English problem

[Serena1977]

Hi all,

How do I explain to a group of 7 years olds:

Changing present to past tenses in the following sentence:

I need help with my homework

How do I explain why we change need to the past tense and not help?

Thanks

Help is a noun here.

Because need is a verb and help is a noun?

It's not very helpful but I'm visualising demonstrators:
What do you need??
Help with my homework!
When did you need it?
Before!

Compare it to other similar phrases:

• I need paper for my homework.
• I need a pen for my homework.
• I need a box for my homework.

or change the phrase slightly to show how abstract nouns work:

• I need an apology for that rude reply!

I think making comparisons might be easier than talking about nouns and verbs at this stage?

Because ‘need’ is a verb - a ‘doing’ word - which can change tenses - I needed, I will need, I have needed - etc., while ‘help’ in this context is a noun - the thing that is needed. And nouns don’t change tense.

But of course ‘help’ can also be a verb which can change tense - ‘Can you help me?’ I helped my mum, I will help you tomorrow, etc.

As other posters have said - the key here is understanding the role of a verb and a noun.

If you’ve got a group who know those - get them to divide up the sentence first, and identify the verb.

If the group don’t know what a verb is, you should be teaching that first.

Are you on placement?

Are you comfortable with the grammar yourself? There are lots of resources for SATs, and if you get familiar with the SPaG requirements for KS2 Y6 SATs, you’ll be a whizz for all things in the age 7 level.

Because the 'doing word' is needed.
You needed help
You needed a drink of water
You needed to go to the toilet