Verb Tense And Mood

In this engaging grammar tutorial, David introduces students to the future tense, focusing specifically on how to use the auxiliary verb "will." The video uses a blackboard-style animation to visually demonstrate how sentences change from the present tense to the future tense. Through humorous examples involving cupcakes and triceratops, the narrator simplifies the concept of time in language, distinguishing between what happens now versus what happens later.

This educational video provides a clear and engaging introduction to modal verbs, a special class of auxiliary or "helper" verbs in the English language. Narrated by David, the video defines modality as the expression of conditions—such as likelihood, ability, permission, and obligation—and introduces the core list of modal verbs including may, might, must, can, could, shall, should, will, and would. The narrator uses a digital whiteboard to visually map out these concepts, making abstract grammar rules concrete and accessible. The content breaks down the three unique grammatical properties of modal verbs that distinguish them from regular verbs. First, they "agree with everything," meaning they do not change form based on the subject (e.g., no adding 's' for third-person singular). Second, they lack an infinitive form (one cannot say "to can" or "to must"). Third, they indicate specific modalities. Through humorous and relatable examples—like a detective deducing clues or a height requirement for a "Doom-coaster"—the video illustrates how these verbs function in everyday sentences. For educators, this video serves as an excellent foundational tool for teaching parts of speech and sentence structure. It effectively clarifies common student errors, such as incorrect conjugation or using modals as infinitives. The clear visual text and distinct color-coding aid in retention, while the diverse examples provide readymade sentences for classroom analysis. It is particularly useful for upper elementary and middle school English Language Arts curriculums, as well as for English Language Learners (ELLs) mastering the nuances of English verb structures.

This engaging language arts video introduces students to the concepts of active and passive voice through a narrative set in the fictional town of "Verbados." When the town's tourism industry suffers due to confusing grammar, the presenter steps in to help clarify the town's communication. By breaking down the roles of the subject and the verb, the video demonstrates how active voice portrays the subject performing an action, while passive voice shows the subject receiving the action. The lesson uses clear visual metaphors—such as an archer shooting a target—to illustrate the direction of action in a sentence. It provides multiple opportunities for interactive learning, asking viewers to pause and label sentences as active or passive, and later to rewrite sentences from one voice to the other. The content covers not just how to identify the voices, but the stylistic reasons for choosing one over the other, such as using active voice for persuasion and clarity, or passive voice for formality or when the actor is unknown. Ideal for upper elementary and middle school English classes, this video serves as an excellent introduction or review of sentence structure and style. Teachers can use it to help students strengthen their writing by making conscious choices about subject-verb relationships. The narrative approach helps contextualize abstract grammatical rules, showing students practical applications in advertising, official announcements, and storytelling.

In this concise grammar lesson, David introduces the concept of verb aspect, distinguishing it from basic verb tense. While tense places an action in the past, present, or future, aspect adds nuance to these actions, describing their nature—such as whether they are ongoing, completed, or repetitive. The video uses a clear timeline visualization to demonstrate how aspect functions as a tool to expand expression. The key themes explored include the relationship between time and language, the structure of English verbs, and the idea of grammatical "nuance." Specifically, it introduces the four variations (aspects) that exist within the present tense: simple (I walk), continuous (I am walking), perfect (I have walked), and perfect continuous (I have been walking), referring to them playfully as "mini-tenses." For educators, this video serves as an excellent foundational hook for a unit on advanced verb forms. It moves students beyond simple conjugation into understanding the subtle differences in meaning conveyed by different verb structures. By visualizing these concepts on a timeline, it helps visual learners grasp abstract grammatical rules, setting the stage for more complex writing and analysis tasks.

This video provides a clear and concise explanation of the "perfect aspect" in English grammar. The narrator clarifies that in grammatical terms, "perfect" means "complete" rather than flawless. Using a visual timeline, the video demonstrates how this aspect is used to describe actions that are finished prior to a specific reference point in time—whether that point is in the past, present, or future. The content breaks down the structure of perfect tenses, specifically highlighting the formula: helper verb (have/had/will have) + the past participle of the main verb. Through the specific example of "washing dishes," the narrator illustrates the Present Perfect ("have washed"), Past Perfect ("had washed"), and Future Perfect ("will have washed"), showing how only the helper verb changes while the main verb remains constant. For educators, this resource is an excellent tool for demystifying complex verb tenses. The visual timeline offers a concrete mental model for students who struggle with the abstract concept of time in language. It effectively separates the idea of "tense" (when we are speaking) from "aspect" (the status of the action), making it a valuable asset for middle and high school English Language Arts lessons and ESL/ELL instruction.

A lively and humorous grammar tutorial that introduces students to the three main types of sentences: declarative, interrogative, and imperative. Through a conversational dialogue between two instructors, David and Paige, the video defines each sentence type, provides clear examples, and explains their specific grammatical functions. The visual format uses a blackboard style where terms and examples are handwritten in real-time to reinforce the concepts. The video covers the specific definitions of each type: declarative sentences for making statements or conveying facts/opinions, interrogative sentences for asking questions, and imperative sentences for issuing commands. A key grammatical concept explored is the "implied subject" in imperative sentences, where the subject "you" is understood but not spoken. The instructors use memorable, sometimes silly examples involving lavender, baseball, cheese, and bunnies to keep engagement high. This resource is highly valuable for elementary and middle school English Language Arts classrooms. It demystifies complex-sounding terminology (like "interrogative") by connecting it to familiar words (like "interrogation"). Teachers can use this video to introduce sentence variety in writing, teach proper end punctuation, or explain the grammatical structure of commands. The final segment, which transforms a single slogan into all three sentence types, offers a perfect model for classroom practice activities.

This educational video provides a clear, step-by-step guide to understanding, identifying, and using helping verbs (also known as auxiliary verbs). It begins by reviewing action and linking verbs before introducing helping verbs as words that support the main verb to indicate time, mood, or tone. The video acknowledges that memorizing a list of verbs can be overwhelming and instead offers a logical three-step process for identifying them within sentences: find the subject, find the main verb, and look at the words in between. Through illustrated examples, the narrator demonstrates how changing or removing helping verbs drastically alters the meaning of a sentence. For instance, the difference between "Sam cleaned his room" and "Sam should have cleaned his room" is explored to show how helping verbs convey obligation and past tense. Similarly, the difference between playing games and "might" play games illustrates the concept of uncertainty. This resource is highly valuable for elementary and middle school language arts instruction. It moves beyond simple definition to practical application, helping students understand not just what helping verbs are, but why they matter in communication. The visual "hand-drawn" style keeps students engaged, while the repetitive application of the three-step identification method provides a scaffolded learning experience ideal for grammar lessons.

This concise educational video introduces students to the concept of the present tense in English grammar. The narrator defines the present tense as actions or states that are happening "right now," offering a simple mental check students can use to verify if a verb is in the present tense by adding the phrase "right now" to the end of a sentence. Through clear, handwritten examples on a blackboard style background, the video demonstrates how this rule applies to various sentence structures. The video explores key themes of verb tenses, sentence construction, and temporal awareness in language. It specifically covers standard present tense verbs (like "eat" and "is") as well as present continuous forms (constructions using "is + -ing"), explaining that both forms describe current actions. The examples range from simple statements about eating donuts to more whimsical sentences about catapults, keeping the tone light and engaging. For classroom application, this video serves as an excellent introduction or review of verb tenses for early elementary students or English language learners. It provides a concrete, actionable strategy (the "right now" test) that students can immediately apply to their own writing and speaking. Teachers can use this video to anchor lessons on subject-verb agreement, narrative timing, or the difference between past, present, and future events.