English for Academic Skills Independence [EASI]

Transcription

1 Session 8 English for Academic Skills Independence [EASI] Grammar

2 Quiz Quick question from Session 7 What are the three most important tenses for university study?

3 The three most important tenses for academic writing Present simple tense: Smith (2012) considers Past simple tense: The soil was placed in Present perfect: There has been an increase in

4 By the end of this session you will be able to state the form and function of present perfect This is one of the most important tenses for academic writing

5 Present perfect: Form Note that the verb group has two parts Subject Verb group I have finished my essay.

6 Present perfect: Form The auxiliary verb is a helping verb Subject auxiliary verb main verb I have finished What tense is the auxiliary verb? Present The auxiliary verb must agree with the Subject

7 Present perfect: Form The auxiliary verb must agree with the Subject Subject auxiliary verb main verb She has finished

8 Present perfect: Form The auxiliary verb must agree with the Subject Subject auxiliary verb main verb She has finished What is the form of the main verb? The main verb in this example ends in -ed It is called the past participle

9 Present perfect: Form The main verb in this example has a regular spelling Subject auxiliary verb main verb She has finished past participle The past participle of the verb finish is regular because it ends in -ed

10 Present perfect: Past participles Some past participles are regular (ending in -ed ) Others are irregular accepted consulted demanded revised studied suggested transferred regular irregular been become begun broken built done grown

11 Present perfect: Past participles Activity: Identify the correct form BASE FORM PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE be become begin - build do grow - became - broke - did - been - begun broken built - grown

12 Present perfect: Past participles Set yourself a goal to learn all of the meanings and spellings of the irregular verbs in English (see list) BASE FORM PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE be become begin break build do grow was became began broke built did grew been become begun broken built done grown

13 Present perfect: Function Activity Read this example: My Facebook account has been hacked. What is the basic meaning associated with the present perfect?

14 Present perfect: Function Past Present Future My Facebook account has been hacked. Something happened in the past at an unknown or unstated time

15 Present perfect: Function Past Present Future My Facebook account has been hacked. Shows connection between a past event/activity and the present

16 Present perfect: Function Past Present Future My Facebook account has been hacked. Shows connection between a past event/activity and the present

17 Traps Many non-native speakers of English avoid the present perfect Instead, they use either the present simple x Or the x past simple This makes their English sound ungrammatical

18 Which tense? To understand the present perfect, you need to compare it with the present simple and the past simple Note that the present simple is only used in English for specific meanings [daily routine, feelings, etc] The past simple is typically used with past time adverbials

19 Past simple tense Use the past simple with past time adverbials: Yesterday A week ago Last year In 2010 Yesterday, my Facebook account was hacked.

20 Past simple tense Past Present Future Yesterday, my Facebook account was hacked. A completed event At a specific time in the past

21 Present perfect: Function Past Present Future My Facebook account has been hacked. If you do not say when it happened, you should probably use the present perfect

22 Present perfect: Function Past Present Future Look! My Facebook account has been hacked. If you want to draw attention to something that is interesting or important, you can imagine pointing and saying Look!

23 Present perfect: Function Activity 2 Use these verbs to make a sentence which announces something of interest. Start each sentence with Look! Look! I ve begun my assignment. begun broken bought caught done

24 Present perfect: Function Past 2002 Present Future You can also use present perfect to refer to something which began in the past, is still true now and could continue into the future: I have lived in New Zealand since 2002.

25 Present perfect: Function Consider the contrast between these two sentences: I have lived in New Zealand since [present perfect] I arrived in New Zealand in [past simple]

26 Present perfect: Function Past 2002 Present Future I have lived in New Zealand since Shows connection between a past event/activity and the present

27 Past simple tense Past Present Future I arrived in New Zealand in A completed event At a specific time in the past

28 Academic writing which tense? The problem for many students is knowing when to use the appropriate tense. Do not avoid the present perfect learn how to use it! This is one of the most important tenses for academic writing

29 Academic writing which tense? In academic writing, the present perfect is used to refer to a situation which started in the past at an unknown or unstated time - and which has some connection with the present: The social networking website Facebook enormously popular throughout the world.

30 Academic writing which tense? In academic writing, the present perfect is used to refer to a situation which started in the past at an unknown or unstated time - and which has some connection with the present: The social networking website Facebook has become enormously popular throughout the world.

31 To summarise You will communicate more effectively if you are aware of the following: Use of present perfect for academic writing Structure Uses

32 End of classroom session In addition to the Grammar Activity sheet, here are some follow-up activities you might like to do

33 Homework tasks 1 & 2 1. Familiarise yourself with the main function of the present perfect 2. Set yourself a goal to learn the past participle form of common irregular verbs in English. There are many lists, eg in dictionaries or online. 3. Do the activity on the website

34 Homework task 3 Read about tenses in English Within a functional model of grammar, the concept of tense comes into play when considering the clause from an interpersonal perspective; Remember the diagram

35 Tenses review How many tenses are there in English? What are their names?

36 Two tenses in English Strictly speaking, there are two tenses in English: present simple past simple All other so-called tenses are a combination of tense and aspect.

37 12 tenses in English Sometimes, for convenience, it is helpful to say that there are 12 tenses in English 1: Simple Present 2: Present Perfect 3: Present Continuous 4: Present Perfect Continuous 5: Simple Past 6: Past Perfect 7: Past Continuous 8: Past Perfect Continuous 9: Simple Future 10: Future Perfect 11: Future Continuous 12: Future Perfect Continuous

38 Grammatical term tense Strictly speaking, the grammatical term tense refers to two options in English: Present simple Most birds fly. Past simple The Titanic sank in 1912.

39 Grammatical term aspect The grammatical term aspect is related to tense, and refers to ways of considering the verb. There are two options in English: Continuous Perfect aspect can apply to events situated in the past, present, or future

40 Aspect and tense combined Aspect and tense are typically combined, eg Present continuous Past continuous We are studying the Treaty. I was revising for the exam. Present perfect Past perfect I have finished my essay. I noticed that my computer had crashed.

41 For convenience: 12 tenses in English It is helpful if you can see all of the tenses in a table

42 For convenience: 12 tenses in English simple continuous perfect perfect continuous Present study studies am studying are studying is studying has studied have studied has been studying have been studying Past studied was studying were studying had studied had been studying Future will study will be studying will have studied will have been studying