Rachid Rhouzzal

My daughter is starting university next month. Structure and form is starting verb Subject to be I You/we/you/they He/she/it am are is start

ing ing

Meaning Present continuous is used to talk about future arrangements which were decided and planned before the time of speaking. We often use the present continuous tense to talk about the future with words or expressions like tomorrow, next week, next month, in June.

Context My son has passed his GCSE exam. He is going to study English literature at Westminster University next month. He is moving his furniture tomorrow. He is meeting his flat mate next week to paint the living room and buy a big desk. Concept questions He is moving his furniture next week. Am I talking about the present or future? Has he moved to his new flat? Has he moved his furniture?

Future. No. No.

Anticipated problems Contraction: with the contracted form shes starting, some students may think that s is the contraction of has rather than is. Students may use future simple I will go to university next month which is used to talk about future plans/arrangements which are decided at the time of speaking. Some students may confuse the form verb+ ing with a gerund because both of them take the same form. *Smoking is not healthy. (Smoking is used here as a gerund/subject) *I am smoking a cigarette. (Smoking is a verb).

Rachid Rhouzzal

I have never taught advanced students but I have used an interactive whiteboard. Structure and form Have taught and have used Subject He/ she/ it I/We/ you/ they/ you has/have has have never Used/ taught adverb past participle

Meaning The Present Perfect is used: to express actions that happened at an indefinite time When an activity has an effect on the present moment. Context I am about to submit my assignment. I have completed the final draft. I have checked that I have answered all the questions correctly. I have put a bibliography at the end of the assignment. The tutor has asked to submit the assignment using a hardcopy.

Concept questions I have completed the final draft. Am I talking about the present, past, future? Is my assignment complete? Did I submit the assignment? Anticipated problems

Present. Yes. No.

In many languages present perfect does not exist. Therefore, to substitute the use of the present perfect some tend to use the past simple or present simple i.e. instead of saying I have started the game, some students may say I started the game or I start the game. Irregular past participle: Some students may use the simple past form of the verb instead of the past participle i.e. I have came to see you rather than I have come to see you. Some students may use present perfect with phrases like ago, last year, yesterday which should be used with past simple because an action happened and finished in the past. Students may pronounce the last letter of has as /s/ instead of /z/.
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I wish I had brought an umbrella Structure and form Wish+ had brought. Subject
wish/wishes

subject

I/you/we/you/ they He/she/it

wish

I/you/we/ you/ they He/she/it

auxiliary verb "to past have" in the past participle form had brought had

wishes

Meaning The TL is used to talk about the hypothetical past: things that never happened or did happen, and to express regrets and dissatisfaction with past events or that we want a situation in the past to be different. Context When I left home this morning it was sunny and now it raining. I wish I had brought my umbrella. I also have a nice raincoat that I wish I had worn. To make thing worse, I forgot my cap which I wish I put on. Concept questions I wish I had brought my umbrella. Do I have my umbrella now? Do I have my umbrella at home? Do I regret not having my umbrella now? Are we talking about present, past or future? Anticipated problem Pronunciation: *Strong form: if had is used as the main verb, the strong form is used /hd/ i.e I had a nice car. * Weak form: If had is used as an auxiliary, then the weak form can be used /d/ i.e. Id played football. Irregular past tense: students may add ed to an irregular verb i.e I had drinked instead of I had drunk.
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No. Yes. Yes. Past.

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Some students may confuse hope with wish. Hope is used to express that you want something to happen in the future while wish is used with past tenses.

My sister is always borrowing my clothes. Structure and form Subject+ to be+ always+ verb+ ing Subject I She/he/it You/we/you/they to be am is are Adverbs of verb frequency ing

always

borrow

ing

Meaning Present continuous is used to express irritation or anger over somebody or something in the present with adverbs such as: always, continually or constantly.

Context John always comes late to his class. His teacher told him that he is always coming late which is frustrating and annoying her as well as other students. Instead of apologising, he told his teacher that she is always picking on him. Concept questions He is always coming late. Does John come on time? Does John always come late? Is his teacher irritated by his behaviour?

NO. Yes. Yes.

Anticipated problems Pronunciation of the suffix ing. Some students may pronounce the ing ending as /ing/ instead of / /i/. Spelling: adding the ing to a verb to form the present participle of the verb. Some students may misspell the verb particularly if the verb ends with a vowel i.e receive+ ing= receiveing, instead of dropping the e and then add ing i.e. receiving. Grammar. Some students may omit the adverb of frequency thinking the meaning would remain the same. Reference books: English Grammar in use- Raymond Murphy.
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Linguarama- English reference Guide. Word count: 1007 including bibliorgaphy.