INTRODUCTION The Profile of The English Teacher
languages are highly structured; they consist of patterns that recur in various combination and rules that apply to produce these patterns.
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The statement above reveals that language is homonymous as a system. Its system consists of elements which are a part of language components, such as;
word, sound, and meaning. Each elements in the system has function and relates to each other in order to achieve the goal that is, to yield a meaningful unit of
language. For that purpose, those elements need to be constructed by rules. These rules and patterns are arranged in regular way to makes up language easy to learn
and enables to use. The first of all patterns and rules in English is what we know as grammar.
Moreover, grammar may be roughly defined as the way a language manipulates and combines words or bits of words in order to form longer units
of meaning.
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It can be said that grammar has function to combine the succession of words in order to gives meaning to its succession. These words are combined and
manipulated to create any number of different sentences. It helps us to convey our meaning and determine others’ accurately. So that it can create an effective
communication for us. In another words, grammar will facilitate us in the mastery of the language skills
Structure is the specific instance of grammar. One of its structures is tense. The word tense stands for a verb form or series of verb forms used to express a
time relation.
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Since the most basic element of an English sentence is verb, tense become the staple of all grammar structure. It frequently appears both in English
utterances and texts. Accordingly tense has fundamental role in the English language, so the inappropriate uses of tenses may obscure the meaning. It can be
seen from the following example:
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CM Millward, A Biography of The English Language, second edition, Thomson Inc., Boston, 1996, p:2
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Penny Ur, Grammar Practice Activities…, p : 4
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A. S. Hornby, Guide to Patterns and Usage in English, The English Language Book Society and Oxford University Press, London, 1975. p :78