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Form, Meaning and Use
http://www.miyazaki-u.ac.jp...%20use.GIF
(adapted from Diane Larson-Freeman)
For every verb tense, certain properties of verbs and their use needs to be taught. The basic properties fall under the same three part teaching model used for all grammar forms: form, meaning, and use.
For verbs, form often comes first.
We must teach:
How to form the verb (using rods as visual reminders) and what the exceptions are. This includes spelling rules as well, but the spelling issues should be addressed after meaning and use are taught
a. How to conjugate the verb
b. How to form the verb in all there possible ways: affirmative, negative, and interrogative
(statement, negative, and question form)
Ex: I walk. I do not walk, Do I walk?
Meaning:
Students need to know what a certain form means and how it differs from other forms. They need to know that if you use the past tense, the receiver’s answer will relate to the past. If they did not want to know about the past, they have to change the verb form to match what they want to know (example, the present or future). They also need to know that if the ending of the verb is not conjugated correctly, the meaning will be confused and they may not get the information they hoped for, or they may confuse their audience.
Use:
Students need to know when to use each verb tense. They need to know that when they are talking about the present, they need to use one of the present forms, and if they want to talk about the past, they need to use one of the past forms. They also need to know what types of writings tend to use which types of verb forms. For example: memoirs tend to use the past tense forms and horoscopes tend to use the simple future.
Another VERY IMPORTANT part of learning use is learning which time words match with each tense and what the shades of meaning are for each time word. They should be aware of common signals (tomorrow=future, since=present perfect, always=simple present). In the simple present tense, as an example, they would need to learn the difference in shades of meaning between (sometimes, once in a while, occasionally, rarely, and seldom). The understanding of these words greatly affects their ability to use the tenses well.
Slides of a presentation on Form, Meaning, and Use by Diane Larsen-Freeman
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