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ESL forum >
Ask for help > She was sitting on the floor
She was sitting on the floor
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Jorgelinaac
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She was sitting on the floor
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Hi!
My students are learning Past Continuous. In the text appears the following sentence, she was sitting on the floor. I usually don �t translate the sentences but .... if my students do translate this sentence, they will surely ask me..... but teacher... we don �t say.....Ella se estaba sentando. We say... ella estaba sentada. I want to be prepared! :)
So, Is �she was sitting on the floor � considered to be Past Continuous? and I just tell them that in English that particularly case is formed in that way??
Thanks!!!
Jor |
4 Sep 2009
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fan2daLo
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Hi
well i do not understand the language that you have posted. But since i am teaching English as a second language, i have noticed that students tend to translate English into their respective languages to figure out whether its correct , and this confuses teachers because the sentence structures differ.
I think "She was sitting on the floor" is the correct past continuous sentence.
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4 Sep 2009
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Maria Elisa Orsini
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Yes, Jorgelina. It �s a simple example of the past continuous tense (was/were + v+ing). It simply means AN ACTION HAPPENING AT A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME IN THE PAST. Just like:
- I was watching TV when my dad arrived.
- The sun was shining.
- I was dancing at 8 am.
Situations happening over a certain period of time in the past.
I advise you not to thing Spanish. I always ask my students not to think Portuguese when they �re dealing with English, cause one thing is one thing, another thing is another thing!!! And if YOU, as a teacher, is worried about what the sentence means, since it �d sound different in Spanish, I suggest you to forget about your L1 yourself, otherwise you might have big trouble teaching other more complex structures.
Study Englisg form (why things happens, cause there �s alogic to everything), and you �ll be fine! And, if you students say: "But in Spanish it �s diferent", just answer: "well, we �re studying English, guys, not Spanish!!!". They �re very different languages. Spanish is syllabic and English is a non-syllabic language, to start with...
Hope I �ve helped! : ) |
4 Sep 2009
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Jorgelinaac
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Yes thanks!!!, it is Past Continuous. The problem is that in Spanish�. It would be something like�. *She was sat (like a past participle). I feel I can´t ask them to think in English because their whole world is in Spanish :) .
Sometimes, I say�.well, in English ...it is like that!!! and I think they must hate hearing me say that. J So I thought I could give them some kind of explanation so as to satisfy their curiosity!!! |
4 Sep 2009
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MyFairy
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Jorgelina,
I got your point... and I also understand what you say about your sts � curiosity!
What I would explain to them is the difference between static and dynamic verbs... which we do not use much in Spanish.
So, being SIT a dynamic verb i.e. verb of movement, you can use it in the progressive form and take advantage of this descriptive situation...
Hope this helps!
Good Luck!
PS: Your face rings a bell... where are you from?
You |
4 Sep 2009
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miss.cecilia
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You should explain your students that they can �t translate phrases word by word (although they tend to do that).
A number of Spanish verbs typically aren �t used in the progressive forms. These include common verbs of motion such as ir (to go), volver (to return) and venir (to come) and verbs referring to mental states such as amar (to love) and saber (to know) Other example: llevar (wear)
One explantion could be that
sometimes the past continuous can be translated as "preterito imperfecto"
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4 Sep 2009
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joy2bill
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I always encourage my students to "think English" " dream English" "chat up your girlfriend in English". It is a language..it is not a mathmatical process. "A" does not always equal "B �.
So forget translating! It will slow your students down. Tell them to think of their native language...did they learn it by comparing it with some other language? Did they learn a whole bunch of rules?
No! They listened and listened and listened and then gradually spoke a few words and then sentences.
To students who want to know why something is done I consider whether rules will help or not. If the answer is "it won �t make a difference" I use the analogy of driving a car. Most of us can drive a car but we have no idea what is happening under the bonnet (hood) with all the pistons, belts, etc. Why because it doesn �t really matter. So put words together because that is just the way it is.
For younger students you could perhaps talk about riding a bike or operating a Nintendo.
I also remind them that English is a language NOT a school subject.
So just use it.
Cheers Joy |
4 Sep 2009
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class centre
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If you tell them that it is not the verb to sit which is working here, but the verb to be ( estar), it can help them understand the point. In Spanish you conjugate the verb estar and only after that put the participle sentada. So, there is no contradiction in their understanding of the sentence. Preterito imperfecto of the verb estar + .... You simply do not have that Past continuous in Spanish with the same construction as in English.
As many of the teachers here say - NEVER TIE ONE LANGUAGE TO ANOTHER! Take the language as it is - and you will avoid a lot of difficulties.
Good luck!
Natasha
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4 Sep 2009
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goodnesses
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"It is a language..it is not a mathematical process. "A" does not always equal "B �"
I can �t agree more with this, Joy.
As I agree with the fact that it is good to encourage not force the SS to think in the language they are learning. "Not force" because some teachers think it is a condition sine qua none.
However, I do also believe that teachers but mostly students may come from time to time to make comparisons (not translations) between the studied language and their mother tongue (or even another language that they master better "L2" when English is an EFL) in order to apprehend better the real meaning of things.
Thus, concerning grammar, if SS feel the need to compare a grammar point between English and their mother tongue, the teacher instead of forcing them not to has just to make them aware that the same grammar terms in the 2 languages refer very often to different grammar points.
I will take the example of English and French (my (SS �s) second mother tongue) tenses.
SS often tend to think that the "Simple Present" in English is the same as "Le Pr�sent Simple" (En=Simple Present) in French. And that the term "Complement" in English is the same as "Compl�ment" in French.
If I make the SS aware that "Le Pr�sent simple" in French may refers to "Simple Present" but very often to "Present progressive" and that "Compl�ment" in French is what we call "object (D/I)" in English and that "Complement" in English is not the "object", won �t I make a considerable step in both languages but more in English.
Of course this is my own opinion on the basis that we encourage and not force SS to think in the language studied. It is based also on what Joy said concerning the language(s) being not subjects or exact sciences. They often interact and coexist.
Regards
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4 Sep 2009
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Miss.Euge
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hi jorgelina!!
I understand what you mean. The thing is that in spanish the verb to be means: ser o estar thats why you translate it : estaba sentado I was sitting on the floor. And something else sometimes you don �t find the answer on the spot, when they are asking I rather prefer telling them "for next class I ll bring you the answer" than to say in english is like this. If you ever have the chance to read something about Diane Larsen Freeman she says that you alway have to give reasons when dealing with grammar.
hope this help a little!
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4 Sep 2009
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Malvine
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I think that bill2joy �s method
"Tell them to think of their native language...did they learn it by comparing it with some other language? Did they learn a whole bunch of rules?
No! They listened and listened and listened and then gradually spoke a few words and then sentences."
... this method works very well with ESL students, because English is all around them all the time, but not so with EFL students who only hear the language 2-3 hours a week. Besides, when you learn your native language there is nothing on your "hard disc" yet and it will accept just anything. Whereas when you start learning a second language your "hard disc" is already full of one language system and it protests... protests... protests and doesn �t want to let "the aliens" in. Willy-nilly you will tend to compare it with your mother tongue all the time. So you have to constantly coax your "hard disc" that they are not aliens - they are friends and you should let them in!  |
4 Sep 2009
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