logounam logo-avi
logouapa





Review

Past Simple, Past Continuous, Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous and Past Perfect Continuous

Presentation / Objective

Do you like telling or listening to stories? From ancient times, people have always used storytelling as a way of transmitting their heritage, culture and beliefs to future generations. We have always told stories or anecdotes either about our lives, what we did or about what someone told us.


storytelling

Comfreak, (2015). Narrative, [jpg].
Retrived on: 04 Agosto, from: https://pixabay.com/en/narrative-history-dream-tell-794978/

Do you know what verb tenses can be used when telling a story or an anecdote? Let’s have a look at them and remember when and how we use them.

White rabbit

John Tenniel, (1865). Alice, [illustration].
Retrived on: 04 Agosto, from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rabbit#/media/File:Down_the_Rabbit_Hole.png

In this lesson, you will practice using tenses to narrating a story, an event or an anecdote in the past. These verb tenses are present perfect, present perfect continuous, simple past, past continuous, past perfect and past perfect continuous. First, you will read a summary of a chapter of Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland where you will identify the different tenses used. In the Listening activity, you will listen to the following chapter of the same novel, where you will distinguish the six tenses reviewed in this lesson, and answer some comprehension questions. In the Reading activity, you will read an adapted version of an American folk tale, complete filling in spaces with the verb tenses needed and do a comprehension task. Then, to continue practising and reinforcing these verb tenses, in the Writing activity, you will make up a short story in the past, using the appropriate verb tenses. And to finish the lesson, for the Speaking activity you will record yourself telling an anecdote about a specific moment in your life.


Content

Review

Present Perfect

We form the present perfect with:
have/has + verb in the past participle

We use it to talk about:

a) finished actions that have present relevance or result.
e.g.ve made a cake for my mom’s birthday.
(Here is the cake I made)
Peter has lost his wallet. (He doesn’t have it now)
Jane has gone home. (She isn’t here now)

b) an experience that happened some time in our life, without saying when it happened.
e.g. I have been to Brazil.
I have read this novel three times.
My father has eaten caviar.

We often use ever and never with the present perfect:

e.g. Have you ever written a poem?
I have never ridden a scooter.

a) an action or state that started in the past and continues in the present.
e.g. My father has worked in the same company all his life.
I have known my best friend for over 15 years.

We can use words such as already, just or yet, with present perfect.

e.g. I have just finished my homework. (It means I finished my homework very recently)
I have already completed my homework. (It means the action took place earlier than expected)
Yet shows that the speaker is expecting something to happen. We use it in questions and negative statements
e.g. Have you finished your homework yet?
I haven´t finished my homework yet

To consider:

We can also use present perfect with this morning / this week / this month / this semester / today, so far, recently, lately, etc. (when these periods are not finished at the time of speaking).
e.g. I have drunk two cups of coffee today. (It means that so far I have had two cups of coffee)
Lately, I have heard only bad news on TV.

We form the present perfect continuous with:
have/has + been + verb with –ing

We use it to talk about an action that was in progress in the past and is still in progress until very recently. The focus is on the length of the activity.
How long” is commonly used in questions with this verb tense as well as “for” and “since” to answer.

Example:
A: How long have you been waiting?
B: I have been waiting for 3 hours.
I have been waiting since 10 o’clock.
I’m tired. I’ve been working all day.

Both tenses are used to express that an action began in the past and is still going on or has just finished. In many cases, both forms are correct, but there is often a difference in meaning: The Present Perfect is mainly used to express that an action is completed or to emphasize the result. The Present Perfect Continuous is used to emphasize the duration or course of an action.
If you want to focus on the RESULT in order to express what has happened so far or how much/many has been done, you should use the present perfect. e-g: I have made two cakes - what has been made? A cake, how many cakes? Two cakes have been done.
If you want to focus on the DURATION in order to express how long an action has been going yet you should use the present perfect continuous e.g. : I have been writing for an hour - how long? For an hour.

Common signal words used with simple past
yesterday last (day, month, etc) ago in (day, date) at (time) when

We form simple past with:
verb + -ed for regular verbs or irregular verbs in simple past

We use it with finished actions, states or habits in the past, when a precise moment in the past is mentioned or understood. This verb tense can be used with any time expression that refers to the past, e.g. yesterday, last week/month, etc, ago, at 3 o´clock, in 1997, etc.

Example:
I went on vacation to Cancun last year.
When I was a child, I used to go camping every summer.
I got up at 6 am, took a shower, had breakfast and then I went to work.

We form the past continuous with
Verb to be ( was/were) + verb with –ing

We use it to refer to:

a) actions in progress in the past.
e.g. I was doing homework last night.
A: What were you doing yesterday at 7 p.m.?
B: I was having dinner.

The emphasis is on the course of an action.

b) actions that were interrupted by another action. We can use `when´ and `while´ to connect these two events.
e.g. I was studying when my friend called. While I was studying, my friend called.

c) the background of another event.
e.g. Inside the bar, music was playing, people were singing and dancing. We sat down at a table and we ordered something to drink.

d) simultaneous actions
e.g. While my mom was cooking breakfast, my dad was mowing the yard.

We form past perfect with:
had + past participle

When do we use past perfect? We use it to talk about actions or states that occurred in a period prior to a point of reference in the past.

e.g. When I arrived at the cinema the film had already started.

Study these examples:

When I arrived home, my mom cooked. ( Sequence of events in the past : I arrived then my mom cooked )
When I arrived home, my mom had cooked. (An action that happened before another action in the past : First, my mom cooked then I arrived)

We form past perfect continuous with
had + been + verb with –ing

We use it to talk about actions that were in progress in a period prior to, and up to, a point of reference in the past.

Example: I had been waiting for 3 hours before my friend arrived.

We use it in Reported Speech

e.g. Direct speech: Paul: “I have been studying all day” Reported speech: He said he had been studying all day.

The following verbs timeline diagram shows how some present and past verb tense.

 

Excercise 1. Once upon a time…

Alicein WonderLand

Dunlop, George; (1879). AliceinWonderLand, [foto].
Retrived on: 04 Agosto, from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Dunlop_Leslie_-_Alice_in_Wonderland.jpg?uselang=es

Read the text paying attention to the highlighted verbs. Then complete the table identifying what tenses are being used (present perfect, present perfect continuous, simple past, past continuous, past perfect or past perfect continuous). Next analyze their function within the text (e.g. if the verb is in past continuous think whether the verb is setting the scene or it is an action in progress interrupted by another event in simple past), taking into consideration the grammatical rules explained above. Later complete the table that appears below the text using the verbs in the box. There is an example already done for you. You will only do this activity once. After you have answered all the questions, you’ll know the answers and what function each verb has within the text.

REMEMBER:
It is essential to bear in mind that the present perfect and the present perfect continuous are not usually used in the narrative when we talk about past events unless direct (and not indirect speech) is used. That is why in the text both present perfect and present perfect continuous appear in quotation marks because they are used to quote Alice's actual words.

Reading

Activity 1

Tall Tales: an insight into American folklore.

TALL TALES belong to the folkloric genre. They are stories about a person who is larger-than-life and who becomes a hero because of the great deeds he/she accomplishes. The story can be funny or silly. Tall tales can be full of exaggerations, similes, metaphors and lots of descriptive language. They are always told as if they were true even though the listeners know that the stories could never really happen. Some of the characters were real heroes or heroines whose stories got exaggerated. Others were characters such as cowboys, sea captains, loggers, railroad workers, and firefighters. Tall tales tell information that happened at that time, combining it with a wild tale full of fantasy.

Ellin Beltz, (2012). Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox, [image/jpeg]. Retrived on: 04 Agosto, from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Bunyan_and_Babe_Klamath_California.jpg
Skeeze,(2007). Grand Canyon [photo], Retrived on: 04 Agosto, https://pixabay.com/en/grand-canyon-scenic-shadows-sunset-1744472/
Skeeze, (2016). Boating [photo] Retrived on: 04 Agosto, https://pixabay.com/en/boating-colorado-river-grand-canyon-1251431/

Look at the pictures

This statue is found in different states in the USA. Do you know why? Do you know the story of this character? his name is Paul Bunyan. In what way could this character be related to these American landmarks? If you don’t know who this character is, you’ll find out when you read the text.

¡REMEMBER!
Main characteristics of tall tales:
1. The larger-than-life (extraordinary), superhuman or main character has a specific job.
2. The main character has a fantastic childhood.
3. Superhuman abilities or incredible characteristics.
4. A powerful object or animal helps the main character.
5. The main character accomplishes great feats (actions) using extraordinary skills. Sometimes these feats explain how some familiar things began, such as critical natural places.
6. A problem is solved funnily.
*It´s important to remember that exaggeration and humour are present throughout the story.

Listening

Activity 2

A spiritual journey in the quest of identity?

Look at the pictures below. They belong to the second chapter of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. From these pictures can you guess what happened after Alice ate all the cake at the end of chapter one which you read in the previous activity?

In the previous activity you read a summary of chapter one, “Down the Rabbit-Hole”, of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, now you will listen to a summary of chapter two, “The Pool of Tears”, and you’ll find out what happened to Alice after she ate all the cake.
Listen to the story once, do not worry about understanding every single detail, try to get a general idea, identifying the characters, where they were, and what happened at the end of this chapter. Before listening, read the questions below, then listen.

Now listen to the extract again and answer these questions by choosing the correct letter. This time you will have two opportunities to listen to the story before checking the right answers and getting a score.



Writing

Activity 4

Writing my tall tale


pluma

WerbeFabrik, (2017), Leave, [photo].
Retrived on: 04 Agosto, from: https://pixabay.com/en/leave-communication-filler-2163257/

Now that you are aware of the use of the present and past tenses in narratives, it is your turn to use them to write our own short story. You need to combine present perfect, present perfect continuous, simple past, past continuous, past perfect and past perfect continuous tenses. Write a tall tale taking into consideration its particular characteristics which you became acquainted with when you read about Paul Bunyan. Your composition must include the six tenses. Keep in mind that present perfect and present perfect continuous should be used when you quote what the characters actually said. Your composition should be 300-350 words length.
The topic of your writing should be aimed at answering the following writing contest notice.

Creative

Ramdlon, (2015), Creative, [photo]. Retrived on: 04 Agosto, from: https://pixabay.com/en/creative-be-creative-write-bulb-725811/

 

Check the rubric to evaluate it yourself.

  

Speaking

Activity 5

An experience in my life

So far you have only read, listened to and written about fiction, namely a fantasy story and a tall tale (two chapters of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Paul Bunyan, the lumberjack). Still, you can also narrate your own real experiences or anecdotes or somebody’s else.

Have you had special moments in your life that now you have a pleasant, funny, or a kind memory?

Look at these images

Have a look at the speaking rubrics, to know what aspects you will have to self-evaluate.

Self-assessment

Feedback

Feedback

3dman_eu, 2017, Fax [illustration]; Retrived on: 04 Agosto, from: https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/12/07/09/27/fax-1889009_960_720.jpg

As you have noticed, throughout this lesson, you have been able to practice, the verb tenses involved when you narrate a story, an event or an anecdote. Now it’s time for you to evaluate yourself to know if you can differentiate when each verb tense should be used.

Please read the text and complete it with the verbs in parentheses using the tenses needed (present perfect, present perfect continuous, simple past, past continuous, past perfect, and past perfect continuous). Read the story carefully, paying attention to the coherence of the text. The first four verbs have been done as an example.

You will only have one opportunity to write your answers. After you have finished the exercise, you will be able to see the correct answers.

References

Basic references

• American Folklore. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/paul-bunyan/
• Christina Latham-Koenig, Clive Oxenden. (2015). American English File 3. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Hornby, A. (2000). Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Latham-Koenig, C. (n.d.).
• Learning English. (2015, February 05). Retrieved from https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/paul-bunyan-folk-tale-american-stories/2628785.html
• Oxenden, C. L.-K. (2015). American English File 3. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Raymond Murphy with Roann Altman. (1990). Grammar In Use. Reference and Practice For Intermediate Studens of English. New York: Cambridge University Press.