Have you ever wondered why you still cannot use English tenses properly regardless of learning them countless times in class? Little did you know that in order to master tenses in English, you need to follow specific steps (which part of tenses you should study first and which part should be learned next, and so on). With that being said, I would like to share with you 3 simple steps to study English tenses effectively.
I. Forms of the tenses:
To begin with, students had better study how to form tenses correctly (what the forms of Simple present in positive, negative, and interrogative sentences are.). Additionally, they have to study how the forms differ from one another when being used with be and other verbs.
For example:
-She is an Aii student. (Present Simple with be)
-She goes on foot to school every day. (Present Simple with other verbs)
II. Spelling Notes in each tense:
This is when students study how to use main verbs correctly in certain tenses in English; it is technically involved with adding “-s-/es/-ies” to the verbs used with third persons singular–he, she, it (as in Present Simple) or adding “-ed” to the regular verbs used in Past Simple and …etc.
For example:
-She buys me a cake every year. (buys used with She, Present Simple)
-They stabbed him in the back last night. (stabbed used in Past Simple)
III. Meaning and Usage:
This is the final stage of studying tenses in English. Students are advised to learn how to use each English tense in the correct context. For instance, we use Present Simple for a habitual action, general truth, timetable, and zero conditional, whereas Past Simple is used for a complete action in the past with exact time, past habits used with adverbs of frequency, series of activities, an action that interrupts Past Continuous tense, second conditional and the like.
It can be concluded that no matter which tense students are studying, they have to start by learning the forms of the tense first and foremost. Then, carry on to study the spelling notes of that tense and end up exploring how to employ the tense in the right situations.
By: Mr. Mohammathnasiet Sales