Tense Toons

I realized that the world of ESL was gravely bereft of a necessary resource: a photocopiable book of grammar cartoons, carefully developed by a well-seasoned teacher. Rather than creating a thousand page text in which every grammatical function is expressed in illustration, I opted for a smaller book geared towards clarifying the foundation of the English language: the twelve complicated, expressive, frustrating and oh-so-indispensable English verb tenses. In addition to being a grammar resource, Tense Toons can also act as a discussion tool. The humor in the cartoons is often topical, sometimes satirical, always politically correct but potentially debatable in multi-cultural classrooms. I invite all instructors to use this text as a catalyst for discussions of American humor, social issues, cultural viewpoints, or any other topic the cartoons bring to mind.