Gives examples of question-tag games used in second language classes to test principal verb forms as they are learned, in which the class is divided into two teams, who in turn ask questions and provide tag responses. (BK)

Discusses a method of teaching French past tenses in which students are taught to choose the appropriate tense by learning to view the situation as a native speaker, instead of by trying to memorize and apply very specific grammar rules and all their exceptions. (EKN)

Some grammatical points often left unexplained about the meaning, use, and teaching of these verb forms are outlined and discussed, drawing on textbooks and usage literature. Comparisons are made between the several forms, and traditional grammatical approaches are compared and contrasted. (MSE)

The concept of French verb tense as related to the passage of time and the completeness of an action or process is discussed. It is proposed that this concept of inchoativeness be applied in second-language instruction as an aid to students in choosing verb tenses. (MSE)

A correspondence is shown between grammatical categories and grammatical functions in Chinese. Some syntactic properties distinguish finite verbs from nonfinite verbs, nominals from other categories, and verbs from other categories. (Contains seven references.) (LB)

Beginning students of English as a second language want to have a natural use of the language to get things done, express thoughts, and get information. Most English learners have to invent an interlanguage to express time, because most language courses focus only on the present tense at first. A cyclical approach to grammar instruction allows the…

Discusses prevailing ideas of how children learn language and addresses the argument of rules versus analogies in learning to form the past tense of verbs. Cites cases involving connectionist models. (ML)

Six brief articles discuss these aspects of language instruction: contrasting the imperative "let" with other imperative forms; distinguishing between perfect and nonperfect tenses in English; the various functions a question can perform; use of humor to illustrate language quirks; learning appropriate uses of count versus noncount nouns; and…

Describes use of computer aided instruction and designing of computer programs to teach verb tenses to students of French at the University of Waikato. Basic limitation of present program is lack of variety in sentences it produces. (BK)

A technique used in an advanced French writing class to encourage student self-correction is described. The technique focused on correction of verbs and their tenses; reduction of repetition; appropriate use of "on" and "nous;" and verification of possessive adjectives, negatives, personal pronouns, spelling, and punctuation.…