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Grade 5 English Language Arts — Keeping the tense consistent

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

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.Sort each verb by its tense.

    Groups: Past tense · Present tense

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

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

  3. 3.Which verb breaks the tense? "Ravi opened the gate, walked up the path and knocks on the door."

    • a) knocks
    • b) none — the tense is consistent
    • c) walked
    • d) opened

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

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

  5. 5.Correct the odd verb: "We reached the hall, took our seats and waits for the play to begin." Write the corrected verb.

  6. 6.A story is being told in the past tense. Which sentence fits into it?

    • a) He is opening the door slowly.
    • b) He opened the door slowly.
    • c) He opens the door slowly.
    • d) He will open the door slowly.

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

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

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

Answer key — Grade 5 English Language Arts — Keeping the tense consistent

  1. 1. went → Past tense; goes → Present tense; brought → Past tense; brings → Present tense; saw → Past tense; sees → Present tense
  2. 2. hits
  3. 3. a) knocks
  4. 4. c) appears
  5. 5. waited
  6. 6. b) He opened the door slowly.
  7. 7. walk → walked; begin → began; choose → chose; teach → taught; keep → kept; freeze → froze
  8. 8. she wrote a letter