4.2.3.4. When things happen, other things happen

You may have already been exposed to the type of sentence I have in mind here. Recall that in connection with learning to talk about events and situations in the past, I suggested that the LRP use frames, such as “When this picture was taken--” This type of clause, sometimes called a temporal clause, or time clause, provides the temporal setting in which an event occurs.

Temporal clauses can be past oriented (“When I was eating my breakfast--”) or future oriented (“When I eat supper--”). Related notions include “Before I ate supper--”, “Until I ate supper--”, and “After I ate supper--.”

Techniques: After you give a few examples, the LRP should be able to think of a reasonable sentence to say in connection with each picture, using a past oriented temporal clause: “When this man was ploughing, he walked behind his plough”. Future oriented temporal clauses are similar to if-clauses discussed above, and similar techniques can be used. “When I fold the cloth, bend the pipe.” “Keep writing until I smile.”