Integrated Listening & Speaking Skills
  • Review: Aspects 2

    • Review: Aspects 2

    In this section, we will review the basics of tense and aspect. We will practice applying different aspects when speaking in the present. 

    Objectives

    1. Narrate in present
    2. Use tense to communicate changes in time while narrating
    3. Communicate changes in flow of action with aspect changes

    Present Narrations

    When we talk about narrations in terms of grammar and language, there are two very important vocabulary words: tense and aspect. These two concepts give us different, but essential, information about the story we are listening to.

    Tense
    tells us WHEN in time a verb occurred. Think of this as a timeline.
    Aspect
    adds information by telling us HOW that verb occurred in that time. Was it continuous? Or was the action in one particular moment?

    Simple Present

    The first aspect we will discuss is simple present. We use simple present to talk about an action that are happening right now, facts, or a habit/routine occurrence.

    For example:

    The balloon floats in the sky. (specific action happening right now)

    Snow is white. (a fact, general knowledge/truth)

    We have tests every Friday. (routine occurrence)

    This form should be fairly comfortable for you at this stage of your language learning. The simple present is usually the first form of the verb you learn to use.

    Sometimes, a narration in the past is told using the present for dramatic effect. It makes the listener feel like the events are recent and important now. This is called the historic present. You hear some examples of that here.

    You can also use the present to talk about the future, but that will be discussed later this semester.

    Present Progressive

    The second aspect we will discuss is present progressive. We use present progressive to talk about an action that started in the past, is happening now, and may continue into the future.

    For example:

    I am playing guitar. (ongoing action)

    Are you paying attention to me? (ongoing action)

    We are watching the soccer game. (ongoing action)

    Because the action is happening right now, the present progressive stands alone rather than being interrupted like the past progressive. It may be surrounded by other tenses and aspects, but the progressive sentence can be alone as in the sentences above. In past progressive, you often have a secondary action connected to the progressive sentence in another clause. For example, it would be much more likely to hear someone say, "My team was losing the game when I turned off the TV" instead of just saying, "My team was losing the game." 

    The Structure

    Present Progressive has two parts: the auxiliary be and a present participle. A present participle ends with -ing. Here are some examples.

    They are telling funny stories.

    I am thinking about my plans for the weekend.

    You can read more about present participles here.


    Present Perfect

    The third aspect we will discuss is present perfect. We use present perfect to talk about an action that has already happened once or many times before this moment. We use this when we are talking about an event that happened in an unspecified time.

    1. An experience in general, not a specific event in the past
    2. Changes over time
    3. Accomplishments
    4. Happened multiple times
    5. Something you are waiting for but you expect will happen

    For example:

    1. I have been to many different countries. (The speaker does not want to give details or a narration but is just stating the fact. It is not specified when or how many times.)
    2. Pollution around the world has increased. (Change over time, the timeframe does not matter to the speaker)
    3. The athlete has won many races. (accomplishment)
    4. I have seen that movie so many times! (multiple times, when is not important)
    5. The supervisor hasn't posted our weekly schedule yet. (something you expect will happen in the future)

    The Structure

    Present Perfect has two pieces: the auxiliary have and a past participle. A past participle can sometimes look like the past form of the word or can be totally different (irregular verbs). Here are some examples.

    The movie hasn't come out yet.

    There has been an important development in the case.

    List of English Past Participles

    Exercise 1: Listen & Speak

    In this video, author and vlogger John Green explains his experience with his friend running for a political office. While much of the story is told in the past, there are a lot of examples of present aspect as well.

     

    • What do you think are the most important qualities for a politician? 
    • Would you consider running for a political office? Why or why not?
    • Has someone you've known for a long time ever surprised you by making a big change? What was the change?

    Exercise 2: Charades

    1. Your teacher will assign you to a team. Choose one person on your team to be the first actor.
    2. The first actors from each team will see a verb. They will act the verb. The rest of the team will guess what verb it is by saying a complete sentence using present progressive like "She is swimming."
    3. The first team to correctly guess will get one point.
    4. Choose a new actor from your group and repeat.

    Note for teacher: You can change this activity by having students "buzz in" using the chat if you want to do this as a whole class activity. You can also provide a short list of verbs to each student in the group and have them do this activity in a Zoom breakout room. Another variation would be to have students find short videos of their list of words and have them screen share the videos in their breakout room to have the classmates guess.


    Exercise 3: Guess Who?

    1. You will write 6 sentences about yourself using simple present and present perfect. Use the chart to think of different information you can include.
      • ex. I have a dog. I have traveled to England. There are 5 people in my family. I run a mile every day. I don't like peanut butter. My favorite food is macaroni and cheese.
    2. When you have your sentences, you will send them to your teacher privately.
    3. Your teacher will then send you 6 sentences from one of your classmates.
    4. You will read the sentences to the class and everyone will try to guess who wrote the sentences.

    Exercise 4: Never Have I Ever

    1. Your teacher will choose one student to be it.* This student will think of a NEGATIVE present perfect sentence. This needs to be a true statement for that person.
    2. The student will say the sentence to the class.
      • Ex. I have never gone swimming in the ocean.
    3. All students will write "I have" or "I haven't" in the Zoom chat.
      • Ex. If I have gone swimming in the ocean, I will write "I have."
    4. The last person to write "I have" will be it next.
    5. The student will say the next negative present perfect sentence.
      • If you want to make the game a little more interesting, you can ask the last person to write "I have" for more details about the experience.
      • Ex. I have gone swimming in the ocean. My home is close to the beach, and the weather is hot in the summer. My family goes swimming often.

    *Cultural Note: When we play games where one person does one thing while the others do something else, we call that person it. For example, if you are playing tag or hide and seek with children, they would ask who is going to be it first. That means they want to know who will be chasing or looking for the other players first.


    Exercise 5: Speaking Prompts

    Click below to see different prompts. Practice giving present narrations by answering these questions. Record yourself or practice with a partner.

    Talk about daily or weekly habits that you have. Include facts about why you think these habits are important to add more detail. Remember to focus on correct use of the present forms of the verbs.

    Prompt 2 - Personal

    Tell a story about a time when you had a strong emotional reaction to a situation. Include as many details as you can about the experience. Use the historic present to tell the story.

    Prompt 3 - Personal

    Describe someone you are grateful for. Focus on giving a description rather than telling stories about memories with that person. Use a combination of simple, perfect, and progressive sentences.

    Personal 4 - Community

    Explain important traditions and/or customs in your country. Tell the general facts about these traditions as well as the typical events, clothing, food, music, or other cultural expressions connected to these traditions.

    Prompt 5 - Work

    Imagine you are in a job interview. The interviewer wants to know about your accomplishments and experiences that would make you a good candidate for the job. Do not tell specific stories (in the past), but instead focus on the general characteristics and experiences. 

    Prompt 6 - Academic

    Choose a specific topic (like computer science or psychology) that you are familiar with. Think about conversations that are happening about this topic right now (for example new developments, discoveries, or theories). Explain what people are saying about this topic right now


    This content is provided to you freely by EdTech Books.

    Access it online or download it at https://edtechbooks.org/advanced_mid_listening__speaking/review_aspects_2.