Verb Tenses — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Which sentence uses the future progressive tense correctly?
A) She will be practicing piano at three o'clock.
B) She will practiced piano at three o'clock.
C) She is practicing piano at three o'clock tomorrow.
D) She practicing piano at three o'clock.
The future progressive tense uses "will be" plus a verb ending in -ing. "She will be practicing" follows this formula exactly, showing an action that will be ongoing at a specific future time.
2. What is the correct past tense of the irregular verb "bite"?
A) bited
B) bitten
C) bit
D) biting
"Bite" is irregular and does not add -ed. Its past tense is "bit," with the long "i" sound shortening. "Bitten" is the past participle, not the simple past.
3. Which pair of sentences keeps the tense consistent?
A) We ate lunch and then we play outside.
B) She finishes her chores and watched television.
C) He opened his book and began to read.
D) I will clean my room and cooked dinner.
Both "opened" and "began" are past tense, so the tense stays consistent throughout the sentence. Mixing tenses, like pairing a past verb with a present verb, would create a tense shift error.
4. In which sentence is the present progressive tense used?
A) The painter finished the mural yesterday.
B) The painter finishes a mural every month.
C) The painter is finishing the mural right now.
D) The painter will finish the mural next week.
"Is finishing" combines the present-tense helper "is" with the -ing form "finishing," which is the present progressive formula. The phrase "right now" confirms the action is currently in progress.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. The irregular past tense of "sing" is sang.
"Sing" is irregular, so adding -ed would be wrong. The past tense changes the vowel from "i" to "a," producing "sang."
2. The future progressive tense uses will be plus a verb ending in -ing.
Every progressive tense uses a form of "be" plus a verb with -ing. In the future progressive, the pattern is "will be" + verb-ing, so the ending is always -ing.
3. In "The leaves fell from the tree," the verb "fell" is the past tense of fall.
"Fell" is the irregular past tense of "fall." The vowel changes from "a" to "e" when the verb shifts to the past, so the base form is "fall."
4. A sentence in the present progressive tense always includes a form of the verb be plus -ing.
The present progressive formula is a form of "be" (am, is, are) plus a verb ending in -ing. Without a form of "be," the -ing verb cannot show that the action is happening right now.
5. The irregular past tense of "wear" is wore.
"Wear" is irregular, so it does not become "weared." The past tense changes the vowel sound to produce "wore."