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Past, Present and Future Tense — Answers

Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 3 verbs & tenses worksheet.

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Year 3 · English · Verbs & Tenses

Past, Present and Future Tense — Answers

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Part A — Which tense?

Past = already happened. Present = happening now. Future = will happen. Circle the tense of each sentence.

1.I will visit my cousins in Hobart.
  1. Apast
  2. Bpresent
  3. Cfuture

Answer: future

'Will visit' tells us it has not happened yet.

2.The kookaburra laughed at dawn.
  1. Apast
  2. Bpresent
  3. Cfuture

Answer: past

'Laughed' has -ed, so it already happened.

3.She swims every Saturday.
  1. Apast
  2. Bpresent
  3. Cfuture

Answer: present

'Swims' tells us about something that happens now or regularly.

4.We are eating dinner.
  1. Apast
  2. Bpresent
  3. Cfuture

Answer: present

'Are eating' is happening right now.

5.They planted a lemon tree last spring.
  1. Apast
  2. Bpresent
  3. Cfuture

Answer: past

'Planted' and 'last spring' both point to the past.

6.Tomorrow the class will perform a play.
  1. Apast
  2. Bpresent
  3. Cfuture

Answer: future

'Tomorrow' and 'will perform' point to the future.

Part B — Change the tense

Write the verb in the tense asked for.

7.Change to past: I walk to school. → I to school.

Answer: walked

8.Change to future: She reads a book. → She a book.

Answer: will read

9.Change to present: They played soccer. → They soccer.

Answer: play

10.Change to past: We eat lunch. → We lunch.

Answer: ate

'Eat' is irregular: the past tense is 'ate'.

11.Change to future: He draws a map. → He a map.

Answer: will draw

12.Change to past: The baby sleeps. → The baby .

Answer: slept

'Sleep' is irregular: the past tense is 'slept'.

Part C — Fix the tense

The verb in each sentence does not match the time word. Rewrite the sentence correctly.

13.Yesterday I go to the dentist.

Answer: Yesterday I went to the dentist.

  1. 'Yesterday' means past, so 'go' becomes 'went'.
14.Tomorrow we visited Grandpa.

Answer: Tomorrow we will visit Grandpa.

  1. 'Tomorrow' means future, so 'visited' becomes 'will visit'.
15.Last night the storm knock down a tree.

Answer: Last night the storm knocked down a tree.

  1. 'Last night' means past, so 'knock' becomes 'knocked'.
16.Next week the fair open in the park.

Answer: Next week the fair will open in the park.

  1. 'Next week' means future, so 'open' becomes 'will open'.

Part D — Your turn

17.Write three sentences about a holiday: one in the past, one in the present and one in the future. Label each one.

Model answer: Past: Last summer we camped by the Murray River. Present: Today I am packing my bag. Future: Next year we will fly to Cairns.

Success criteria:

  • Three sentences, one in each tense
  • Each sentence labelled past, present or future
  • Verb tense matches the label
  • Capital letters and full stops
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