Present and past tense
You learn to tell the present tense from the past tense.
How to do the test
- Look for a time word, such as yesterday, now or last week.
- Words like yesterday and last week point to the past tense.
- Words like now and every day point to the present tense.
A worked example
Tap the verb in the past tense. Every day I walk to school, but yesterday I ran.
- Yesterday shows when it happens.
- The other verb, walk, is in the present tense.
- Ran is the past tense.
More examples
Tap the verb in the past tense. The baby sleeps now, but an hour ago she cried.
- An hour ago shows when it happens.
- The other verb, sleeps, is in the present tense.
- Cried is the past tense.
Tap the verb in the present tense. Last night we watched a film, and tonight we watch a play.
- Tonight shows when it happens.
- The other verb, watched, is in the past tense.
- Watch is the present tense.
Watch out
You tap the verb that comes first, instead of the one that matches the question.
Match each verb to its time word. Yesterday goes with the past, now and every day go with the present.
Tips
- Most past tense verbs end in -ed, but many common ones do not: ran, ate, went.
Why it works
A tense shows when something happens. A time word, like yesterday or now, tells you which tense to expect, and then you can match each verb to its time word.