Lesson plan

Date: 14th of November, 2009

Mentor: Claudia Leah

Student: Silviana Secara

School: Faculty of Letters

Class: 1st year MA

Level: Advanced

Title of the lesson: Verb Aspects

Type of lesson: Grammar lesson

Number of students: 25

Time: 50 minutes

Objectives: By the end of the lesson students will be able to:

● define the term aspect;

● mention the verb aspects and the verb tenses used for every aspect;

● say when the main tenses are used and how they are formed;

Teaching materials: blackboard, handouts.

Modes of interaction:

● teacher-whole class

● student-whole class

● group work

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Stages of the lesson/time

Objectives Teacher’s activity Student’s activity Mode of interaction

1.Warm-up 1’

2. Lead in 4’

To organize studentsTo check students’ homework

To introduce the new context

“Good morning. How are you today? Are you ready for a grammar lesson?”

Teacher gives the students a sheet of paper containing a joke (handout 1).

The teacher says: ‘Look at the joke, especially at the bolded words and try to tell me the tenses of the verbs and mainly the aspects.’

Students answer: “Good morning, teacher! Yes, we are.”

Students receive the handouts and read the text quietly.

Ss: ’The tenses are: Was- Past Indefinite, indefinite aspectHad been running- Past Perfect Continuous, continuous aspectAre you running- Present Continuous, continuous aspectWas trying- Past Continuous, continuous aspectHas…moved- Present Perfect Indefinite, indefinite aspect

Teacher- whole classStudent- whole class

Teacher-whole classStudent-whole class

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3. Presentation 15’

3. Practice 20’

To make students be aware of certain key concepts that are vital for the students to understand the meaning and the use of grammar structures

To revise and consolidate students’ knowledge of the grammar structure

The T gives the Ss handout number 2, where they can find the information the teacher is presenting.

The T groups the Ss into six teams. Each team has two tenses (Present Tense Indefinite/ Present Tense Continuous, Present Perfect Indefinite/Present Perfect Continuous, Past Tense Indefinite/Past Tense Continuous, Past Perfect Indefinite/Past Perfect Continuous, Indefinite Future/Future Continuous, Future Perfect Indefinite/Future Perfect Continuous) of which they have to mention: when the tenses are used, emphasizing the main difference between them, as well as their forms.

Ss pay attention or take notes.

Ss work for five minutes and then one person from the group mentions the required things. (annex 1)

Teacher-whole class

Teacher-whole classGWStudent-whole class

3

4. Production 9’

To consolidate the grammar structure

To see if students can form the language correctly

The T gives the Ss a handout to practice the discussed tenses. (handout 3)

The T shows the Ss an image (handout 4) telling the Ss: ‘Last night, Mr. Pratt had these two dreams. How do you think he described them? You have five minutes to put down his dreams’T: ‘Your time is up. Who wants to read us Mr. Pratt’s dreams?’

T: ‘Very good. Who wants to read the second dream?’

Ss solve the exercises on the handout.

Ss work in the same groups already formed.

Ss:’ Last night I has a very strange dream. As I was doing my ordinary shopping, you know, some milk, bread and stuff a policeman came to me. He grabbed my hand, and told me to go to the police station because I had stolen some glasses, which obviously I hadn’t. Thank God, I woke up, and realized it was just a stupid dream.’

S: ‘the other dream was even stranger. I was walking with my wife in the park, trying to

Teacher-whole classStudent-whole class

Teacher-whole classPair WorkStudent-whole class

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5. Feed-back 1’ To show them appreciation

To stimulate their further participation

T: ‘That was very funny. You really have imagination.’

T: ‘Thank you very much for participating actively. You did very well today. Good-bye!’

renew our love, when a man with a knife told us to give him our money. We didn’t have any money, because we are both working for the state, so with the twenty-five percent cut off, we cannot afford many things. Anyway, the thief took my wife. Unfortunately, it was just a dream.’

Ss: ‘Thank you. Good bye!’ Teacher-whole classStudent-whole class

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Handout 1

A joke

Mention the tenses and the aspects of the bolded

verbs:

Roger's face was very red because he had been running up the street as fast as he

could. As he came into the house his mother asked:

‘Why are you running?’

‘I was trying to stop a fight.’

‘Who was fighting?’

‘Me and the big boy who has just moved into the house at the bottom of the street!’

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Handout 2

The Aspect is a grammatical category of verbs which implies the duration of the

action or of the state it expresses.

Indefinite or common aspect

Continuous or progressive aspect

Frequentative aspect

Some grammarians add another aspect: the Perfective aspect, which includes all perfect

tenses.

The indefinite aspect denotes an action without stressing the idea that it

develops in time. It stresses the idea that the action is complete.

The continuous aspect is always formed of a tense of the auxiliary verb to be

and the indefinite participle of the verb to be conjugated. It does not describe the whole

event. The continuous aspect indicates an action or a state in progress at a given moment.

There are some cases when the continuous aspect is not used:

The verb to be is used in the continuous aspect only to express a temporary

state: He is being mean to us.

Verbs of perception (to see, to hear, to smell, to taste)

Verbs like to smell, to taste, to fell may be used in continuous forms when they imply a

voluntary action: I am smelling the flower.

I smell your perfume.

Verbs denoting feelings, attitudes: to like, to hate, to love, to prefer, to

dislike.

Sometimes, to denote temporary feelings, some of them may be used in continuous

forms: I’m loving your painting.

Verbs expressing wish: to wish, to want, to desire: I wish to see the film.

Verbs expressing mental activities: to know, to think, to understand, to

believe.

I think you are right. (Cred ca ai dreptate.)

I am thinking of you. (Ma gandesc la tine.)

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Therefore, when the verb to think means a gandi it may be used in continuous form.

Auxiliary verbs, link verbs, modal verbs and also verbs like to belong, to

possess, to owe, etc.

He has a phone.

When these verbs imply a certain emotional force they may be used in continuous forms,

but usually accompanied by adverbs like always, forever.

You are always keeping secrets from me!

The frequentative aspect denotes a repeated action.

Will/would + short infinitive

When the cat’s away, the mice will play.

This part of speech, which is the verb, is a very complex matter and aspect comprises all

moods and tenses.

Regarding the indicative mood, the following chart summarizes tenses used in

indefinite aspect and continuous aspect.

Indefinite Aspect, Indicative MoodIndefinite Aspect, Indicative Mood

IIPresent Indefinite

Present Perfect Indefinite

Past Tense Indefinite

Past Perfect Indefinite

Indefinite future

Future Perfect Indefinite

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Regarding Conditional mood, there are tenses which are used in indefinite aspect

and others used in continuous aspect. In indefinite aspect we encounter: Present

Conditional and Past Conditional. Tenses like Conditional Present Continuous and

Past Conditional Continuous are used in continuous aspect.

Present Conditional denotes an action whose fulfillment depends on the fulfillment

of a condition. Past Conditional denotes an action whose fulfillment depended on the

fulfillment of a condition. The Conditional Present Continuous denotes an action in

progress while Past Conditional Continuous denotes an action in progress in the past.

Continuous Aspect,Continuous Aspect, Indicative MoodIndicative Mood

Present Continuous

Present Perfect Continuous

Past Continuous

Past Perfect Continuous

Future Continuous

Future Perfect Continuous

Indefinite Aspect, Conditional MoodIndefinite Aspect, Conditional Mood

Present ConditionalShould/would + short infinitive

I should ask.

sPast Conditional

Should/would + short perfect infinitiveI should have written.

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The Subjunctive mood is mainly represented by the following forms: Present

Subjunctive, Past Subjunctive and Perfect Subjunctive. They are in indefinite aspect.

Aspect is to be found also in non-finite verbal forms like infinitive. For example,

the verb to go has the form of long infinitive, indefinite aspect, while the form to be going

is used in continuous aspect.

Continuous Aspect, Conditional MoodContinuous Aspect, Conditional Mood

Present Conditional Continuousconditional present of to be + infinitive participle

I should be writing.

Past Conditional Continuousconditional past of to be + indefinite participle

I would have been writing if I had not been so busy.

Indefinite Aspect, Subjunctive MoodIndefinite Aspect, Subjunctive Mood

Present SubjunctiveShort infinitive

Long live the queen!

Perfect SubjunctiveHAD + past participle

I would have learnt if I had been you.

Past Subjunctive2nd form of the verb

I would learn if I were you.

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Handout 3. Present Indefinite or Present Continuous?

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Present Perfect Simple or Present Perfect Continuous?

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Which of the Past Tenses?

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14

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Handout 4

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Annex 1

Present Tense Indefinite refers to:

general truths or statements (Water boils at 100oC)

habitual actions: I often read a good novel.

permanent state or characteristic: He lives in London.

Present Tense Continuous is used:

to denote actions of short duration: What are you reading now?

to denote actions or states stressing the idea of repetition: He is always

doing that.

to show an action that occurs at the moment of speaking: I am watching TV.

To refer to a future action: I am leaving you.

Present Perfect Tense is used:

to denote an action that began in the past and may still go on at the moment

of speaking: I have opened the book.

Present Perfect Continuous is used:

to denote an action that began in the past, and continues in the present but

stressing the idea of duration: I have been waiting you for twenty minutes.

Past Tense Indefinite is used:

to express actions that happened in the past: I wrote a short story yesterday.

Past Tense Continuous is used:

to express a continuous action in the past: I was watching TV when she came

home.

Past Perfect Indefinite is used to denote an action begun and finished in the past,

before another action in the past: He wrote his homework after he had finished the

classes.

Past Perfect Continuous is used to denote continuous actions in the past before

another action in the past: She had been writing for two hours when her mother came.

Indefinite Future is used to express an action in the future: I will keep my

promises.

Future Continuous denotes an action in progress in the future: Tomorrow I will be

working all day long.

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Future Perfect Indefinite expresses an action that will occur in the future before

another future moment, or an action begun before a future moment and still going on at

that future moment: We will have known each other for two months by the end of the

year.

Future Perfect Continuous denotes an action begun before a given moment in the

future and continuing: When you come back, I will have been waiting for you for more

than half an hour.

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