Name:

Grammar lesson 1: Verbs

Grammar lesson 2: Nouns

Grammar lesson 3: Adjectives

Grammar lesson 4: Articles and prepositions

Grammar lesson 5: Expanded noun phrases

Grammar lesson 6: Subject-verb agreement

Grammar lesson 7: Tense

Before unit After unit

Verbs

Transitive verbs

Intransitive verbs

Nouns

Proper nouns

Common nouns

Abstract nouns

Adjectives

Order of adjectives

Comparative adjectives

Superlative adjectives

Definite article

Indefinite article

Prepositions

Expanded noun phrases

The subject in a sentence

The subject of a sentence

Subject-verb agreement

Present simple

Present continuous

Past simple

Past continuous

Grammar lesson 1: What is a verb?

Read through the following paragraph in which a well-known hero is described. As

you are reading, highlight the VERBS in the passage.

Harry Potter was a wizard – a wizard fresh from his first year at Hogwarts School of

Witchcraft and Wizardry. And if the Dursleys were unhappy to have him back for the

holidays, it was nothing to how Harry felt.

He missed Hogwarts so much it was like having a constant stomach ache. He missed

the castle, with its secret passageways and ghosts, his lessons (though perhaps not

Snape, the Potions master), the post arriving by owl, eating banquets in the Great Hall,

sleeping in the four-poster bed in the tower dormitory, visiting the gamekeeper, Hagrid, in

his cabin grounds next to the Forbidden Forest and, especially, Quidditch, the most

popular sport in the wizarding world (six tall goalposts, four flying balls and fourteen

players on broomsticks).

All Harry’s spellbooks, his wand, robes, cauldron and top-of-the-range Nimbus Two

Thousand broomstick had been locked in a cupboard under the stairs by Uncle Vernon the

instant Harry had come home. What did the Dursleys care if Harry lost his place in the

house Quidditch team because he hadn’t practised all summer? What was it to the

Dursleys if Harry went back to school without any of his homework done? The Dursleys

were what wizards called Muggles (not a drop of magical blood in their veins) and as far as

they were concerned, having a wizard in the family was a matter of deepest shame. Uncle

Vernon had even padlocked Harry’s owl, Hedwig, inside her cage, to stop her carrying

messages to anyone in the wizarding world.

(Taken from ‘Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling)

A verb is __________________________________________________________.

Now look at the picture of the villain below. With a partner, thought shower as many

verbs as you can think of to describe the movements of this villainous creature.

My verb choices to describe the movements of Voldemort.

Our top 5 verb choices from the feedback session are:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Now you have chosen your verbs, in the space below construct a short paragraph in

which you describe the movement of Voldemort using your verb choices.

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1. Now look over your paragraph and highlight your verb choices.

2. Looking at the verbs you have used, choose two to upgrade with a thesaurus.

Which two verbs have you chosen to upgrade and why?

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3. Now choose three verbs you think are particularly effective. Write these verbs

below and explain why you feel they are a great choice in helping to present

the villainous character of Voldemort.

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Answer the two questions below:

1. What is a verb?

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2. Why is verb choice important when developing a character?

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Look at the following two sentences:

Voldemort struck Harry Potter

Voldemort fell.

What is the difference between the two verbs in the sentence?

Well, in the first sentence an object receiving the action whereas in the second

sentence there is no object receiving the action.

The first sentence uses a transitive verb. This is where the verb has an object

(such as Harry Potter) to receive the action. Here are some more examples:

Voldemort moved the dragon.

Harry Potter rode the Nimbus 2000.

The second sentence uses an intransitive verb. These verbs do not have an object

receiving the action.

Voldemort laughed.

Harry Potter screamed.

Activity 1:

Do the following sentences contain transitive or intransitive verbs?

Transitive verb

Intransitive verb

Dudley gasped.

Dudley fell off his chair with a crash.

Harry crossed the lawn.

Harry missed his best friends.

Aunt Petunia laughed.

Activity 2:

Now look at the following action shot. Construct five sentences below the picture

that use either transitive or intransitive verbs. At the end of the sentence identify

which type of verb you have used.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Grammar lesson 2:

What is a noun?

Look at the two pictures below. One is of a hero’s castle and one is of a villain’s lair.

Choose one of the pictures to focus on. Look carefully at the picture and label as

many nouns as you can see.

1. What is a verb?

2. What is the difference between a transitive and

intransitive verb?

Proper, common and abstract nouns

There are three main types of noun:

Proper nouns name a particular place, person, time or event and begin with a

capital letter.

Common nouns are general words for kinds of people, animals, places or things.

Abstract nouns refer to things that cannot be sensed.

On your desk are a series of cards with nouns on them. Your task is to organise

them by deciding which nouns are examples of proper nouns, which nouns are

examples of common nouns and which nouns are examples of abstract nouns.

Copy the nouns into the appropriate columns.

Extension:

Add the nouns from the starter activity and your picture.

Proper nouns Common nouns Abstract nouns

Using the nouns from the exercise, and your own choices, now construct a written

description of the hero’s castle or the villain’s lair, making sure your noun choices

conveys the heroic or villainous character and environment.

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Swap your piece of writing with another member of the class. When you receive someone else’s work, it is your job to highlight the nouns that have been used to describe the hero’s castle or the villain’s lair. Once you have highlighted the nouns, determine whether the nouns chosen are Proper (P), Common (C) or Abstract (A).

Extension:

Choose one of the nouns in the piece of writing that you think has been consciously chosen to create an effect. Write the noun below and explain why you like the noun choice.

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Activity 1:

Look at the following extract from Beauty and the Beast. Using one colour, highlight the verbs and, in another colour, highlight the nouns.

Once upon a time there lived a wealthy merchant and his three daughters.

One day, the father was to go to a far-off place and he asked his daughters what they

wanted on his return. The first and the second daughter asked for lovely dresses. But the

third daughter, whose name was Beauty, said, “Father, I only need a rose plucked by your

hand.” The merchant, on his way back, had to cross through the deep forest. It was dark

and the merchant tried to find a place to sleep. He suddenly found a huge castle and went

inside to find nobody. There was a huge table with delicious food and he ate it all. Then the

merchant went into the bedroom and slept on a soft and fluffy bed. The next day, too, the

merchant did not find anyone in the castle. He saw a beautiful rose bush growing in the

lawn and remembered Beauty’s gift. He plucked a red rose from the bush.

Suddenly, a ferocious looking beast sprang out of the bush. He was wearing fine silk

clothes and roared, “I gave you food and a bed to sleep in! And now, you are stealing my

roses!” The merchant was frightened and told the Beast about Beauty’s gift. The Beast

decided to let him go only if he promised to send Beauty to this castle. The merchant

agreed and ran back home. He cried and told his daughters about the Beast. But Beauty

loved her father a lot and agreed to go stay with the Beast.

Activity 2: Look at the nouns you have highlighted above and now categorise these, identifying whether they are proper nouns (P), common nouns (C) or abstract nouns (A).

Proper nouns (P) Common nouns (C) Abstract nouns (A)

Activity 3: Read the next paragraph in the story. Continue this paragraph choosing your nouns carefully. Choose nouns that continue to present the Beast in a kind way and in a warm environment.

The Beast treated Beauty with a lot of kindness. He was never rude to her. He let her stay in the biggest room and let her roam in the beautiful garden. Beauty would sit near the fireplace and sew while the Beast kept her company. At first, Beauty was afraid of the Beast but slowly, she began to like him.

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Grammar lesson 3: What is an adjective?

Below is an extract describing a heroic scene. Read through the description of this

scene with a partner and highlight the adjectives that have been used.

Suddenly Frodo noticed that a strange-looking weather-beaten man, sitting in the

shadows near the wall, was also listening intently to the hobbit-talk. He had a tall

tankard in front of him, and was smoking a long-stemmed pipe curiously carved. His

legs were stretched out before him, showing high boots of supple leather that fitted

him well, but had seen much wear and were now caked with mud. A travel-stained

cloak of heavy dark-green cloth was drawn close about him, and in spite of the heat

of the room he wore a hood that overshadowed his face; but the gleam of his eyes

could be seen as he watched the hobbits.

Adjectives describe nouns. There are two main types of adjectives: opinion adjectives and fact adjectives. Opinion adjectives always come first followed by fact adjectives. When there are two or more fact adjectives in a sentence, they usually go in the following order:

size – weight – shape – colour – material

Look at the following adjectives which have been chosen to describe our heroes. These adjectives, however, have been jumbled up. Construct sentences describing our heroes but ensure that you sequence the adjectives into the correct order.

1. To describe Batman’s cloak: black / leather / bulky / weighty

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2. To describe Katniss’s arrows: brown / elongated / reedy / wooden / fearsome

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3. To describe Mufasa’s mane: handsome / flowing / dense / golden / furry Extension: Now construct two sentences of your own, describing two heroes of your choosing, that uses a range of adjectives, ensuring that you sequence these adjectives into the correct order. Look at the heroine below. You are going to get creative and think of ambitious adjectives to describe this heroine. Around the classroom are different stations, according to the type of adjective, so you are going to have to think carefully about the range of adjectives you could use to describe this character. (Use the thesaurus to upgrade your vocabulary). Use the post it notes to record your chosen adjective at the appropriate station. Let’s record the class’s adjective choices here:

Adjectives to describe Katniss:

Opinion adjectives

Size Weight Shape Colour Material

Another two types of adjective are comparative adjectives and superlative adjectives.

A comparative adjective compare two nouns. If the adjective has one syllable, then in most cases you need to add –er. E.g. ‘slow’ to ‘slower’ in the sentence: ‘The bus is slower than the broomstick.’ However, if the adjective has two syllables or more, the word more or the word less should be placed in front of it. E.g. ‘colourful’ to ‘more colourful’ in the sentence ‘The potion was more colourful than the other potions.

A superlative adjective compare more than two nouns. If the adjective has one syllable, you usually add ‘-est’. If it has two syllables or more, the word most or the word least should usually be placed in front of it. E.g. ‘slow’ to ‘slowest’ as in the

sentence ‘This method of transport is the slowest’ and ‘colourful’ to ‘most colourful’ in the sentence ‘The potion is the most colourful of all of them.

Look at the table below and the adjectives on the left hand side. Can you construct the comparative and superlative form for each adjective? The first one has been done for you.

Comparative Superlative

compassionate

pleasant

kind

warm

good

evil

Ancient

revolting

foul

wicked

Extension: Using the picture of Katniss on the previous page, construct one sentence that contains a comparative adjective and one sentence that contains a superlative adjective.

1. ______________________________________________________________

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2. ______________________________________________________________

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Now, using all the work you have done in building up your adjectives this lesson, construct a description of Katniss. Your description must incorporate a range of adjectives. Highlight these adjectives in your piece of writing and to extend yourself, make sure you identify what type of adjective they are!

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Read through the following description of Thor – Norse God of Thunder taken from

www.mythicalrealm.com/legends/thor.html. As you are reading this extract, highlight

the adjectives that have been used to describe Thor.

The son of Odin and Jord, the earth goddess. Thor was the strongest of the Aesir,

the collective name for the principal race of Norse gods; they who lived in Asgard,

and with the All-Father Odin, ruled the lives of mortal men. Known as the god of

thunder, his hall is Bilskirmir, which is located in the region Thrundheim (“place of

might”). Thor married the golden-haired Sif, a Goddess of fertility.

Thor was usually portrayed as a large, powerful man with a red beard, flowing hair,

hearty enjoyment of food and drink and eyes of lightening. Despite his ferocious

appearance, he was very popular as the protector of both gods and humans against

the forces of evil. He even surpassed his father Odin in popularity because,

contrary to Odin, he did not require human sacrifices. In his temple at Uppsala he

was shown standing with Odin at his right side. The 11th century Christian

missionary Adam of Bremen, on noting the great temple of the gods in Uppsala,

Sweden, wrote, “Thor, they say, presides over the air, he governs the thunder and

lightening, the winds and rains, fair weather and crops…If plague and famine

threaten, a libation is poured to the idol Thor.”

Now, having read this passage, think about the range of adjectives used to describe

Thor. Which type of adjectives has the writer used?

Opinion

Size

Weight

Shape

Colour

Material

Comparative

Superlative

Which types of adjectives has the writer not included? Based upon your

understanding of the character, can you fill in the gaps by creating further

adjectives?

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Look at the following sentences describing our heroes and villains. Fill in the gap

using either a comparative or superlative adjective.

1. Harry Potter is _______________ than Voldemort.

2. Batman’s costume is _______________than Spiderman’s.

3. Katniss is ______________ female hero.

4. Thor is ______________ god.

5. Aragorn is _______________ than Boromir.

Now construct three of your own sentences using either the comparative or superlative form.

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Grammar lesson 4: What is the difference between an indefinite and definite

article? What is a preposition?

Read the following extract, taken from Beowulf. As you are reading the extract,

identify the writer’s use of nouns, verbs and adjectives.

I am Hygelac’s kinsman, one of his hall-troop. When I was younger, I had great

triumphs… My kinsmen seen me bolstered in the blood of enemies when I battled

and bound five beasts, raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea slaughtered sea-

brutes. I have suffered extremes and avenged the Geats (their enemies brought it

upon themselves: I devastated them).

Extension:

Choose one noun, one verb and one adjective you think are particularly effective and explain why.

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In English, there are two articles: the definite article and the indefinite article.

The word ‘the’ is known as the definite article and indicates a specific thing.

The word ‘a’ is known as the indefinite article because it is more general. The meaning of the article is similar to the number one.

Look at the following two sentences and consider the difference in meaning that is created by using the indefinite or definite article.

Harry Potter is a wizard. Harry Potter is the wizard.

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It is important to remember that when using the indefinite article, we use ‘a’ before a word beginning with a consonant and ‘an’ before a word beginning with a vowel.

Look at the following sentences and underline the articles that are used within the sentences.

1. Aragorn was at the inn waiting for the hobbits to arrive. Suddenly, a door opened

and they appeared.

2. A gust of smoke appeared from Harry Potter’s wand. The wand did not like the

spell that had been cast with it.

3. Katniss was a formidable opponent. The training she had received meant she

was strong enough to take on the others.

Now look at the next three sentences. Choose an appropriate determiner to fill in the gaps in the sentences below.

1. Batman was riding ______ bat-mobile when it crashed into _______ bridge.

2. _______ angry looking Thor was approaching his father. _______ storm had yet

to pass and he was preparing for _______ battle.

3. Dick Turpin was _______ highwayman. He travelled with _______ horse, named

Bess.

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between nouns or pronouns. They can show position according to place or time. Dumbledore put the sorting hat on the table. Frodo hid under the cliff face. Batman waited until after the hall had cleared. Thor left before the storm began and could not be found.

Prepositions of place After, among, at, behind, between, in, in front of, next to, beside, by, on, over, above, under, below

Prepositions of time at, in, on, before, during, after, from…to, past, til, until, by, since, for, ago

Look at the following sentences take from our heroic tales. Underline the prepositions in the sentences and identify whether they show time or place.

1. He crouched like a tiger about to spring / Then he looked up, and he looked down: / And chuckling low, like a country clown.

2. Aragorn and Gimli slept fitfully, and whenever they awoke they saw Legolas

standing beside them, or walking to and fro, singing softly to himself in his own tongue, and as he sang the white stars opened in the hard black vault above. So the night passed until, together, they watched the dawn grow slowly in the sky. ________________________________________________________________________________________

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3. And then the chair was facing Frank, and he saw what was sitting in it. His

walking stick feel to the floor with a clatter. He opened his mouth and let out a

scream. He was screaming so loudly that he never head the words the thing

in the chair spoke, as it raised a wand. There was a flash of green light, a

rushing sound, and Frank Bryce crumpled. He was dead before he hit the

floor.

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Now look at the following sentences. These sentences are missing a preposition.

Complete the sentences ensuring your choices are suitable.

1. Katniss waited __________ the signal had come that another had died.

Looking __________ to the sky, she knew the odds were ever in her favour.

2. Beowulf stood __________ King Hrothgar. He bowed and __________ King

Hrothgar could speak, he introduced himself.

3. Hermione stood __________ the hall entrance and breathed in. She had

waited __________ to enter.

Extension:

Construct three sentences of your own that incorporate prepositions for time or

place.

1. ______________________________________________________________

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2. ______________________________________________________________

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3. ______________________________________________________________

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Answer the following questions to review your learning so far:

1. What is a verb?

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2. What is the difference between an intransitive and a transitive verb?

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3. What are the three main types of noun? Alongside the terms, construct a definition and an example for each. ______________________________________________________________

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4. How can nouns and verbs enhance a description of a hero or a villain?

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5. What are adjectives?

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6. What order should adjectives go in, within a sentence?

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7. Construct an exemplar sentence that contains a verb, a noun and at least two adjectives in the correct order. Underneath the sentence, explain your verb, noun and adjective choices in terms of what effect you would like them to have on the reader. ______________________________________________________________

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8. In what way are comparative adjectives different from superlative adjectives?

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9. What is the rule for adjectives that contain more than one syllable if you want to make them comparative or superlative? ______________________________________________________________

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10. How are definite articles different from indefinite articles?

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11. What are the two types of preposition? Can you provide examples?

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Grammar lesson 5: How can I expand my noun phrases?

A phrase is a small group of words that form part of a sentence. Noun phrases have

a noun as the main word in the phrase. For example, the noun ‘man’ becomes a

noun phrase by adding the definite article ‘the’ in ‘the man’.

Look at the following stanza taken from the poem ‘The Highwayman’ and underline

the noun phrases you can see.

The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,

The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,

The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,

And the highwayman came riding –

Riding – riding –

The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.

Noun phrases can be expanded.

One way in which they can be expanded is by adding adjectives. For example,

The stormy wind

The brilliant moon

The winding road

The strong, ferocious highwayman came riding

Another way is by adding a prepositional phrase. For example,

The wind blew in the park

The moon shone down on the earth

The road ran along a river

We are now going to drag some noun phrases out from The Highwayman himself.

Decide whether these noun phrases have been expanded by adding adjectives OR

by adding prepositional phrases.

Adjectives Prepositional phrases

Look at the third stanza, taken from The Highwayman. The noun phrases have

been highlighted for you.

Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,

And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;

He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there

But the landlord’s black-eyed daughter,

Bess, the landlord’s daughter,

Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Can you identify five expanded noun phrases in the stanza above?

1. ______________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________

4. ______________________________________________________________

5. ______________________________________________________________

Now look at the other noun phrases from the stanza. Use either adjectives or

prepositional phrases to expand the noun phrases.

1. The cobbles

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2. His whip

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3. A tune

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4. The window

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Now, in your group table, look at the picture on the next page. Thought-shower as

many noun phrases as you can think of to describe what you can see in the picture.

Then, as a group, work to expand these noun phrases by adding adjectives or

prepositional phrases.

Finally, put these expanded noun phrases into either a piece of prose describing the

scene as presented in the picture or a stanza describing the scene as presented in

the picture.

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Now choose two of your expanded noun phrases and explain the effect that

expanding the noun phrases would have on the reader:

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Read through the following stanza, taken from The Highwayman. Can you identify

the noun phrases in this stanza?

She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good!

She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!

They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like

years,

Till now, on the stroke of midnight,

Cold, on the stroke of midnight,

The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!

Now expand these nouns phrases by either adding adjectives or by adding

prepositional phrases.

Adding adjectives Adding prepositional phrases

Her hands

Her fingers

The hours

The trigger

Now have a look at the following picture. Thought-shower expanded noun phrases

that could be used to describe the scene. Then construct a paragraph of descriptive

writing or a stanza that would feature in this poem, describing this scene.

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Grammar lesson 6: What is subject verb agreement?

Look at the following sentence describing The

Highwayman. Can you identify the noun, verb,

adjective and preposition within the sentence?

The Highwayman rode over the wasted land before arriving at the inn.

Noun/s: ____________________________________________________________

Verb/s: ____________________________________________________________

Adjective/s: ________________________________________________________

Preposition/s: ______________________________________________________

Extension

Now construct three of your own sentences using nouns, verbs, adjectives and

prepositions.

1. ______________________________________________________________

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2. ______________________________________________________________

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3. ______________________________________________________________

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The majority of sentences contain a subject and a verb. The subject is the person

or thing doing the action whilst the verb is the doing or being word. For example,

look at the following line (taken from our work on The Highwayman last lesson)

Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,

‘He’ is the subject with ‘he’ referring to the highwayman and ‘clattered’ is the verb.

Now look at the following sentences taken from ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’ by

Robert Browning. Can you identify the subjects and the verbs within each

sentence?

1. They fought the dogs and killed the cats.

Subject: ______________________________________________________

Verb: _________________________________________________________

2. At last the people in a body / To the Town Hall came flocking

Subject: ______________________________________________________

Verb: _________________________________________________________

3. At this The Mayor and Corporation / Quaked with a mighty consternation.

Subject: ______________________________________________________

Verb: _________________________________________________________

4. At length the Mayor broke silence.

Subject: ______________________________________________________

Verb: _________________________________________________________

5. He advanced to the table.

Subject: ______________________________________________________

Verb: _________________________________________________________

It is important that there is agreement between the subject and the verb. For

example, the Pied Piper might say:

I hate rats – this shows agreement between the subject and the verb.

However,

I hates rats – does not show agreement between the subject and the verb.

Look at the following sentences.

1) Identify the subject and the verb in each sentence.

2) Which sentences show subject-verb agreement and which don’t? Identify by

ticking the appropriate box.

3) Correct those sentences you don’t feel have subject-verb agreement.

Shows agreement

Doesn’t show

agreement

Corrections

They fought the dogs and killed the cats. Subject: Verb:

They bit the babies in the cradles. Subject: Verb:

At last the people in a body / To the Town Hall comes flocking. Subject: Verb:

An hour they seated in council. Subject: Verb:

At this the Mayor and Corporation / Quaked with a mighty consternation. Subject: Verb:

At length the Mayor breaks silence. Subject: Verb:

“Bless us,” cried the Mayor. Subject: Verb:

“Come in!” – the Mayor cried. Subject: Verb:

He advancing to the table. Subject: Verb:

Into the street the Piper stepped. Subject: Verb:

Re-write these sentences, changing either the form of the subject or the form of the

verb, so that they agree.

1. The Piper blows the pipe.

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2. A brown rat following the Piper for his life.

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3. The Pied Piper are leading the rats.

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4. The Mayors is happy that the Pied Piper got rid of the rats.

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5. The children has stepped onto the street.

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1. What is the subject of a sentence?

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2. What is the verb of a sentence?

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3. Identify the subject and the verb in each of the sentences below:

a. The Mayor looked blue.

Subject: ______________________________________________________

Verb: _________________________________________________________

b. The Mayor gave a knowing wink.

Subject: ______________________________________________________

Verb: _________________________________________________________

c. The Piper’s face fell.

Subject: ______________________________________________________

Verb: _________________________________________________________

d. “I’ve promised to visit by dinner-time.”

Subject: ______________________________________________________

Verb: _________________________________________________________

e. Once more he stept into the street.

Subject: ______________________________________________________

Verb: _________________________________________________________

Look at the following sentences.

1) Identify the subject and the verb in each sentence.

2) Which sentences show subject-verb agreement and which don’t? Identify by

ticking the appropriate box.

3) Correct those sentences you don’t feel have subject-verb agreement.

Shows agreement

Doesn’t show

agreement

Corrections

The Council standing as if they were changed into blocks of wood. Subject: Verb:

The children is merrily skipping by. Subject: Verb:

As the Piper turned from the High Street / To where the Weser rolled its waters. Subject: Verb:

Grammar lesson 7: What are tenses?

What is tense?

Tense (noun): a verb-based method used to indicate the time, and sometimes the continuation or completeness, of an action or state in relation to the time of speaking. (https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/tense-what.htm)

How many tenses are there in the English Language?

There are two tenses in English – past and present.

Present simple (e.g. I work, I play, I study)

We use the present simple for

Permanent states, repeated actions and daily routines (I live in Tidworth)

Scheduled actions (The bus to Wellington Academy leaves at 9.00am)

Likes and dislikes (He likes English).

General truths or laws of nature (The sun rises every morning over Ludgershall)

Now construct four sentences using the present simple tense.

1. To describe something you do on a daily basis.

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2. To describe something that is scheduled.

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3. To describe a like or a dislike. ______________________________________________________________

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4. To describe a general truth or law of nature. ______________________________________________________________

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Present continuous (e.g. I am working, I am playing, I am studying)

We use the present continuous for

Actions happening now, at the moment of speaking (I am writing)

Temporary actions (I am searching for my pen at the moment)

Actions that we have already arranged to do in the near future, especially when the time and place have been decided. (We are walking to school tomorrow morning).

Now construct three sentences using the present simple tense.

1. To describe an action happening now. ______________________________________________________________

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2. To describe a temporary action.

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3. To describe an action that has already been arranged to do in the near future.

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Look at the following sentences and decide whether the present simple or present continuous has been used:

Present simple

Present continuous

form.

The Highwayman is riding his horse.

The Pied Piper walks the streets of Hamelin.

Bess is plaiting her hair.

Bess lives in an inn.

The Mayor shouts in anger.

The Mayor is shouting in anger.

Now re-write the sentences into the alternative form. So, for example ‘The Highwayman is riding his horse’ is written using the present continuous. To write it using the present simple, we would need to adjust the verb. The new sentence would read: ‘The Highwayman rides his horse’.

1. The Pied Piper walks the streets of Hamelin.

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2. Bess is plaiting her hair.

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3. Bess lives in an inn.

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4. The Mayor shouts in anger.

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5. The Mayor is shouting in anger.

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Past simple

We use the past simple for

Actions which happened or finished at a definite time or stated time in the past (We left the house at 7.30am this morning)

Actions which happened repeatedly in the past but don’t happen anymore. (I often played football when I was younger).

Actions which happened immediately one after the other in the past. (First I showered, then I brushed my teeth and then I got dressed)

Now construct three sentences using the past simple tense.

1. To describe an action which happened or finished at a definite time or stated time in the past. ______________________________________________________________

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2. To describe an action which happened repeatedly in the past but doesn’t happen anymore. ______________________________________________________________

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3. To describe an action which happened immediately one after the other in the

past. ______________________________________________________________

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Past continuous

We use the past continuous for

An action which was in progress at a stated time in the past. We do not know when the action started or finished. (At 8 o’clock last night I was doing by homework)

A past action which was in progress when another action interrupted it. The past continuous is used for the action in progress and the past simple for the action which interrupted it. (I was writing my essay when my friend phoned me)

Two or more actions which were happening at the same time in the past. (My mum was reading the newspaper while my dad was watching the television)

Now construct three sentences using the past continuous tense.

4. To describe an action which was in progress at a stated time in the past. We do not know when the action started or finished. ______________________________________________________________

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5. To describe a past action which was in progress when another action interrupted it. The past continuous is used for the action in progress and the past simple for the action which interrupted it. ______________________________________________________________

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6. To describe two or more actions which were happening at the same time in

the past. ______________________________________________________________

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Now look at the following sentences and underline the correct form (past simple or past continuous) of the verb.

1. The Pied Piper slept / was sleeping at 9 o’clock this morning.

2. The residents of Hamelin all went / were going out last night to the inn.

3. Bess ate / was eating breakfast when the Highwayman arrived / was arriving.

4. The Mayor took / was taking notes when he was / was being at the meeting.

5. Bess had / was having a sleep when a parcel arrived / was arriving.

6. The Highwayman met / was meeting Bess yesterday.

What helped you to identify the correct verb choice?

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Summarise what you have learnt about the present simple and present continuous and the past simple and the past continuous in today’s lesson.

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