English · Grammar basics
Verbs & tenses
Past, present, future.
What are verbs?
Verbs are action words or being words. They tell us what someone or something does. For example: run, jump, eat, is, was. Every sentence needs a verb to make sense.
Past tense: What already happened
Past tense shows something that already happened. We often add 'ed' to the end of verbs. Yesterday I walked to school. Last week she played football. Some verbs change in different ways, like go becomes went.
Present tense: What is happening now
Present tense shows what is happening now or happens regularly. I walk to school every day. She plays football on Saturdays. The verb changes slightly depending on who does the action.
Future tense: What will happen later
Future tense shows what will happen later. We use 'will' or 'going to' before the verb. Tomorrow I will walk to school. Next week she is going to play football.
Why tenses matter
Tenses help us know when things happen. Mixing tenses can confuse readers. Keep your tense the same unless the time really changes in your story.
Worked examples
1. Choose the correct tense: Yesterday, Tom (walks / walked / will walk) his dog.
- The word 'yesterday' tells us this happened in the past.
- Past tense of walk is walked.
- The answer is: walked.
2. Change this sentence to future tense: I eat breakfast at home.
- Future tense needs 'will' or 'going to' before the verb.
- The verb 'eat' stays the same after 'will'.
- The answer is: I will eat breakfast at home.
3. Which verb is in the present tense: jumped, swims, will run?
- Jumped ends in 'ed' so it is past tense.
- Will run uses 'will' so it is future tense.
- Swims is happening now, so it is present tense.
Try it yourself
Rewrite this sentence in the past tense: The cat climbs the tree.
Ready to test yourself?
Take a short topic test — every question maps to a syllabus point so you’ll see exactly which parts you’ve mastered.