Examples of Verb Tenses
Past Tense - it already happened	Yesterday, I played outside.
Present Tense - it is happening right now	I play outside.
Future Tense - it has yet to happen	Tomorrow I will play outside.
We usually make the past tense by adding "d" or "ed" to the verb root word. Example; Hannah talked to her friend. Some verbs have irregular past tenses. Example; Hannah told him about her holiday. We do not add "d" or "ed" to the irregular past tense verb, but change the spelling. Tell becomes told not telled.

We also make the past tense by using the verb "to be" and add "ing" word.
Examples of Verb Tense To Be
Root word	Present tense	Past tense	Future tense
To be	is/ am/ are	was/ were	will/shall
More Verb Tense Examples
Past Tense; She was talking to her friends.		Was is the verb "to be". Talking is the verb root word.
Worksheets	Past Tense Verbs Worksheets Past Tense Verbs: One of Seven Past Tense Verbs: Two of Seven

Regular Verbs

Examples of Regular Verb Tenses
Root word	Past tense
Walk	I walked.
Walk plus to be	I was walking.
Help	I helped.
Learn	I learned.
Learn plus to be	I was learning.

Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs do not follow the spelling pattern of regular Verbs and some irregular verbs do not change their spelling at all.
Examples of Irregular Verbs Not Following the Spelling Pattern
Root word	Past tense
Write	I wrote.
Write plus to be	They were writing.
Grow	It grew.
Teach	She taught.
Teach plus to be	We were teaching.
Think	He thought.
Examples of Irregular Verbs That Do Not Change their Spelling
Root word	Past tense
cost	I cost
hit	They were hitting.
read	It read.
let	She let.
put	We were putting.
shut	He shut.

 

Time words tell us when an action happened in the past.
Past Tense Time Words
yesterday	yesterday evening	yesterday morning	yesterday
	yesterday afternoon	the day before yesterday
last	last night	last Summer	last Monday
	last week	last Autumn	last Tuesday
	last month	last Winter	last weekend
	last year	last Spring	last Friday
ago	a few minutes ago	two days ago	a month ago
	an hour ago	a week ago	five years ago
in	in 1961	in the 1920's	in the 16th century

Lessons on the basic rules of English Language Arts verb tenses will better equip your child to express their ideas in writing. The lessons provide models and valuable suggestions. Worksheets are structured as stepping stones to build your child's fundamental English Grammar skills.

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