiest for students to immediately comprehend.^[4]
   

   • For example: I watch (simple), I am watching (continuous), I have watched (perfect).
   • This runs counter to methods that focus, for example, on the simple past, simple present, and simple future at once (e.g., watched, watch, will watch). The reasoning behind this is the assumption that students are better able to follow along when you stay in a single time frame. After all, when you tell a story, you tend to stay in the same time frame throughout.

   
   
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