D-10.08 Apply (Present, Past, Future) Grammar to Summarizing Fantasy

Unit 4 of the Original Scenario, Volume Three: English Grammar in Context: Summary & Review: Present, Past, & Future (“The Stopwatch: A Fantasy Story”), pages 52-57

6 pages

Who It’s For: (Self) Teachers & Helpers at Advancing to (High-) Advanced Proficiency Levels Who Enjoy Practicing Grammar in Imaginative, Speculative, Fictional Contexts 

Why It’s Useful: What more flexible context to practice sentence-core (verb-phrasing)grammar in than science fiction?  Past-time sentences can appear in backdrop portrayal and narrative. The wording of dialog and thoughts can optimize use of the Present Tenses.  And Modal-Verb + Future-Time discourse can express speculation and predictions about what’s not yet known. This is what happens in a greatly-manipulated, still (or again) timely version of “A Kind of a Stopwatch,” a Season 5, Episode 5 episode of the classic, fantastic TV Series, the Twilight Zone.  Pause a moment to contemplate what you might do with a stopwatch that could freeze time for everyone in the world but you. Then use all your linguistically grammatical verbal powers to explain, describe, interpret, express, predict, communicate, and create. 

What You’ll Do: 

[1] To keep your head aware of “the grammar,” peruse Section 1: The Simple & Continuous Tenses: Basic Meanings on page 51. (Later, do the same on page 55, 2.-2a. Past & Future Time: Other Forms.)  On the next pages, complete most of the Scenario: The Stopwatch (a Fantasy Story) by filling in the most appropriate tense (time) forms of the given verbs.  In 1b. Putting It Together, summarize your multi-tense moment-by-moment thoughts and ideas by answering questions in detail. 

[2] In Sections 2-2c & 3, continue comprehending, editing, and enhancing the tale by responding to more questions and Writing It Down. Use the story-telling skills you’ve been developing with these pages to continue this fable to a “logical” end. Then look up comparable scientifically fictional stories (well-known plot lines), download them, and try your mind and hand at rewriting them to celebrate your knowledge of advanced grammar in the three Basic Time Frames. (The remaining “Verb Tense / Aspect Forms of English—the Present, Past, Future Perfect—of English will appear in even more “advanced lessons.”

[3] Or begin writing fantastic stories of your own.