VERB TENSES

Past, Present, Future

VERB TENSES The tense of a verb allows the reader to know if

the action took place is the past, present, or will occur in the future.

Usually verbs follow a predictable pattern of endings. These are called regular verbs.

Past ( ed)

Present (s, ies, ing)

Future (helping verb: will)

VERB TENSESstretch

Past: I stretched my legs out on the couch.

Present: She stretches the taffy.

Future: I will stretch before the race.

VERB TENSESstop

Past: I stopped for a drink of water.

Present: The car in front of us is stopping.

Future: Students will stop for souvenirs.

VERB TENSESpunt

Past: The opposing team punted the ball.

Present: I am punting the ball better today.

Future: Players will punt the football for a field goal.

VERB TENSEStrip

Past: Jaimie tripped on her shoelace.

Present: A colt trips when it is first born.

Future: You will trip if you walk with your eyes closed.

VERB TENSEScry

Past: The actress cried when she won the award.

Present: Don’t cry over spilled milk.

Future: If I watch sad movies, I will cry.

VERB TENSESfollow

Past: Dogs followed the butcher to his shop.

Present: Follow the teacher.

Future: I will follow you to the concert.

VERB TENSESplay

Past: We played hide and seek all night.

Present: The students are playing nicely with each other.

Future: I will play my piano solo.

VERB TENSES The tense of a verb allows the reader to know if the

action took place is the past, present, or will occur in the future.

Sometimes, verbs don’t follow the expected spelling patterns to show the past, present, and/or future tense. These verbs are called irregular verbs.

Past

Present

Future