Choosing Tenses for Precise Meaning · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Choosing the Right Tense

English · Grammar & Punctuation · ages 10-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. In 'Zara was drawing a picture,' the picture is completely finished.

    Circle one:   True   False

  2. Which sentence shows something that will happen in the future?

    • Zara is visiting the art museum.
    • Zara will visit the art museum tomorrow.
    • Zara visited the art museum last week.

  3. Last night, Mia ___ a letter to her grandma. Which verb fits best?

    • will write
    • writes
    • wrote

  4. Which sentence shows an action that is still happening right now?

    • She will eat lunch.
    • She finished her lunch.
    • She is eating her lunch.

  5. Yesterday, Mia cleaned her room. Right now, she ___ her homework. Which verb fits best?

    • will do
    • did
    • is doing

  6. Mia ___ her bike when the rain began. Which verb shows the riding was still in progress when the rain started?

    • will ride
    • rode
    • was riding

  7. Read this: 'The show had started before Ben found his seat.' What does 'had started' tell you?

    • The show is starting right now.
    • The show began before Ben sat down.
    • The show began after Ben sat down.

  8. Which sentence tells about something Ben does again and again, as a regular thing?

    • Ben fed the fish yesterday morning.
    • Ben feeds the fish every morning.
    • Ben is feeding the fish right now.

  9. Zara writes: 'If the bus comes on time, we will arrive before the bell.' Why is 'will' the right choice instead of 'would'?

    • Because the bus coming on time is a real possibility
    • Because 'would' is only ever used for past events
    • Because 'will' sounds more formal than 'would'

  10. Which sentence tells about an experience from sometime before now, without naming an exact time?

    • Mia visited the science museum last Tuesday.
    • Mia is visiting the science museum right now.
    • Mia has visited the science museum.
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Choosing the Right Tense W1-mt_mpktt3wj1M-s1

  1. False · 'Was drawing' shows the action still in progress, not finished.
  2. Zara will visit the art museum tomorrow. · The word 'tomorrow' and the verb 'will visit' point to something that has not happened yet.
  3. wrote · 'Last night' is finished time, so the simple past verb 'wrote' fits.
  4. She is eating her lunch. · 'is eating' is the progressive tense, which shows an action still in progress.
  5. is doing · 'Right now' calls for the present progressive tense: 'is doing'.
  6. was riding · 'Was riding' is the past progressive, which shows an action still going on when something else happened.
  7. The show began before Ben sat down. · 'Had started' is the past perfect. It marks the show as already begun before the other past event.
  8. Ben feeds the fish every morning. · The simple present 'feeds' with 'every morning' shows a repeated habit. The other two each name one single time.
  9. Because the bus coming on time is a real possibility · 'Will' fits because the bus really could come on time. 'Would' would make it sound imagined.
  10. Mia has visited the science museum. · 'Has visited' names the experience without pinning it to a time. 'Visited last Tuesday' locks it to one exact day.
Worksheet · LightMySky