What are the verb tenses?
Verbs do a lot of work in sentences. They show
actions and states of being. They even take
different forms to show time.
flies
flew
will fly
What are the verb tenses?
The tense of a verb indicates the time of the
action or state of being expressed by the verb.
Past
Past
Present
Present
Future
Future
Gwen
plays
in
a jazz
band.
Gwen
will
playguitar
inlast
a concert
Gwen
played
year
astomorrow.
well.
What are the verb tenses?
Present
Use the present tense to make “timeless”
statements that are true now and will continue to
be true unless something happens to change the
situation.
We fly the flag at half-staff
until noon on Memorial Day.
We honor veterans on
Veterans’ Day.
The President places a wreath
on the Tomb of the Unknown
soldier.
What are the verb tenses?
Past and past perfect
Use the past tense to tell a story about
something that happened in the past.
The two friends shared the large swing.
They sat for a long time.
Consistency of tense
Do not change needlessly from one tense to
another.
To describe events that occur at the same time,
use verbs in the same tense.
past tense
past tense
Sara peeked over the fence and saw a cornfield.
present tense
present tense
Sara peeks over the fence and sees a cornfield.
Consistency of tense
Do not change needlessly from one tense to
another.
past tense
present tense
Whenever we went out, Robert always makes a
fuss about ordering the best wine.
All Present Tense: Whenever we go out, Robert
always makes a fuss about ordering the best wine.
All Past Tense: Whenever we went out, Robert
always made a fuss about ordering the best wine.
Consistency of tense
For events that occur at different times, use
verbs of different tenses to show the sequence of
events.
past tense
present tense
Yesterday, Nina told us that her brother works
every week at the senior center.
The action of telling occurred at a specific time in the
past. The action of working occurs now.
She went to Trident Technical College which was in
South Carolina.
Consistency of tense
Change each sentence to make the verb
tense consistent. Be prepared to explain your
answers. Hint: One sentence is already correct (C).
1. Kira caught the ball and throws it to first
base.
2. Lily lives next door now but will soon move to
another town.
3. My cousin breaks his leg, so I helped him get
around.
Consistency of tense
Change each sentence to make the verb
tense consistent. Be prepared to explain your
answers. Hint: One sentence is already correct (C).
Possible Answer
1. Kira caught the ball and threw it to first
base.
The actions occur at the same time, so the verbs
should both be in the same tense.
Consistency of tense
Change each sentence to make the verb
tense consistent. Be prepared to explain your
answers. Hint: One sentence is already correct (C).
2. Lily lives next door now but will soon move to
another town.
The action of living takes place now, but the
action of moving will happen later.
C
Consistency of tense
Change each sentence to make the verb
tense consistent. Be prepared to explain your
answers. Hint: One sentence is already correct (C).
Possible Answer
3. My cousin broke his leg, so I helped him get
around.
The action of breaking the leg happened before
the action of helping.
Consistency of tense
On Your Own
Proofread the paragraph for unnecessary changes of verb
tense. Change the verbs to make the tenses consistent.
(1) I was in my room Saturday morning, planning to
study for two hours. (2) To my surprise, Nancy Chang drops
by. (3) She dashed into the house, runs up the stairs, and
calls my name. (4) What she wanted was a fishing
companion. (5) As I get my fishing gear together, I was so
happy. (6) On our way to the lake, we notice some dark
clouds. (7) We wished we checked the weather first.
[End of Section]
Consistency of tense
Possible Answers
(1) I was in my room Saturday morning, planning to
study for two hours. (2) To my surprise, Nancy Chang
ran
dropped
drops by. (3) She dashed into the house, runs up the
called
stairs, and calls my name. (4) What she wanted was a
got
fishing companion. (5) As I get my fishing gear together, I
noticed
was so happy. (6) On our way to the lake, we notice some
had
dark clouds. (7) We wished we checked the weather first.