The mathematical present perfect

May 14, 2007 · Filed Under Italy, Language, Work · 1 Comment

The present perfect tense is the bane of many an Italian striving to learn the English language. Us teachers say things like: ‘The present perfect connects the past to now’ or ‘The present perfect is the present result of a past action’ and whilst our honest intention is to help our charges understand how to use this tense, generally our straight from a grammar book explanations achieve a strike rate of about 1 in 100, or something like that. So, what to do? Well, I came up with an alternative approach to teaching this tense. I think my approach is original, but I apologise to anyone who may have already come up with it for my possible theft of an idea.

Anyway, what I do is explain that the present perfect quite simply summarises things. Example (which I often use): ‘I spent 10 Euros on Monday, 20 Euros on Tuesday and 10 Euros today. Summarize the total amount I have spent this week (Yes, I know I say ‘have spent’, but very few actually cotton on to this) .’ Generally, mathematical errors aside, I get an answer which employs the dear old present perfect. Lights begin to shine and some people start to understand how this tense works. Then I apply the same theory to experiences, which usually, can be counted, and people start saying ‘I’ve been to university’, ‘I’ve studied law’, etc etc and the light starts to become brighter, leading to more people attempting to use this formerly mysterious tense.

The present perfect is tantalisingly similar to the Italian passato prossimo. This similarity just tends to add to the confusion, unless you happen to be from Southern Italy, where a distinction between the passato prossimo and a tense resembling the present simple is made.

Sometimes, approaching problems from a different angle can lead to their elimination. I have spoken. Ho parlato (Ho = have, parlato = spoken, the subject is implied by the ‘ho’, pronounced ‘o’ as in ‘oat’, unless you are from Tuscany, but that is another story…)

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Tags: Italian, Italy

Job satisfaction

May 14, 2007 · Filed Under Italy, Me, Milan, Work · Comment

I was lucky enough, along with my colleague, to be invited to the dinner which the students of the Media Relations master organised to celebrate the end of their master and, for many, the beginning of their careers. I had a great time, chatting, drinking and eating the night away. My erstwhile ex-students even managed to persuade me to pop into the club (Alcatraz) next to the restaurant (Bio Solaire) and boogie on down to a few tunes, something that I had not done in quite a while. I got home at around 2.30 in the morning. Good stuff.

The people that have done the various editions of this master have been a good bunch and have worked exceptionally well together. Both the English courses which we ran and the workshop which was held towards the end of the master seem to have gone down well. And I think I would be right in saying that many felt that they had made real progress, which indeed many did, due in very great part to their motivation and application throughout the courses and the workshop.

When my students feel happy, I feel content too. In fact, this is possibly one of the best aspects of my job, even if it will never make me a millionaire.

All the best to all of you from the Media Relations master from me. Here’s to a sparking future. If you all continue to work as well as you have done, you deserve it. Oh, and many thanks for inviting me to the end of master bash - and many thanks for not allowing me to contribute anything towards the evening!

PS Many thanks to all those other master participants who have invited me to their dinners, too:)

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