In a message dated 4/2/2001 4:24:04 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:<<  For example, when my daughter says "I
HAVE cleaned my room!", she seems of all things to place the primary
'verbness' of the sentence on the auxilliary verb, >>

Larry,

Funny - and true!  My sixth graders use this constantly - usually in
conjunction with homework.

Or worse - a negative interrogative, as in "HAVEN'T you graded our papers
yet?" accompanied by huge sighs and rolling eyes.

I use the have/had test for present/past perfect, too.  I have all of this up
on a word wall, and they do fine when they can see all the conjugations of
the auxiliary verbs.  It's when they are trying to analyze their own
sentences that they get turned around.

Thanks for the help AND the laugh,
Gretchen in San Jose
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