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Year 9 English — Tense in stories and in reports

Choose the tense a piece of writing needs — the past for a story or a report, the present for instructions and general facts, and the past perfect for what happened earlier still.

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.Write one word: A story about events that are over and done with is normally written in the ____ tense.

  2. 2.By the time we reached the platform, the train ____.

    • a) is leaving
    • b) leaves
    • c) has left
    • d) had left

  3. 3.Sort each verb by its tense.

    Groups: Simple past · Past perfect

    • saw
    • had written
    • had walked
    • walked
    • wrote
    • had seen

  4. 4.A newspaper is reporting a fire that broke out during the night. Which opening sentence fits?

    • a) A fire will break out at the grain market.
    • b) A fire is breaking out at the grain market.
    • c) A fire broke out at the grain market during the night.
    • d) A fire breaks out at the grain market.

  5. 5.Which sentence describes how something works, rather than something that happened once?

    • a) The pump filled the tank in ten minutes.
    • b) The pump pushes air down the tube and into the tyre.
    • c) The pump was repaired on Tuesday.
    • d) The pump had stopped working by then.

  6. 6.Rewrite this as a story would tell it, in the past tense: "She opens the letter." Write the whole sentence.

  7. 7.Sort each sentence by whether it belongs in a story about last summer or in a guide to looking after a puppy.

    Groups: The story · The guide

    • The boat rocked and everybody laughed.
    • A puppy sleeps for most of the day.
    • Feed the puppy twice a day.
    • Keep a bowl of clean water within its reach.
    • We reached the river just before sunset.
    • Nobody had thought to bring an umbrella.

  8. 8.Sort each piece of writing by the tense it is normally written in.

    Groups: Past tense · Present tense

    • A fact about how bees make honey
    • A description of how a bicycle pump works
    • A diary entry about what happened at school today
    • A recipe for lemon rice
    • A story about a journey you made last year
    • A newspaper report of yesterday's match

Answer key — Year 9 English — Tense in stories and in reports

  1. 1. past
  2. 2. d) had left
  3. 3. walked → Simple past; had walked → Past perfect; saw → Simple past; had seen → Past perfect; wrote → Simple past; had written → Past perfect
  4. 4. c) A fire broke out at the grain market during the night.
  5. 5. b) The pump pushes air down the tube and into the tyre.
  6. 6. She opened the letter.
  7. 7. We reached the river just before sunset. → The story; Feed the puppy twice a day. → The guide; The boat rocked and everybody laughed. → The story; Keep a bowl of clean water within its reach. → The guide; Nobody had thought to bring an umbrella. → The story; A puppy sleeps for most of the day. → The guide
  8. 8. A story about a journey you made last year → Past tense; A recipe for lemon rice → Present tense; A newspaper report of yesterday's match → Past tense; A description of how a bicycle pump works → Present tense; A diary entry about what happened at school today → Past tense; A fact about how bees make honey → Present tense