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Year 7 English — Keeping the tense consistent

Spot the verb that breaks the tense of a passage, and correct it.

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.Which sentence mixes its tenses wrongly?

    • a) I was reading when the phone rang.
    • b) I will read it and tell you about it.
    • c) I read the book and enjoyed it.
    • d) I am reading when the phone rang.

  2. 2.Match each verb to its simple past form.

    • walk
    • begin
    • choose
    • teach
    • keep
    • freeze
    • began
    • kept
    • taught
    • chose
    • froze
    • walked

  3. 3.Which version keeps one tense throughout?

    • a) The bell ring and the children ran out.
    • b) The bell rang and the children ran out.
    • c) The bell rang and the children run out.
    • d) The bell rings and the children ran out.

  4. 4.Correct the odd verb: "He picks up the bat, walks to the crease and hit the first ball for four." Write the corrected verb.

  5. 5.Which verb breaks the tense? "The magician waved his wand, said a strange word and a rabbit appears in the hat."

    • a) waved
    • b) appears
    • c) none — the tense is consistent
    • d) said

  6. 6.Put the sentences of this past-tense passage in order. The time words will tell you where each one belongs.

    • At first the sky was clear and the sun was warm.
    • Then a grey cloud crept over the hill.
    • Within minutes the rain was falling in sheets.
    • By evening the storm had passed and the streets were quiet.

  7. 7.Rewrite in the past tense: "She writes a letter." Write the whole sentence.

  8. 8.Sort each verb by its tense.

    Groups: Past tense · Present tense

    • sees
    • brought
    • goes
    • saw
    • went
    • brings

Answer key — Year 7 English — Keeping the tense consistent

  1. 1. d) I am reading when the phone rang.
  2. 2. walk → walked; begin → began; choose → chose; teach → taught; keep → kept; freeze → froze
  3. 3. b) The bell rang and the children ran out.
  4. 4. hits
  5. 5. b) appears
  6. 6. 1. At first the sky was clear and the sun was warm. 2. Then a grey cloud crept over the hill. 3. Within minutes the rain was falling in sheets. 4. By evening the storm had passed and the streets were quiet.
  7. 7. she wrote a letter
  8. 8. went → Past tense; goes → Present tense; brought → Past tense; brings → Present tense; saw → Past tense; sees → Present tense