This post is part of a series relating to the Minimum Standards for Grammar and Punctuation in the NAPLAN tests. For the first post in this series, click here.

At Year 7 level, the students are expected to be able to:

• identify the correct form of the verb required to complete a complex sentence

A complex sentence has an independent clause and a dependent clause, such as, ‘Before the exam, Ethan will revise his notes’. For more examples (including the gem, ‘The cockroach and the bird would get along very well without us, although the cockroach would miss us most.’) click here.

In this case, the independent clause is ‘Ethan will revise his notes’ because it is a full sentence on its own. The dependent clause is, ‘Before the exam,’ because before the exam what!?

The verb we are talking about is ‘revise’, and, in this case, the tense is simple future so the verb is used in its infinitive (to revise). The internet is full of lists of verb forms like this one.

If you have grown up listening to English your whole life, the correct verb form will probably come easily. If you haven’t you will need a working understanding of the ways that different tenses influences verb forms.

Basically, if you find a student saying or writing something like, ‘…Ethan will revising his notes’, don’t let them get away with it. Providing them with the right verb will be helpful. Giving them encouragement for using a complex sentence and guiding them to more information on verb forms and tenses will be even more so. The more specific you can be about the nature of the error, the more likely your student will be able to fix it. For practice, you can send them here.

Back