Alissa: Hey Jessica, welcome back from Northern Arizona.

Let’s talk about our reading “Getting

Acquainted with the Original Americans”.

Jessica: Thanks. While I was in Monument Valley, I learned about the Navajo Nation, but I
wanted to learn some more. So, I did some research and I wrote this reading, “Getting
Acquainted with the Original Americans” to share with everyone.

Alissa: Okay, so first let’s look together at the paragraph from the reading. Learners, write the
verbs that are in the present simple. Why are these verbs in the present simple?

Arizona has one of the largest Native American populations in the United States. Native
Americans have had a great influence on Arizona’s art, architecture, music, dance, food,
and cultural traditions. Visitors come from all around the world to get acquainted with
Native cultures such as the Hopi, Tohono O’odham, Apache, and Pima people of
Arizona. Indeed, Arizona is home to the largest Native American reservation in the
United States: the Navajo Nation. Many visitors to the Navajo nation are especially
interested in finding out about how the Navajo people lived in the past.

Alissa: Now, look at another paragraph from the reading. Write the verbs that are in the
present continuous. Why are these verbs in the present continuous?

The Navajo, or Diné, people are also famous around the world for their arts and crafts,
especially their beautiful blankets and rugs. In the picture below, two Navajo women are
wearing traditional jewelry and sitting on a Navajo blanket. The older woman knows how
to make traditional Navajo blankets, and she is teaching the girl. Visitors to the Navajo
Nation will have a great experience and learn a lot about American culture.

Alissa: Well Jessica, I read your reading, and I found it really interesting. You’re a really strong
writer. Can you give us some tips to help our learners when they are writing in English?

Jessica: Well, many learners have problems with verb tenses, so I think it’s a good idea to learn
the differences between the simple and continuous verb tenses.

Alissa: Excellent. Please show us how you chose different verb tenses in the reading.

Jessica: Sure! I love grammar! First of all, learners, do you know what the most common
tense in English is?

Jessica: Yep, that’s right. It’s the present simple. Let’s look at the paragraph, learners, that we
have just read together. The verbs in the present simple are in green: has, come, is, and are.

Arizona has one of the largest Native American populations in the United States. Native
Americans have had a great influence on Arizona’s art, architecture, music, dance, food,
and cultural traditions. Visitors come from all around the world to get acquainted with
Native cultures such as the Hopi, Tohono O’odham, Apache, and Pima people of
Arizona. Indeed, Arizona is home to the largest Native American reservation in the
United States: the Navajo Nation. Many visitors to the Navajo nation are especially
interested in finding out about how the Navajo people lived in the past.

Created by Global Launch and Arizona State University. Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Duplication and Distribution Is Prohibited.
 Jessica: In this case, I used the present simple to give facts.

Alissa: Now, Jessica, I would imagine that some learners chose have had in the sentence
Native Americans have had a great influence.

Jessica: Yes, but this is an example of the present perfect. We’ll have to wait until another
week to talk more about the present perfect.

Alissa: And our learners also know that we use the present simple for habits and routines. Can
you give us some examples?

Jessica: Sure. Here are some examples: When I travel, I always bring my passport. I often
travel by plane. I sometimes visit historic monuments.

Alissa: Some great examples. Let’s look at the other paragraph we read together. What
verbs are in the present continuous?

The Navajo, or Diné, people are also famous around the world for their arts and crafts,
especially their beautiful blankets and rugs. In the picture below, two Navajo women
are wearing traditional jewelry and sitting on a Navajo blanket. The older woman is
teaching the girl to make a traditional Navajo blanket.

Alissa: Are these the verbs you chose? Are wearing and sitting? Is teaching? Jessica, please
explain why these verbs are in the present continuous.

Jessica: Sure. I used the present continuous to describe the actions happening in the picture at
that moment. So the women are wearing jewelry and sitting on a Navajo blanket. And the older
woman is teaching the girl.

Alissa: Here, you wrote sitting and not are sitting. Jessica, can you please explain why there is
no “are”?

Jessica: I didn’t write are sitting because you don’t need to repeat the verb are. The subject,
two Navajo women, and the helping verb, are, are the same for wearing and sitting.

Alissa: Now, you also wrote The older woman knows how to make traditional Navajo blankets,
not The older woman is knowing. Can you please explain why you used the present simple and
not the present continuous?

Jessica: Sure, no problem. There are some verbs we don’t normally use in the continuous,
such as know, own, and love. These are sometimes called stative verbs because they are not
action verbs. We only use them in the simple tenses. For example, we don’t say “I am knowing
English.” We say “I know English.”

Alissa: Great. So now that we have talked about the reading and these tenses, let’s do some
practice.

Created by Global Launch and Arizona State University. Copyright © 2020 Arizona Board of Regents. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Duplication and Distribution Is Prohibited.