Grade 5 English: Verbs and tenses poster

1What is tense?

A verb is a doing or being word. The tense of a verb shows when something happens.

2Simple present tense

• Use it for what happens now or often: every day, always.
• With he, she or it, add s: she plays, he walks.
• Consonant and y: change y to ies: carry, carries.

3Simple past tense

• Use it for what already happened: yesterday, last week.
• Add ed: walk, walked. Ends in e: add d: bake, baked.
• Consonant and y: change y to ied: carry, carried.
• One short vowel and one consonant: double it: stop, stopped.

4Irregular verbs

Irregular verbs do not add ed. They change in other ways.

5Simple future tense

Put will in front of the verb for what has not happened yet: tomorrow, next week.

6Keep the same tense

Do not change the tense in the middle of your writing unless the time changes.