The document discusses using Venn diagrams to teach the past tense of verbs in English. It provides a 5 step process: 1. Students learn that circles represent present and past tenses and the intersection is common to both. 2. Students study verbs and whether their form changes or stays the same in the past tense. 3. Unchanging verbs are placed in the intersection. 4. Students understand the relationship between the circles and tenses. 5. Students practice filling out the Venn diagram and using verbs correctly in sentences. The goal is for students to distinguish regular and irregular verbs.

1. Perfecting the past tense
with Venn Diagrams
Mrs N Shesha Prasad
PGT English
KVAFS Begumpet
Hyderabad

2.  “I cutted my hair yesterday”
 “The book costed me Rs 100”
 “He hurted his knee”
Study the following sentences carefully
Why does the red line appear?
What does it mean?
What can we do to make it disappear

3. Study the Picture carefully
o What does Circle A represent?
o What does Circle B Represent?
o What does the middle place represent?
o What does it mean?

4. Applying the rules of Venn Diagrams to the concept
of Past Tense we get
Step 1

5.  Student understands that the two circles stand for the present and
past tenses
 Each circle stands for a particular concept; in this case one stands
for present and the other for past tense
 The concept of intersecting of the two circles is grasped
 Student learns that the common area can stand for either of the
two tenses
Learning Outcome of Step 1

6. Study the following verbs carefully
Is the form of the present tense different from the past
tense?
What do the two columns tell you?
Can they be shifted to the central common area?
Step 2

7. • Learner understands that only some verbs undergo changes in
the past tense
• In case of changing verbs, the present form cannot be used in the
past or vice versa in sentences
• Some verbs do not undergo any inflection
• Such verbs have same form in the present as well as the past
form
• The same form is used in present and past tense while framing
sentences
• The idea that all verbs do not have a separate form in the past
tense is driven home
• The learner grasps the idea that care must be taken to check
whether the verb changes in the past tense (regular) or remains
unchanged (irregular) while using them in sentences.
Learning Outcomes at the end of step 2

8. Step 3
Shift the words to the central common area
What do you observe?
What can you conclude from this?

9. Learning Outcomes after Step 3
 The learner understands that some words are
common to both past and present tense
 They can be placed in the central common area
 These words do not undergo any changes in the past
tense

10. Step 4
Comparative study of step 2 & 3

11.  The learner is clear about the concept that the two circles stand for
two separate tenses
 Forms of the verbs in one circle are different from the forms of the
verb in the other circle
 The middle intersecting space is common to both the circles/
tenses so the same form can be used in the present and past tense
 Verbs which do not change with change in tense can be placed in
this intersecting space
 One has to be careful while using a verb in the past tense
 One has to decide whether the verb has a past form or not before
using
 The learner is able to understand the following figure easily
Learning Outcomes at the end of step 4

12. Collect a list of the verbs that have different forms in
the present and past tenses and a list of the verbs that
do not undergo any changes.
Enter them in the Venn Diagram.
Check your answers for mistakes.
Step 5

13. The learner is able to fill the different columns of the
Venn diagrams correctly
He is able to distinguish the regular verbs from the
irregular verbs
He does not use the verbs indiscriminately. He pauses to
consider whether the verb is a regular one or an irregular
one before using it in a sentence.
He learns to be prudent in the use of Past Tense
Learning Outcomes at the end of Step 5

14. Complete the following dialogue with the right form of the verbs
provided.
A. Why did you beat B?
C. B _____ (Beat ) me first
A. Were you _____ (hurt) when he ____ (hit) you?
C. NO. It was because I had ____ (duck).
A. Couldn’t you have _________ ( forgive) him for it?
C. I could have but he wouldn’t have _____ (learn) a lesson. Have you
thought that it could have ___ (cost) him my friendship.
A. Have you ever ______ (think) of becoming a lawyer?
C. No. I hadn’t ________ (consider) it. Now that you have ____ (put)
the idea in my mind,
I shall _____ (think) about it.