Verbs - which tense? Learning objective We are learning to choose and use the correct tense in our writing.
What pupils already know • Pupils should already know what a verb is and also know the terms present tense and past tense. • They should already be familiar with and using the progressive present tense (e.g. ‘I am standing’) and progressive past tense (e.g. ‘I was shouting’) in their writing.
Key vocabulary verb, tense, present tense, past tense, future tense, present perfect tense
Teaching notes • Remind pupils that a verb is a doing word, using verbs that they are familiar with and that you can model in the classroom: for example – sit (I am sitting at my desk), open (Sally opens a book), look (Jamil looked at me). • Now show how some verbs change with different tenses: present tense: look (it is happening now) past tense: looked (we add ‘ed’ to show this happened in the past) future tense: will look (‘will’ shows that it is going to happen in the future) • Ask pupils to make present, past and future sentences with the verb play. • Introduce the present perfect tense. Example 1: Underline the verb in the sentence. Jamil has gone to the shops. The verb is ‘has gone’. It is in the present perfect tense. We use this tense to show something that began in the past and was completed in the present. • To make this tense we must use the present tense of the verb ‘have’. Example 2: Underline the verb in the sentence. I have waited for two hours. Ask pupils to identify the verb (‘have waited’) and to name the tense correctly. Establish the difference in meaning between ‘I have waited’ (action completed in the present – I am still waiting) and ‘I waited’ (action completed in the past – I am no longer waiting).
Independent activity Refer pupils to the Year 3 Grammar and Punctuation Pupil Book, pages 22–23.
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