complete verb form based learning: its uses and class room

Volume III, Issue V, July 2015 – ISSN 2321-7065

Refereed (Peer Reviewed) Journal www.ijellh.com 431

Complete Verb Form Based Learning: Its Uses and Class room

Procedures: An Innovative Method

M Raghu Rama Seshu

Associate Professor

K L University, Guntur

Dr. S.K Sheela

Associate Professor

KL University, Guntur

India

Abstract:

In most ESL/EFL class room contexts teaching the formation of Tenses and the interrogative

and negative sentences using the various forms of the verbs becomes a lot difficult task. Most

of the ESL and EFL learners find it difficult to understand the formation of tenses and apply

them in their day to day interaction.Similarly, formation of the interrogative and negative

verbs and their application is somewhat difficult for the learners. It becomes all the more

difficult for them to use the non-finites in the formation of tenses and the finites in the

formation of the interrogative and negative sentences. The reason for the difficulty in

forming the interrogative and negative verb forms using ‘not’ could be attributed to the

learners’ lack of understanding of the all the forms of the English verb.As far as traditional

teaching is concerned most teachers follow the three form --‘Do—did—done, go—went –

gone’ approach to teaching the English verb. The effectiveness of this approach is doubtful as

other forms are not discussed. Hence, most students fail to apply the verb forms in their

correct tenses and contexts. This has become a concern not only for the teacher but also for

the ESL and EFL learner, who has to work in a global business scenario after his education.

This inadequacy results in poor and embarrassing work place communication.



Introduction:

The verb is the heart beat of the language systems across the world. It is the meaning part of

the sentences telling about either the actions of the subject or the state of being or possession.

As regards the English verb, it has been dealt in ESL and EFL classes in an incomplete and

incomprehensive manner thus making it difficult to understand and apply it in real life

situations. Further, the later 20th

century learner of English as a Second Language or Foreign

Language had fewer opportunities of reading well written Standard English prose thus

distancing himself from learning the subtle applications of the Verb. Therefore, the learners’

understanding of the Verb has been faulty and hence his power of using it to mean correctly

into sentences has become haphazard. The reason for this confusion could be attributed to: 1.

the method of teaching the verb and 2. The teacher’s lack of complete understanding of the

English Verb, 3. The standard of the content and materials. Any case the learner suffers

significantly and fails to apply the verb in day to day conversation and other contexts.

Traditionally, the English verb has been taught in the ESL and EFL classes as having three

forms: for example: take—took—taken; do—did—done. Technically speaking there may not

appear any faults in this method and it is absolutely right as far as the native proficiency is

considered. But, for a Second language or foreign language learner the method is inadequate

as it does not familiarize him to the other forms of the verb. Even, most of the teachers

believe the first form: ‘take or do’ to be the present tense form and the other two are the past

and the past participles. It may be right as far as the lexis is concerned. But, theoretically the

first form represents the dictionary entry i.e. the infinitive. This may be explained through the

example of ‘BE’ which in fact is an infinitive. The method does not discuss the other

important and some of the most commonly used forms the verb-the present tenses, and the

present participle. Further, this method does not even touch upon the finites and the non-

finites- an understanding of which is very essential for effective language learning.

The learner always finds it difficult to use the verb in the present and past tenses as his

understanding is limited: hence he is prone to say ‘they doesn’t comes, he didn’t came’ etc.

Not only in the negative sentences but in the affirmatives too the learner would tend to say

‘he come or they comes’ etc. Another important defect of the method and the understanding

resulting from this method is in the use of the past tense. Most of the learners would easily

confuse between the past tense, the past perfect and the present perfect. Where a correction is

required with respect to the past tense, most students would use the past perfect in its place as



in ‘He has come yesterday’ if frequently corrected to ‘He had come yesterday’. These

specific cases have been considered as indicatives of the importance of covering the

finites.As regards the auxiliaries, specially the modals, many teachers would believe them to

be having three forms,- ‘will—would—would, can—could—could’. A deeper understanding

would reveal that there are only two forms ’Will—would, Can—could’. Other auxiliaries like

‘BE’ are discussed in the same manner as ‘are--were—been, am—was—been, is—was—

been’ which is technically correct.

This leaves the learner in a state of confusion when he has to use these verb forms in contexts

of his own or understand them when he reads a standard prose text. In order to enable the

learner to overcome the difficulty a more comprehensive method of teaching the English verb

is required. This new method should focus on not just three forms but should deal the verb in

its completeness. The method should naturally focus on the Infinitive, the Participles (The

Non-Finite Forms) and the Present and the Past Tenses (The Finite forms).It should also

discuss how various verb forms could be used in meaningful contexts in a comprehensive

manner. The method should also integrate in it the use of the auxiliaries, modals in order to

make the understanding more effective. When it is done it should enable the learner to

understand and apply the verb in a better fashion to make meaningful sentences to begin with.

This method should be particularly useful to the non-native speakers of English in the ESL

and EFL contexts.

Discussion:

Formation of Tenses:The method:

The English verb should be discussed in comprehensive way including the root form, the

finites and the participles in that order. For example:

Category 1

Infinitive FINITES Participles

V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3

Past V4 Past V5 Present V6

(to) take Take Takes Took Taken Taking

(To) Work Work Works Worked Worked Working

(To) Bring Bring Brings Brought Brought Bringing



From the above table it may be observed that the V1 and V2 look alike except in the nature

and kind. Similarly for all verbs in this category V3 is formed by adding an ‘s’ or ‘es’ to V1

and V6 is formed by inflecting ‘ing’ to V1. This may be one of the reasons why in traditional

methods we generally do not mention them and go with the three form approach- Take – took

– taken, etc.

Category 2: Auxiliaries


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


(to) do Do Does Did Done Doing

(To) Have Have Has Had Had Having

(To) Be Are/Am Is were / was Been Being

This category of the verbs represents the auxiliaries. It may be observed that all English verbs

have six forms, whether they belong to category 1 or 2, except the defective verbs- the

Modals,which are discussed below. It may also be observed that ‘BE’ is the only verb in the

entire language to have two different forms in the Past Tense

Category 3: Modal Auxiliaries


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


XXX Will XXX Would XXX XXX

XXX Can XXX Could XXX XXX

XXX May XXX Might XXX XXX

XXX Must XXX XXX XXX XXX

Other auxiliaries apart, in an ESL/EFL class we may choose to discuss some of the most

frequently used auxiliaries as indicated above. These auxiliaries are also called the defective

verbs in that they can neither form the participles and nor the Present Tense Singular nor the

infinitive. ‘Must’ doesn’t even have the Past tense form. In this context, it may be noted that



some of the ESL/EFL instructors believe that the root of these verbs is the infinitive, but we

cannot have ‘to can or to must’.

From the above, we come to know that there are only two natural tenses in the English

Language: they are the Present tense plural (V2) and Present Tense Singular (V3) and the

past tense (V4). They are the finite forms of the given English verb. But the traditional

knowledge says that there are 12 tenses, which is true. These twelve tenses are formed by

taking the finite forms of the auxiliaries beforenon finite forms of the category 1 verbs.

Formation of Future Tense, Verb Expressing ability, possibility and obligation or compulsion

using the infinitive…

The infinitive being a non finite can only express future tense when it is used with the help of

the finite form of ‘will’. It should be noted that without using a finite no tense could be

possible. Thus:

Future Tense


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


(to) take

(To) Work

(To) Bring


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


XXX Will XXX Would XXX XXX

XXX Can XXX Could XXX XXX

XXX May XXX Might XXX XXX

XXX Must XXX XXX XXX XXX

From the above the future tenses of the given main verbs will be:

Will + take (V1), will+ work (V1), will + Bring (V1),

Similarly to express ability, possibility or compulsion we may use: can, may, must + V1 as in

can + work, may + take, Must + bring etc.



For improving the understanding of the learners in the class room context,adverbs of time

such as tomorrow, after some time, next week etc. may be used with these tenses that refer to

future time.

For Example:

1. He will come tomorrow.

2. We will participate in the competition next week.

3. He will take the classes from tomorrow.

The Present and the Past tenses:

The present and the Past tenses are natural tenses; hence no help of any other verbs is

required to form them. However, in the class room context it should be detailed that they are

the natural finites and it’s only the finites that express tense and time naturally on their own.

Without a finite no meaning could be made out of sentences. For improving students’

understanding and making them apply the tense in their day to day conversation such adverbs

of time may be used as ‘every day, every week, always, generally’ etc. that express

frequency, routine, universality, in case of the present tense and adverbs like ‘yesterday, last

week, last year etc. for explaining the Past tense. Exceptions may be discussed at an

advanced stage of learning.

For example:

1. We go to temple everyday

2. He always comes late to school.

3. They generally go to bed at 10 PM

4. We went for the movies yesterday.

5. They visited our house last week

The Perfect tense:

The perfect tense is formed with the past participle. It is formed by adding the finite forms of

have before the past participle forms of the verbs.


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


(to) take Taken

(To) Work Worked

(To) Bring Brought



Have Has Had

Thus, the present perfect is formed by using the present tense forms (V2 and V3) {Finites} of

‘Have’. Hence, Have + taken (V5), Have + Worked (V5) and Have + Brought (V5) give us

the present perfect tenses agreeing with plural subjects, and Has+ taken (V5), Has + Worked

(V5) and Has + Brought (V5) give us the present perfect tenses agreeing with the singular

subjects. Whereas Had + Taken, had + Worked and Had + Brought give us the past perfect

tenses.

In the class room context, adverbials of time such as ‘yet, already, just, by the time, when’

etc. can be discussed to improve learner understanding.

For Example:

1. We have just completed our dinner.

2. They have already finished their home work.

3. Have you finished the project yet?

4. By the time we reached the station the train had already left.

5. When we reached the cinema, the movie had already started.

The Progressive Tenses:

The progressive tenses are formed by adding the finite forms of ‘BE’ before the present

participle of the Category 1 main verbs. As we know that there are two basic progressive

tenses: the present progressive and the past progressive.


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


Taking

Working

Bringing

Are/Am Is Were / was

The present progressive is formed by using the present finite forms of ‘BE’ before the present

participle form(V6) of the main verb. Thus: Are + Taking (V6) Present Progressive Plural,



Am + Working (V6) Present Progressive with ‘I’ the first person pronoun and Is + Bringing

(V6) the present Progressive singular are formed. Similarly, The Past progressive is formed

by using the Past finites of ‘BE’ were and was before V6. Were + Taking for plural subjects

and was + Working for singular subjects. The adverbials used most commonly are ‘now, at

this moment’ etc

For example:

1. We are watching the TV now.

2. They are dancing at this moment.

3. He is singing on the stage now.

Future Perfect Tense:

We know from the above discussion that the future tense is formed by adding will before the

Infinitive and the perfect tense is formed by adding the finite forms of ‘Have’ before the past

participle. By integrating the two we get the future perfect tense.

Thus: for a verb like Take or Work or Bring:


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


Will Would

Can Could

May Might

Must


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


(To) Have


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


Taken



Worked

Brought

The future tense is formed as Will + Take and the Perfect will be Have (V2)/ Has (V3)/ Had

(V4) + Taken (V5).

We know that the future will be formed by using will before V1 and the perfect tense is

formed by using finites of have before V5 of the main verbs. What naturally follows is that

when we have to form the future perfect tense we have to use the infinitive ‘Have’ (V1) after

‘will’ followed by the Past participle. Hence the future perfect tense of Take will be: Will +

Have (V1) + Taken (V5), where ‘will’ is the finite form. This justifies the earlier rule that V5

should take have forms to give us perfect tenses as well. Similarly other forms ‘Can have

Taken, May have taken and Must have taken’ are formed to express ability, possibility or

compulsion respectively.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense:

We know the form of the Future perfect tense as will+ Have (V1) + Past participle. Now we

have to add the progressive. Logically the progressive is formed with ‘Be’ forms followed by

the Present participle, i.e. are /am/is/were/was + V6. But by the nature of the definition

perfect continuous. We need to use the past participle before the V6 to form the future perfect

continuous.


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


Will Would

Can Could

May Might

Must


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


(To) Have




V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


Been


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


Taking

Working

Bringing

Hence the future perfect continuous tense’s form will be:Will + Have (V1) + Been (V5) +

taking (V6). Going by the reverse order, the V6 form takes the be form before it, and it

should be in the perfect form i.e. V5. The V5 should take the Have forms before it hence the

V1 of Have. In order to get the future we need to use will. Hence ‘will have been taken’ is

justified.

Future Continuous Tense:

Having understood the formation of the future perfect it would be a lot easier to learn the

formation of the future continuous tense.

Future is represented by ‘will’ continuous is represented by the Present participle placed after

‘Be’. Logically in the future tense the V1 should be used. The V1 of Be is ‘Be’ itself. Hence

the structure of the future perfect is: Will + Be (V1) + Taking (V6)


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


Will Would

Can Could

May Might

Must




V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


(To) Be


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


Taking

Working

Bringing

Explanation

Present Perfect Continuous and the Past Perfect continuous tenses:


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


Have Has Had


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


Been


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


Taking

Working

Bringing



It has already been discussed how to form the Present perfect tense. Typically the form of the

present perfect tense is V2/ V3 + V5 for the Present perfect tense agreeing with plural

subjects and Present perfect tense agreeing with singular subjects respectively.

The continuous tense is formed with the Present participle after the Finite forms of ‘Be’. By

integrating these two above principles we get the Present perfect continuous tense. Thus:

Have(V2)/ Has (V3) +past participle of ‘Be’ (V5) + V6 of the main verb gives us the present

perfect continuous. For example: Have (V2)/Has (V3) + been (V5) of be + taking for plural

and singular subject respectively.

Similarly;

Had (V4) + V5 of ‘be’ + V6 of the main verb gives us the past perfect continuous tense.

For example: Had (V4) + been (V5) + taking.

Conclusion: An understanding of all the six forms of the English verb will enable the learners

to apply the verb in its various tenses in a better fashion and with greater effectiveness. This

will also enable the learners to work out certain grammar aspects with ease and effect.

Work Sheets

Form different tenses using the given main verbs and auxiliaries


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


(to) Read

(To) Write

(To) Say

(to) Sing

(To) Make


V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


Will Would

Can Could

May Might

Must




V1 Present Tense

Plural V2

Present Tense

Singular V3


(To) Have

(To) Be

References

Biber, Douglas, Susan Conrad and Geoffrey Leech. 2002. Longman Student Grammar of

Spoken and Written English. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education Ltd.

Brown, Keith and Jim Miller. 1991. Syntax: A Linguistic Introduction to Sentence Structure.

2nd ed. London, UK: Harper Collins Academic.

Carter, Ronald and Michael McCarthy. 2006. Cambridge Grammar of English. Cambridge,

UK: Cambridge University Press.

Frawley, William. 1992. Linguistic Semantics. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Greenbaum, Sidney and Randolph Quirk. 1990. A Student’s Grammar of the English

Language. London, UK: Longman.

Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey Pullum. 2002. The Cambridge Grammar of the English

Language. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

2005. A Student’s Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University

Press.

complete verb form based learning: its uses and class room

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