When we talk about something happening now, we use the present tense.
Example: Rina is reading a book. The children play in the park.
When we talk about something that already happened (yesterday, last week), we use the past tense.
Example: Rina was reading a book. The children played in the park.
| Use | With | Example |
|---|---|---|
| is | he, she, it, singular nouns | He is tall. The dog is barking. |
| am | I | I am happy. I am a student. |
| are | you, we, they, plural nouns | They are playing. We are friends. |
| Use | With | Example |
|---|---|---|
| was | I, he, she, it, singular nouns | I was late. She was singing. |
| were | you, we, they, plural nouns | They were happy. We were at school. |
Think: "is" becomes "was" in the past. "are" becomes "were" in the past. "am" becomes "was" in the past.
We use the simple present tense to talk about things that happen regularly or are always true.
Rule: With he, she, it -- add -s or -es to the verb.
| Subject | Verb | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| I / We / You / They | play | I play cricket. |
| He / She / It | plays | She plays cricket. |
| I / We / You / They | go | They go to school. |
| He / She / It | goes | He goes to school. |
We use the simple past tense to talk about things that already happened.
Rule: Usually add -ed to the verb. Some verbs change in a special way.
| Present | Past | Example (Past) |
|---|---|---|
| play | played | I played in the garden. |
| cook | cooked | Mother cooked rice. |
| go | went | She went to the market. |
| eat | ate | We ate lunch at 1 o'clock. |
| come | came | Ravi came to my house. |
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Tense | The form of a verb that shows when an action happens |
| Present Tense | Shows an action happening now or regularly |
| Past Tense | Shows an action that already happened |
| Verb | A doing word or action word (run, eat, sing) |
| Regular Verb | A verb that adds -ed to form the past tense (walked, played) |
| Irregular Verb | A verb that changes in a special way in the past tense (go-went, eat-ate) |
Present: Sita walks to school every day. → Past: Sita walked to school yesterday.
Present: The birds are singing. → Past: The birds were singing.
A. Fill in the blanks with is, am, or are.
B. Fill in the blanks with was or were.
C. Choose the correct verb form.
D. Change the following sentences from present tense to past tense.
E. Change the following sentences from past tense to present tense.
F. Write sentences of your own.
My Yesterday and Today: Write 3 sentences about what you did yesterday (past tense) and 3 sentences about what you do every day (present tense).
Yesterday (Past Tense):
1.
2.
3.
Every Day (Present Tense):
1.
2.
3.