Lesson Plans
10/4 & 5
English 10
Bells 1, 5
2 & 6 (only have to finish movie)
Bell 3 (Monday & Tuesday)
OBJECTIVES/PURPOSE:
1. view film or finish film of CORA UNASHAMED
Take character notes and fill out plot graphic organizers &
Snapshot/thought/vocabulary marking
2. Evaluate peers papers using rubric and suggestion sheets
Teacher
1. Briefly introduce or review film.
2. introduce graphic organizer and
language organizer and give,
directions,TROUBLE SHOOT AND GIVE
SUGGESTIONS
2. students will make MAGIC BOOK and
List the plot events for CORA on the
inside and MRS. STURDEVANT on the
outside. Then students will make
Plot Graphic organizers (see attached)
Students
1. Students view film and take
notes on character.
2. Make magic book and fill in plot
outlines, then, work on graphic
organizers and practice/check
comprehension
--work in triads
Plot and Point of View Graphic Organizer for CORA UNASHAMED, by Langston Hughes
Cora’s plot and point of view:
Causes her to become a
close mother-figure to
Jessie.
Causes her to have
fewer prejudices
Cora meets,
loves, & gets
pregnant by Jo
Jesse dies
Causes her to give
birth to Josephine
Josephine dies
Brings her into sharp
conflict with Ms.
Sturdavant.
Cora finds her voice at the funeral
= plot event
= consequences of those events
ASSIGNMENTS:
With your partners, create a plot and point of view graphic for Mrs. Sturdavant. Put each
member of the group’s name on the graphic.
Each partner, then must write a paragraph explaining the difference between the two
graphics. The paragraph must have at least three examples and three commentary
statements. Staple the paragraphs to the graphic.* If you are absent and are reading this on the wiki, do
both the graphic and the paragraph for your assignment/credit.
SNAPSHOTS
THOUGHTSHOTS
(w/page & paragraph #)
(w/page & paragraph #)
ASSIGNMENT: 1. Write out all the snapshots and thoughshots on page _________ of CORA
UNASHAMED in the space above. Be sure to put the page # and paragraph # after
each.
2. Make a list of 27 unusual or particularly effective/descriptive words or phases in the story. Be sure to
put the page # and paragraph # after
each.
Cora Unashamed Graphic Organizer Paragraph
If you have difficulty writing the paragraph, use this outline. You can change the topic and conclusion sentences
and the sentence starters but don’t forget to use transition words. The transition words in the outline are in bold .
TOPIC SENTENCE: Both Cora and Mrs. Studevant are characters in the same story
but, as the two graphic organizers show, each character views events differently.
Sentence 1: The first difference between the graphic organizers is ________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
Sentence 2: This difference shows how the two character’s points of view differ
because________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________.
Sentence 3: Another difference between the graphic organizers is ______________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
Sentence 4: This difference also shows how the two character’s points of view differ.
In the Cora’s graphic organizer (explain what is different) ______________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
while in Mrs. Studevant’s graphic organizer (explain what is different) ___________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
Sentence 5: Lastly, the graphic organizer’s differ because ______________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.
Sentence 6: This difference emphasizes (explain how difference shows something
important about each woman’s character) ___________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.
Conclusion sentence: Even though Mrs. Studevant and Cora live through most of the
same events, each character views these events through the lenses of her past
experiences.
Lesson Plans
10/6 & 7
English 10
Bells 1, 5 & 3
2 & 6 (will have to finish graphic
organizer assignment)
Bell 3 (Wednesday & Thursday)
OBJECTIVES/PURPOSE:
1. view film or finish film of CORA UNASHAMED (bell 3)
Take character notes and fill out plot graphic organized &
Snapshot/thought/vocabulary marking to show comprehension
of plot and characters and an understanding of language
choice and diction in the short story. (bells 3 and 2&6)
2. begin research topic for CORA UNASHAMED (see attached) –
Practice taking cornel notes, doing research, organizing a
presentation, etc.
TEACHER
STUDENT
1. introduce graphic organizer and
1. work on graphic organizers
language organizer and give,
directions, TROUBLE SHOOT AND
GIVE SUGGESTIONS
and practice/check
comprehension--work in triads
Graphic organizers (see attached)
2. explain research project and
how to use the new computers to do
the research
2. Students will work in groups of
three to complete a research
topic for presentation to the
class.
RESEARCH TOPIC/ASSIGNMETS FOR “Cora Unashamed”
After Viewing
1. In a class or small-group discussion,
compare and contrast the story and the
film. Discuss the similarities and
differences between characters, tone, and
setting. Why do you think the filmmakers
chose to change certain things? What do
you think of their choices?
2.
Discuss the title of the story. What are some of the
things about which Cora is unashamed? Why? Who
else in the story is unashamed? Who's ashamed?
What do you think Langston Hughes is trying to say
about shame?
3. When Josephine is born at the start of the
film, Cora's mother says, "Ain't no good
come out of white and colored love." How
is this statement supported and/or
challenged by what happens in the film?
4. Examine the relationships in the film. Discuss
Cora's relationship with Joe, with Jessie, with
Mrs. Studevant, and with Mr. Studevant. How is
race a factor in each one? Is it irrelevant in any
way? Compare and contrast the "couples" in the
film (Cora and Joe, Jessie and Willie, and Mr.
and Mrs. Studevant). How does race and/or
class affect each of these relationships?
5. Discuss what happens to Willie and his
family. How is their situation similar to
Cora's? How do you think the experience
of immigrants to the United States is
similar to the experience of African
Americans? How is it different?
6. Ask students to compare and contrast literature
and film using examples from Cora Unashamed
and other film adaptations (either in an essay or
discussion). How is reading the story different
from watching the movie? What are the
advantages and disadvantages of each medium?
7. Have students think about a personal
relationship or situation in which race or
class was or is a factor. Ask them to write
about the relationship/situation and how
it was or is impacted by race or class. How
might the relationship or situation have
been different in Cora's time?
8.
Assign small groups one or two other stories in
Langston Hughes's short story collection, The Ways of
White Folks. After reading the story, have groups
discuss how black and white worlds collide in each
narrative. How does each group view the other and
why? How do the relationships in the story create
tension? Ask each group to present a summary of
their story and discussion to the rest of the class. To
extend the activity, students can also do research
projects on how black and white worlds mix today
(one suggested resource is the New York Times' 15part series, "How Race Is Lived in America.")
http://www.google.com/search?q=How+Race+is+live
d+in+America++NYT&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microso
ft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=
9. Have students look at the Harlem
Renaissance
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/
americancollection/cora/harlem.html)
10. section to identify other artists from the
era. Ask them to choose a work by one of
these artists (e.g., a song, painting, poem,
novel, or short story). In an essay, have
them compare and contrast the work with
"Cora Unashamed." Have them address
the differences and similarities between
the works' subjects, themes, characters,
and style. How were these works
important to their era? How are they still
important today?
11. Have the class read Professor Phyllis Palmer's
article, Race, Sex, and Housework in the 1930s.
How do students think Cora and Mrs. Studevant
are different from domestics and their
employers today? Consider having students
debate the role of domestic help in our culture
using examples from Cora, Palmer's article, and
personal experiences.
12. Using the Langston Hughes timeline and
other resources, have students research
the life of the author. Have students read
his poem "I, Too" and/or other poetry, fiction,
and nonfiction by the author. For a collection of
the author's poetry (including "I, Too"), see
Vintage Classics' Selected Poems of Langston
Hughes. Discuss how the author's life and
times are reflected in his writing. What makes
his work uniquely African American? What
makes it uniquely American?
I, Too
by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed -I too, am America
Cora Unashamed: Race, Sex and Housework in the 1930s
by Phyllis Palmer
Professor of American Studies and Women's Studies,
The George Washington University
At first glance, Cora Unashamed, the premiere film of Masterpiece
Theatre's American Collection, has a familiar look. African
American maid Cora Jenkins (Regina Taylor) works for a demanding
white family, headed by socialite Mrs. Art Studevant (Cherry Jones). In
addition to handling all the domestic chores, Cora is in charge of, and
develops a loving relationship with, the youngest Studevant child,
Jessie (Ellen Muth). Cora's race and sex disqualify her from social
equality with her employers, but tragedy reveals her to be their moral
superior.
But there's a twist to this tale. Langston Hughes's short story of the
same name, "Cora Unashamed," is told from the black perspective, a
novel approach to storytelling at the time of its publication in 1934.
Hughes made use of stock characters familiar to black and white
audiences, but transformed them.
Hughes's short story collection, The Ways of White Folks, in which
"Cora Unashamed" first appeared, was revelatory for its presentation
of reality as experienced by black protagonists. During the 1930s,
through the wildly popular, still relatively new, medium of film,
Hollywood entertained audiences with set images of black Americans.
While white characters could inhabit many walks of life, blacks were
generally cast as servants, entertainers, or comic foils. The movies
certainly didn't invent these images; they merely picked up where
literature left off, drawing on the same stereotypes that authors and
performers had used for decades.
It seemed Hughes, on first read, was no different. He filled his story
with details that would reassure white readers of its accuracy and
truth. Here was Cora, a black maid for a socially superior white family,
the Studevants. Their moral superiority was guaranteed as well: Cora
had given birth to a child out of wedlock. Furthermore, in accord with
the popular expectations of the period, Cora's devotion to her
employers' white child appeared to be boundless. But Hughes was not
interested in telling a story that white authors had been telling for
years. Instead, he subverted the presumed relationship of white
(flawless) protagonists and their black (flawed) foils. Seen from the
servant's perspective, all this information takes on a different meaning
and transforms the typical popular image of superior whites being
served by inferior blacks. While Cora Jenkins is a servant -- and the
lowliest social creature on the white scale at that, the domestic, or
maid -- she is neither childlike nor unthinking, as black servants were
so often depicted in film and literature of the time. Cora's point of
view, candid and courageous, reveals more about the truths of life in
the Studevant household than her white, middle-class employers
would wish to acknowledge, even to themselves.
Melton, Iowa, the setting of the story, is "one of those miserable inbetween little places, not large enough to be a town, nor small enough
to be a village -- that is, a village in the rural, charming sense of the
word." The Jenkins family -- Cora's parents, siblings, and Cora herself - are socially and economically isolated, the only black family in town.
The role that Cora plays later in the story, in the Studevant home, is
not unlike the one she plays in her own, except that "she ate better"
with the Studevants. The eldest of eight children, Cora was essentially
a maid for her family: "She always had a little brother, or a little sister
in her arms," Hughes explains. An ailing mother and alcoholic father do
not provide much stability for the family, and in the eighth grade, Cora
quits school to work for the well-to-do white Studevants. Once again,
in keeping with prevalent popular-culture images, Cora is quiet and
obedient -- "humble," Hughes calls her. Cora's humility, however,
doesn't derive from some native subservience, but from the
calculations of self-preservation. To complain to her employers, who
treat her badly but not too badly, would be to risk having to work for
"poorer white folks who would treat her worse," or to be out of work
entirely.
And to be out of work entirely is not an option for Cora, for she
supports her family. Opportunity comes to Cora, as it did to many nonwhite women at the time, in the form of the "maid of all work" job.
According to popular magazines and household manuals of the '30s,
middle-class white householders relied on the maid of all work to
handle not only the physically hardest tasks (except window-cleaning,
usually left to men), but often to work 18-hour days, with no breaks.
Cora's workday mirrors real-life schedules reported by domestic
workers to the U.S. Women's Bureau. One worker outlined her
Saturday:
Got up at 5:15, fixed furnace, got breakfast, made beds,
polished nickel in bathroom and kitchen, polished tub
and other fixtures; took floor brush, scrubbed and
polished tile floor in bathroom, scrubbed and polished
floor in kitchen, washed windows, wiped woodwork,
scrubbed and polished steps to basement and washed
banisters. Swept all walks and front porch, washed silk
stocking, went to grocery, helped make peanut bread;
trimmed dried beef, washed vegetables, put things
away, scrubbed eggs, cut up vegetables to put in soup,
fixed supper, made salad and desert. Washed dishes.
To Cora the litany of demands is a never-ending refrain: "Cora, come
here... Cora, put... Cora... Cora... Cora! Cora!" There seems no limit to
Mrs. Studevant's demands on Cora's time.
Once again, Hughes's Cora shares much with "real" women of her
social standing, or lack thereof. Especially for women of color, who
were limited by racial discrimination and who constituted the majority
of domestic workers as early as 1920, domestic employment ranked as
a major occupation. By the '20s, many white women had obtained
more "respectable" jobs in retail sales, offices, or factories. By
contrast, the 1930 Census revealed that domestic work was a primary
occupation for African American, Mexican American, Japanese
American, and Native American women.
Working conditions and wages were often disputed. But under Franklin
Roosevelt, Depression and New Deal policies brought about enormous
improvements for American workers as the government responded to
labor union demands for shorter hours and better wages. By 1938 the
Fair Labor Standards Act set a federal floor for minimum wages and a
ceiling for hours for all workers in businesses that fell under Congress's
regulatory purview of interstate commerce. Throughout the debates
leading to the legislation, domestic workers sought inclusion as
workers comparable to anyone in a factory, store, or business.
Congress, however, continued to exclude them from hour and wage
coverage. Only in the aftermath of Civil Rights and during the
Women's Movement in the 1970s did domestic workers gain hours and
wages and Social Security coverage. Hughes never veers into such
overtly political territory, though, and Cora doesn't benefit from such
regulations.
Ironically, Mrs. Studevant's prominence depends very much on Cora's
efficient housework and child care. Hughes imbues Mrs. Studevant
with all the qualities an upstanding lady needed. She is "the civic and
social leader of Melton, president of the Woman's Club three years
straight, and one of the pillars of the church." The white middle-class
housewife's status derived from her presumed moral virtue and her
valuable community and charity work -- not to mention her clean
home. Cora is not merely an extension of the wife's work, as domestic
work was often categorized; she is actually the source of cleanliness
and, for Jessie, comfort in the Studevant home.
Hughes describes this white, middle-class reliance on women
domestics accurately. A Fortune magazine survey late in the 1930s
reported that "70% of the rich, 42% of the upper middle class, and
14% of the lower middle class" hired domestic workers. In addition,
my own research into mid-1930s family spending shows that the wife's
educational level correlated with the hiring of domestic servants.
Women with more education and greater possibilities of paid or
volunteer employment regularly hired less well-educated women, and
usually those with options limited by racial discrimination, to take over
housework. Because middle-class educated women gained reputation
outside the home only if they also kept their homes immaculate and
their children well dressed and well fed, their achievements depended
directly on the availability and competence of unheralded domestic
workers.
Rearing children was considered part of running the home. "Like all the
unpleasant things in the house," Hughes explains, "Jessie was left to
Cora." Jessie does not fit into the idealized world that Mrs. Studevant,
with Cora's behind-the-scenes help, so carefully cultivates. In
developing the relationship between Cora and Jessie, Hughes
undercuts the popular ideal, epitomized in Shirley Temple movies, that
white, well-dressed, mannerly children were so beautiful and superior
that any servant would prefer these "angels" to her own children.
Instead, Cora fills the gap left by her own daughter's early death with
love for Jessie, who has been emotionally abandoned by her parents
and siblings. Cora needs someone to love, and Jessie needs someone
to love her. Their relationship is grounded in the similarity of their
characters and circumstances, not in Cora's putting a higher value on a
white child than a black one.
And it is love. Cora bathes and clothes the little white baby -- and
perhaps more importantly, keeps her in the kitchen out of her mother's
sight. Having given birth to her own daughter at the same time, Cora
nurses Jessie, too, on Mrs. Studevant's instructions, even though when
the unmarried Cora's pregnancy had begun to show, Mrs. Studevant
banished her from the Studevants' "proper" home. A callous mother,
Mrs. Studevant despairs of "dull little Jessie," who hasn't the wit and
talent to follow her mother's social lead. Concerned above all with her
social position, Mrs. Studevant leaves Jessie to Cora's care and
teaching, where Jessie thrives.
Cora knows that only the social aspects of intimate relationships are
bound by race. Her relationship with Jessie is indicative of this: "In her
heart," Hughes writes, "she had adopted [Jessie]." In her heart,
perhaps, but Cora was, of course, forbidden to make any decisions
regarding the girl's welfare. Similarly, not sex, but marriage, adheres
to racial barriers. The father of Cora's only child, Josephine, is white.
"[Cora] had never known a colored lover," Hughes wrote. "There
weren't any around. That was not her fault." She knows that even
after pregnancy, marriage is not an option. "[S]he hadn't expected to
marry Joe, or keep him. He was of that other world... But the child
was hers -- a living bridge between two worlds."
While Cora may view Josephine as a bridge between black and white,
the child's very existence marked Cora as "immoral." Popular-culture
movie models, for instance, encouraged women to be sexy but not
"loose." Girls learned to attract men coyly, to allow a bit of "petting,"
but always to keep them at an elegantly gloved arm's length.
Katharine Hepburn, Myrna Loy, and Ginger Rogers were stars who, on
the big screen, dressed in fashionably revealing clothes, yet never had
sexual relations, or even serious kisses, except with their husbands -and sometimes not even with them. In her simple honesty, Cora has
had sex with a man who shows her affection and kindness, she
accepts her pregnancy, and she devotes love to her baby. Much as
Cora enters into a relationship that can never reach the "proper"
conclusion of marriage, Jessie chooses a boyfriend -- and a future -socially suspect because of his dark, Greek complexion.
According to Hughes's biographer, Arnold Rampersad, Sherwood
Anderson remarked in a review of The Ways of White Folks: "My hat is
off to you in relation to your own race,' but not in relation to the
whites, who were caricatures." Anderson may have had a point that
Hughes was not particularly interested in presenting a white point of
view; after all, that viewpoint dominated the media of the era. Despite
the fact that the behavior Hughes depicts is accurate and backed up
by research, it's true that Mrs. Studevant is largely a caricature. But
the same could be said for Cora's father (not portrayed in the
dramatization), who "passed the evenings telling long, comical stories
to the white riff-raff of the town, and drinking licker." Even as he
indulged some popular stereotypes, Hughes was rewriting an
unbalanced cultural picture. He created a heroine unashamed of her
work and of her sexuality. In doing so, he provided a liberating vision
of womanhood for all women.
Phyllis Palmer, a Professor of American Studies and Women's Studies
at The George Washington University, is the author of Domesticity and
Dirt: Housewives and Domestic Servants in the United States, 19201945 (1990) and other articles and essays about domestic workers and
housework.
The Well-Appointed House
A gem of a house may be no size at all, but its lines are
honest, and its painting and window curtains in good
taste. As for its upkeep, its path or sidewalk is
beautifully neat, steps scrubbed, brasses polished, and
its bell answered promptly by a trim maid with a low
voice and quiet courteous manner; all of which
contributes to the impression of "quality" even though it
in nothing suggests the luxury of a palace whose opened
bronze door reveals a row of powdered footmen.
The Nurse...It is unnecessary to add that one can not be
too particular in asking for a nurse's reference and in
never failing to get a personal one from the lady she is
leaving. Not only is it necessary to have a sweet-tempered, competent and clean person, but her moral
character is of utmost importance, since she is to be the
constant and inseparable companion of the children
whose whole lives are influenced by her example,
especially where busy parents give only a small portion
of time to their children.
From Etiquette, by Emily Post, 1922
Madam and Her Madam
by Langston Hughes
from The Selected Poems of Langston Hughes
I worked for a woman,
She wasn't mean-But she had a twelve-room
House to clean.
Had to get breakfast,
Dinner, and Supper, too-Then take care of her children
When I got through.
Wash, iron, and scrub,
Walk the dog around-It was too much,
Nearly broke me down.
I said, Madam,
Can it be
You trying to make a
Pack-horse out of me?
She opened her mouth.
She cried, Oh, no!
You know, Alberta,
I love you so!
I said, Madam,
That may be true-But I'll be dogged
If I love you!
Let America Be America Again
by Langston Hughes
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed-Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek-And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean-Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home-For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay-Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let America be America again-The land that never has been yet-And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME-Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath-America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain-All, all the stretch of these great green states-And make America again!
Lesson Plans
10/8 & 9
Bells 1, 5 & 3
2 & 6 (will have to finish graphic
organizer assignment)
(Friday & Monday)
Bell 3
English 10
OBJECTIVES/PURPOSE:
1.
2.
presentations of group projects (see rubric for presentation)
begin practicing new grammar topic in format like ACT/PLAN
TEACHER
STUDENT
1. assess presentations using rubric
1. students give presentations
and take notes on each, as
well as assess the
presentations.
2. introduce new grammar topic
TRANSITIVE & INTRANSITIVE VERBS
VERB TENSE REVIEW
Using attached handouts on TRANSITIVE & INTRANSITIVE verbs
explain and have students practice
briefly – calling students (perhaps after
pair consultation)
Using Tense Chart explain tense
review and have students fill out sentence
example chart – if time allows – and
assign practice sentences for homework.
2. Take notes as necessary on
handouts, ask questions for
clarification
Participate in group/pair
activities that will clarify and
provide practice.
NAME: ________________________________ BELL: _________ DATE: ________
Worksheet: Azar: Fundamentals of English Grammar, 3rd ed. Chart 10-3
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
What is a transitive verb? A transitive verb requires an object in
the form of a noun or pronoun to complete its meaning. This object
answers to the questions “who(m) or what.”
Example: -The students write composition.
What do the students write? Compositions.
-Peter loves Mary.
Who (m) does Peter love? Mary.
Formula: Subject + Verb + Object
What is an intransitive verb? An intransitive verb is one that does
not require an object to complete its meaning . The sentence may end with
the verb, an adjective, or an adverb. The questions one may ask with these forms are
“when, where, how, or why.”
Example: - The children sat.
- The children sat at 7:30 pm.
- The children sat at the table.
- The children sat quietly.
- The children sat because their mother told them to.
Try asking questions based on the underlined words.
Identify the verbs in the following examples. Draw a line under the verb and in the
blank space, write transitive or intransitive.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The math professor explains the lesson.
I drive my car to work everyday.
Many students sleep late on the weekends.
Louise finally got her license.
Does your family live in Minnesota?
__________________________
__________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
6. Mark and Mindy seem unhappy.
_________________________
7. When did your friends come to the United States? ____________________
8. For e-mail, you need a computer.
__________________________
9. My dad and I always disagree.
__________________________
10. Did you find the address?
__________________________
Myra M. Medina, 2006
Miami Dade College
Verb Tenses
There are 12 verb tenses in English. The verb action can take place in the past the present or the future. There are
usually word clues that give a guide as to when the verb action occurs. Within each of these times there are four different
situations that occur. Simple tenses occur at a point in time, or on a repeated or habitual basis. A progressive or
continuous tense indicates that the action takes place over time and these tenses always use part of the verb “be” as the
first part of the verb phrase and end with the main verb + ing. A perfect tense always uses part of “have” as the first part
of the verb phrase and ends with the past form of the main verb. A perfect progressive tense starts with the relevant part
of the verb “have” followed by “been” and ends with the main verb + ing. If you remember these basic rules, you can
always identify the verb tense being used, or use the verb tense you need without having to continually refer to a text
book or table. Meanwhile, a chart like the one given here, can provide a quick and easy reference until you feel
comfortable using the various verb tenses. Also pay attention to the time clues in the following chart; while some of them
can be used with more than one verb tense, they do restrict the number of possibilities and help you to understand which
verb tense is being used, or which verb tense you should use.
Chart—Active Verb Tenses
Past
Present
Future
An action that ended at a
point in the past.
An action that exists , is
usual, or is repeated.
A plan for future action.
cooked
cook / cooks
will cook
(time clue)*
e.g. He cooked yesterday.
e.g. He cooks dinner every
Friday.
e.g. He will cook tomorrow.
Progressive
be + main verb
+ing
An action was happening (past An action that is happening
progressive) when another
now.
action happened (simple
past).
An action that will be
happening over time, in the
future, when something else
happens.
was / were cooking
am / is / are cooking
will be cooking
(time clue)*
e.g. He was cooking when the
phone rang.
e.g. He is cooking now.
e.g. He will be cooking when
you come.
Perfect
have + main
verb
An action that ended before
another action or time in the
past.
An action that happened at
an unspecified time in the
past.
An action that will end
before another action or
time in the future.
had cooked
has / have cooked
will have cooked
Simple
(time clue)*
e.g. He had cooked the dinner e.g. He has cooked many
when the phone rang.
meals.
e.g. He will have cooked
dinner by the time you
come.
Perfect
Progressive
have + be +
main verb + ing
An action that happened over
time, in the past, before
another time or action in the
past.
An action occurring over
time that started in the past
and continues into the
present.
An action occurring over
time, in the future, before
another action or time in the
future.
had been cooking
has / have been cooking
will have been cooking
e.g. He had been cooking for
a long time before he took
lessons.
e.g. He has been cooking for e.g. He will have been
over an hour.
cooking all day by the time
she gets home.
(time clue)*
*Time clues: these are words that give some information about when an action occurs. Some examples are:
yesterday
every day
tomorrow
while
now
simple past
simple present
simple future
past progressive
present progressive
.
There are many words that are time clues; some can be used to indicate a number of tenses, for instance
that something happened in the past or that it will happen in the future. If you learn to recognize these time
clues, you will find them very helpful. Note that some time clues can be used with more than one verb tense
and also that this table is not a complete listing of all the time clues that can be used with all of the tenses
Chart—Time Clues and Verb Tense
Simple
Progressive
Perfect
Perfect
Progressive
Past
Present
Future
Simple Past
Simple Present
Simple Future
yesterday
last year/ month/ etc.
before
for five weeks/days/etc.
one year/ month ago
every morning / day / etc.
always
usually
frequently
sometimes
tomorrow
tonight
next week/month/etc.
soon
in the future
Past Progressive
Present Progressive
Future progressive
while
when
now
right now
this week/minute/etc.
when
after
as soon as
before
Past Perfect
Present Perfect
Future Perfect
before
already
by the time
until then/last week/etc.
after
until now
since
ever
never
many times/ weeks/years/etc.
for three hours/ minutes/etc/
by the time you go
(somewhere)
by the time you do
(something)
already
Past Perfect
progressive
Present Perfect
Progressive
Future Perfect
Progressive
before
for one week/hour/etc.
since
for the past year/ month/ etc. by the time
for the last 2 months/
for ten days/weeks/etc.
weeks/etc.
by
up to now
for 6 weeks/hours/etc.
since
http://www.athabascau.ca/courses/engl/155/support/verb_tenses.htm
NAMES: __________________________________ BELL: ___ DATE: ____
DIRECTIONS: Fill in the chart below. (Legibly!)
TENSE
SENTENCE EXAMPLE
Simple present
Simple past
Simple future
Present progressive
Past progressive
Future progressive
Present perfect
Past perfect
Future perfect
Present perfect
progressive
Past perfect
progressive
Future perfect
progressive
VERB TENSE PRACTICE SHEET Name: ______________________________ Bell: ____
Identifying Tenses
Date: ____
I. Identify the tense of each of the verbs in the following sentences.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
In less than two hours the jury reached a verdict. _____________________________
Our guest has been waiting at the airport for some time now. ________________________
The low temperature had frozen the locks on the door. ________________________
By the end of the semester, Margaret will have joined three social clubs. __________________
Here comes the quarterback of our football team! _______________________
The people in this village have been weaving rugs for many generations. ____________________
Several people have actually swum across this turbulent river. _______________________
At the end of this month, my parents will have been paying their mortgage for twenty years.
_____________________
9. I always lose in competitive sports. __________________________
10. Most of my friends are eating already. ___________________________
11. My parents were driving along the scenic route to Boston. ___________________________
12. Certainly this path will lead to the edge of the forest. ________________________
13. On this tour they will be traveling on pack animals. ___________________________
14. The retiring politician has put his affairs in order. ___________________________
15. He is relaxing in the den this evening. __________________________
16. The postman laid the package in front of our door. ________________________
17. In another few months, he will have been collecting stamps for half a century. ______________
18. The current champion has been training almost a year for this match. __________________
19. Scientists have begun to explore the river bed. _______________________
20. Gilbert and Sullivan wrote both The Mikado and Ruddigore. _______________________
II. Supply the correct form of the verb for each of the following sentences, using the verb
and tense given in parentheses.
1. Within seconds mother (fly – past) into a rage. _____________________________
2. The principal (know – present perfect) about the report for some time. _____________________
3. Lucy (go – past) to visit a cousin in Maine. ____________________________
4. My father (buy – future) a new subcompact next week. ________________________
5. The trail (lie – present) two miles to the north. ________________________________
6. Senator Johnson (travel – future progressive) to Germany in the fall. ______________________
7. In 1999 the company (move – future) to a new location. ________________________
8. The salesman (charge – past perfect progressive) too much to his expense account. ___________
9. They (discover – past) the relic by accident. __________________________
10. By this time tomorrow, the senators (speak – future perfect progressive) for almost forty hours. _______
11. Grandfather (grow – present perfect) grapes in our backyard for years. __________________
12. The teams (choose – past progressive) sides when the thunderstorm struck. ________________
13. Our neighbors (think – present perfect progressive) about retiring to a warmer climate. _______
14. The guidance counselor (review – past perfect) Tom’s application earlier. _______________
15. My sister always (do – present) what she is asked. _______________________
16. The frightened animals (run – past progressive) in all directions. ____________________
17. All of the freshmen (report – present perfect) to the orientation class. __________________
18. My sister (attempt – future) to help you with your problem. ____________________
19. You (hear – present perfect) about the plant’s closing. ______________________
20. My assistant (describe- future) your responsibilities. ______________________
Bauer, Mary Beth, Lawrence Biener, Linda Capo, et al. Grammar and Composition. Level 3. Englewood Cliffs, New
Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1982. 222-6.