Tenses
Background Information & Activities

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Though there are many different verb tenses, your children should be familiar with the past, present, and future tenses. Explain that there are general rules that govern writing verbs in the past, present, and future tenses, but that there are many, many exceptions to these rules. Encourage your children to find exceptions and describe how they are different. The best way for children to learn irregular verbs is to read and expose themselves to different kinds of writing.

Writers use the present tense to describe events that are happening at the moment. For the pronouns he and she, add s or es to the end of the verb to make it present tense as in jumps, hopes, wishes, and touches. You do not have to add s or es when using present verbs with the pronouns I, you, we, and they, as in "You jump in the pool" or "We play on the beach." We recommend watching the Nouns movie together as a review.

Writers use the past tense to describe events that have already happened. These events may have happened hundreds of years ago or just minutes before. To show the past tense, you usually add ed or d to the end of a verb, as in walked, touched, hiked, and poked. Remind students that some verbs require adding another consonant, as in hopped, fanned, and jammed. There are many verbs with irregular past tenses such as took, found, felt, swam, tried, ran, and fell.

Writers use the future tense to describe events that will happen. These events can happen in a second or minute or can happen thousands of years from now. To show the future tense, you can add the word will before the verb, as in "I will play football," "She will buy a new bike," and "You will bake a pie."

Encourage your children to read and pay attention to different tenses that writers use to show time. Together find irregular verbs and discuss them in class. Have students practice writing sentences with these verbs and editing each other’s paragraphs to make sure tenses align.

See more lesson plans and resources: BrainPOP Educators.

Tenses Teacher Activities

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In the Future

Together read science fiction novels that take place in the future. Then have students write paragraphs about the future. What do they think will happen in the future? What will life be like? What would they like to do when they get older? Remind students to use the future tense in their paragraphs. Give students opportunities to share their work with each other and proofread each other’s work.

Switching Tenses

Have students find a paragraph in their favorite book. Then have them rewrite the paragraph using a different tense. For example, a student may rewrite a paragraph about dinosaurs written in the past tense and use the present tense. How does the tense change the paragraph? How does the tense make the writing more or less confusing? Discuss how choosing the right tense is important in writing.

Word Play

Have students write different verbs on index cards. Then put their cards in a box or hat and draw different verbs. Have students write sentences using the verb in past, present, and future tense. Students can write them in their notebooks or come up to the board and write. As an alternative, students can pick a few cards and write one paragraph using the words on the card. You may wish to assign them a tense to use in their paragraphs.

Tenses Family Activities

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Good Sports

Explain to your child that sportscasters describe a sporting event as it happens. You may want to show an example by watching a sporting event on TV or listening to one on the radio. If possible, attend a sporting event such as a basketball game and have your child describe what he or she sees using the present tense. Then have your child write a few of his or her observations and descriptions in a notebook.

Irregular Verbs

Reading is the best way for your child to familiarize himself or herself with irregular verbs. Together read a book together and keep a list of all the irregular verbs. You and your child may want to keep a running list or irregular verbs that you find while reading. Then have your child tell the present and future tense of each verb.