Verb tenses receive a lot of attention in English instructionin fact, they

receive perhaps more attention than any other aspect of grammar.

And with good cause: there are thirteen verb tenses in English, if you look at
tense as ways to discuss time. The English-speaking world is obsessed with
time and its passage: clocks of various types are ubiquitous in most Englishspeaking countries; a watch is still considered a fine gift marking the passage
into adulthood; tardiness is frowned on, and so forth. This value of time may be
why so much attention is given to verb tense instruction: given our obsession
with time, we need a way to talk about it. So the attention to verb tenses is not
the problem. The concern is student papers coming in, even after weeks of drill
in the simple present and past, missing all of the -ed -s endings. Teachers
often shrug and say Its developmental.

That may be so, but it begs the question of whether drills in verb tense make
sense if students arent developmentally ready for the material anyway. I
suspect, however, something else is going onthere is a problem with the
sequence of instruction. Rather than plowing through simple present, then
simple past, and simple future, because supposedly these are easier to learn, I
suggest all of the present tenses be taught together, then all of the past, and
then future. Why should the tenses be taught in this manner?

There are multiple reasons tenses should be taught within a time frame.

Put the verb tense in context

Language learning, like learning in general, occurs in relation to other learning.

The simple present tense is best learned in relation to the present continuous:

I drive a car every day, but I am not driving right now, demonstrates the
contrast between the simple present and present continuous: a habitual
activity rather than one engaged in at the moment.

Give students more language to use

Students have a difficult time with a typical assignment like My Likes and
Dislikes and My Daily Routine if they only know one present verb tense well.
Even if the assignment calls on the use of mostly the simple present, students
can write more, and write more correctly, with other present tense verbs, like
the continuous and the perfect.

How to Teach Verbs According to their Time Frames

About Verb Tense in English

Verbs in English actually have two parts: the time and the aspect, or way of
looking at that time. So, for example, within the present time frame, there are
three aspects commonly used: simple, continuous, and perfect. In the present
time frame, simple is used to show habitual activity: I drive every day.
Continuous shows ongoing activity or activity in the moment: I am driving
right now. Perfect in the present time frame shows activity that began in the
past but continues into the present time frame: I have driven this car for ten
years. The past and future time frames also have simple, continuous, and
perfect aspects (and in some cases, perfect continuous tenses).

Introduce students to the system

Give students an overview of the entire verb system in the different time
frames. The purpose of this is not to get students to learn or memorize the
material right away but to get an overview of this variety of tenses and see
how they relate to each other. I find it helpful to put the time frame across the
top of the board or handout and the aspect down the side:

Past Present Future

simple I walked. I walk. I will walk.

continuous I was walking. I am walking. I will be walking.
perfect I had walked. I have walked. I will have walked.

Students will get an overview of the various tenses with a chart like this. I keep
it simple on a chart like this, whose purpose is just to introduce students to this
complex system, not addressing for now variations of these basic tenses like
the perfect progressive: I have been walking. I also use a regular verb to model
the tenses, such as to walk, whose variations and inflections are easier to
teach and remember: ed for past, for example. I also try to use intransitive
verbs, or verbs that dont require a direct object, like walk, when introducing
the verb tense system, so focus can stay on the verb. If I used a verb like to
throw to introduce verb tenses, students would have to focus on the irregular
forms of the verb threw, thrown, and also consider a direct object that
makes sense.

Focus on one time frame at a time

Its very helpful to students to learn all the present verb tenses together rather
than switching from present to past to future because this is how we tend to
use language: when relating an incident that happened to me on the way to
work yesterday, for example, Im going to tend to stay in the past time for the
duration of that story, perhaps switching between past progressive and simple
past: I was driving to work yesterday, and this other car appeared out of
nowhere I am not going to suddenly switch to present or future tense until
perhaps the end: Now I need to call my insurance company.

Focus on only one tense at a time but show it in relation to other tenses in that
frame

When introducing these tenses, stay in one tense at a time, practicing its form
and meaning, as you would have before, but keep showing the tenses in
relation to each other, keep referring back to the chart. Meaning is learned best
in context and how an item relates to the overall picture.

Practice

Give plenty of authentic opportunities to practice: have students tell a story,

plan out a schedule, give a series of directions in writing, and so forth, all
authentic writing tasks that highlight different verb tenses.

Review

Understanding verb tense is indeed developmental, in the sense that it takes

time and practice to really understand the tenses in English, more than passing
a test will show, so continually revisiting the tenses will help students in this
process.

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