Verb Tenses — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Read these sentences: "The wind blew hard. Suddenly the door opens wide." What should be changed?
A) Change "blew" to "blows."
B) Change "opens" to "opened."
C) Change "blew" to "blowed."
D) No change is needed.
"Blew" is past tense, so every verb in the passage should stay in the past tense. "Opens" is present tense, which creates a tense shift error. Changing it to "opened" keeps both sentences consistent.
2. Which sentence correctly uses the past progressive tense?
A) They were building a treehouse all afternoon.
B) They was building a treehouse all afternoon.
C) They builded a treehouse all afternoon.
D) They will be building a treehouse all afternoon.
"Were building" uses the past form of "be" (were) plus the -ing verb (building), which is the correct past progressive formula. It shows the action was ongoing throughout the afternoon.
3. What is the correct past tense of the irregular verb "hold"?
A) holded
B) holding
C) holds
D) held
"Hold" is irregular, so you cannot say "holded." The past tense changes the vowel and drops the "o" sound to give you "held."
4. Which sentence has NO tense shift error?
A) She danced on stage and then sings a solo.
B) We will pack our lunches and will walk to school.
C) He is drawing a picture and wrote a story.
D) They swam in the pool and then eats ice cream.
Both verbs use "will" ("will pack" and "will walk"), so they are both in the future tense. Keeping every verb in the same tense avoids a tense shift error.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. The irregular past tense of "rise" is rose.
"Rise" is irregular and does not take -ed. Its past tense form is "rose," where the vowel changes from a long "i" to a long "o."
2. In "She was reading when the lights went out," the verb "was reading" is in the past progressive tense.
"Was" is the past tense of "be," and it pairs with "reading" (-ing form) to create the past progressive. This tense shows the reading was already in progress when the lights went out.
3. The irregular past tense of "lead" is led.
"Lead" is irregular in the past tense -- it becomes "led," changing the vowel sound from a long "e" to a short "e." Be careful not to confuse it with the metal "lead."
4. When two actions happen at the same time in a sentence, both verbs should be in the same tense.
Switching tenses in the middle of a sentence creates a tense shift error. If two actions happen at the same time, both verbs must share the same tense so the reader is not confused about when events occurred.
5. The irregular past tense of "forgive" is forgave.
"Forgive" follows the same irregular pattern as "give" -- "gave." The past tense is "forgave," changing the "i" vowel to an "a."