What You Need to Know

Tense is the form a verb takes to show when an action happens. Present tense tells us what is happening now (e.g. she runs). Past tense tells us what already happened (e.g. she ran). Most past tense verbs add -ed, but some are irregular (e.g. run → ran, eat → ate).

Key Concepts

Present Tense

Happening now: I walk, she runs

Past Tense

Already happened: I walked, she ran

Regular Verbs

Add -ed: jump → jumped

Irregular Verbs

Change form: go → went

Present Tense	Past Tense
I jump	I jumped
She runs	She ran
They eat	They ate
He goes	He went

Key Vocabulary

Tense

The form of a verb that tells us when an action takes place — now or in the past.

Verb

An action or doing word, e.g. run, eat, sleep, think. Verbs change form to show tense.

Regular Verb

A verb that forms the past tense by adding -ed, e.g. walk → walked, talk → talked.

Irregular Verb

A verb that changes its spelling in the past tense, e.g. see → saw, come → came.

Knowledge Check

Select the correct answer for each question. Click "Check Answer" to see if you are right.

Question 1

Which sentence is in the present tense?

She jumped over the puddle. She jumps over the puddle. She had jumped over the puddle. She will jump over the puddle.

Question 2

What is the past tense of the verb "walk"?

walks walking walked walk

Question 3

Which verb is an irregular past tense?

jumped talked played ate

Question 4

Rewrite in past tense: "The children play in the park."

The children played in the park. The children playing in the park. The children plays in the park. The children will play in the park.

Past and Present Tense