Scho la s t i c s c o pe
Activity: The Lazy Editor—“Thrill Ride!”
Skill: Verb Tense
Name: _______________________________________ Class: ___________________ Date: _____________
A verb’s tense tells you whether the action takes place in the past, present, or future. When you write a
paragraph, it is important to pay close attention to the verb tenses you use throughout the entire paragraph.
They should be consistent, or in agreement. Unnecessary shifts in tense can confuse your reader. Consider the
following paragraph:
As I rode my bike home from school, Mrs. Silverman honked and waved at me. I thought she
was just being friendly. It turns out, she was trying to tell me that my backpack is unzipped
and my belongings are scattered all the way down Meadow Lane!
The shift in verb tense in the last sentence makes it sounds like the writer’s backpack is still unzipped and
that his or her belongings are still on Meadow Lane—which is probably not the case. Of course, sometimes
it is OK to shift verb tenses, as long as you have a good reason. For example:
I want to wear my blue sweater today. However, it is at my friend Jamie’s house.
I left it there last weekend.
Directions: Read the following paragraphs carefully. Correct any inconsistent verb tenses. We did one for you.
New Year’s Resolutions
began
Thousands of years ago, in ancient Rome, people first begin celebrating the new
year on January 1. The Romans believed in many different gods, and they will always
invent holidays and celebrations in honor of the gods they worshipped.
On New Year’s Day, the Romans worshipped Janus, the god of doors and gates.
They believed Janus had two faces, one looking forward toward the new year and the
other looking backward at the year that had passed. To please Janus, they are naming
the month of January after him.
Each Roman also made a special promise for the coming year. These were promises to
break a bad habit or improve something about themselves. Today, many of us still follow
the tradition of starting the new year with a promise. We called these promises resolutions.
A resolution can be simple. For example, you might have wanted to help your parents
more, keep your room neater, read more, or eat healthier food.
Making a promise is easy. Keeping it was the hard part!
Scholastic sCOPE online reproducible •january 10, 2011
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Mind Your Verb Tenses