Narratives and verb tenses will be really helpful

Narratives and verb tenses

1. Writing Stories What verb tenses are used?

2. Verb tenses A young man was walking. He walked and he walked. He walked all night. And he walked all day. He was tired and hungry. At last he came to a big house. "What a fine house," he said. "There will be plenty of food for me here." He knocked on the door. In these excerpts from, Stone Soup, identify the verbs. What tenses are being used? Why do you think the author has used these tenses?

3. Verb tenses One day, Mom said. "We have no money for food. We'll have to sell the cow." So I took the cow to market. On the way, I met a funny little man. "If you give me your cow," said the man, "I'll give you five magic beans." "What do they do?" I asked. "Wait and see," said the man. "But know this Jack. They're magic." He knew my name! I love magic! I traded the cow for those beans and ran home as fast as I could. In these excerpts from, Jack's Tale , identify the verbs. What tenses are being used? Why do you think the author has used these tenses?

4. Simple Past tense The past tense is used to describe something that happened earlier. The simple past tense is normally shown by adding -ed Examples: Ryan danced wildly during our brain break video. Some of the grade 4 students played football during recess. Most verbs add -ed for simple past tense, but not all. There are some that change completely in the past tense. John went to the school store at lunchtime. (went is the past tense of go) My mom took me to my friend's party on the weekend. (took is the past tense of take)

5. Past continuous tense Past continuous tense is used to describe something that happened in the past but was not finished or was still happening when something else happened. It uses the past tense of the verb to be and adds -ing to the main verb. Examples: Lucy was walking to school when she realized she forgot her lunch at home. I was eating my lunch until I heard the teacher tell us recess time was over.

6. Simple Present tense In stories, we use simple present mostly in dialogue . Simple present tense is used to show something that is happening now or something that always happens (a state of being). Examples: "Good lady," said the young man, "I am very hungry. Can you give me something to eat?" " I have nothing to give you," said the little old lady. "I have nothing in the house. I have nothing in the garden." And she began to close the door.

7. Let's fix this writer's work The Fox and the Crow The fox saw the crow fly to his favorite branch. The crow has a piece of cheese in his beak. The fox thinks for a moment. He walked under the crow's branch and looks up at him. "You were the most handsome bird I have ever seen," says the fox. "You flew so fast and gracefully. I bet you can sing, too," he said. The crow loves to hear compliments. He decided to sing for the fox. He opened his beak to sing. The cheese falls into the fox's mouth. When the fox was done eating, he says, "Thank you very much. That was all I really wanted." Moral: Do not trust strangers who flatter you.

8. Published version The Fox and the Crow The fox saw the crow fly to his favorite branch. The crow had a piece of cheese in his beak. The fox thought for a moment. He walked under the crow's branch and looked up at him. "You are the most handsome bird I have ever seen," says the fox. "You fly so fast and gracefully. I bet you can sing, too," he said. The crow loved to hear compliments. He decided to sing for the fox. He opened his beak to sing. The cheese fell into the fox's mouth. When the fox was done eating, he said , "Thank you very much. That was all I really wanted." Moral: Do not trust strangers who flatter you.

9. Let's help some of our classmates improve their writing He was a very nice dragon who lives in the sea, but people hate him. The water dragon's scales glisten in the morning sun when it saw him. When the dragon opens his eyes, he saw a new world. He was so tired so he sit and ate his lunch. So they set up their tent and cook some food. A long time ago there was a young boy who loves fire very much. On the way to the sea, the dragon play with his friend and sang a song.