Past, Present, and Future Tense
Learn how verbs change to tell us when something happens: yesterday, today, or tomorrow.
The Tense Timeline
Tense tells us when something happens. There are three main tenses:
Past Tense
Yesterday
Something that already happened.
I walked to school.
Present Tense
Today / Right Now
Something that is happening now.
I walk to school.
Future Tense
Tomorrow
Something that will happen later.
I will walk to school.
Regular Past Tense: Add -ed
For most verbs, you can make the past tense by adding -ed to the end. These are called regular verbs.
Present
walk
Past
walked
Present
play
Past
played
Present
jump
Past
jumped
Present
climb
Past
climbed
Irregular Past Tense: Tricky Verbs!
Some verbs do not follow the -ed rule. They change in a different way. These are called irregular verbs. You just have to learn them!
Present
go
Past
went
Present
see
Past
saw
Present
eat
Past
ate
Present
run
Past
ran
Present
come
Past
came
Present
take
Past
took
Present
make
Past
made
Present
write
Past
wrote
Key Vocabulary
Tense
The form of a verb that tells us when something happens (past, present, or future).
Past Tense
Describes something that already happened. Example: "I walked."
Present Tense
Describes something happening now or regularly. Example: "I walk."
Irregular Verb
A verb that does not add -ed to make the past tense. Example: go → went.
Worked Examples
Example 1: Change to past tense
"I play football." → Change to past tense.
Answer: "I played football." (Add -ed because play is a regular verb.)
Example 2: Irregular past tense
"I eat breakfast." → Change to past tense.
Answer: "I ate breakfast." (Eat is irregular — it does not become "eated".)
Example 3: Change to future tense
"I walk to school." → Change to future tense.
Answer: "I will walk to school." (Add "will" before the verb for future tense.)
Knowledge Check
Test your understanding of tenses. Choose the correct answer!
Question 1
Which sentence is in the past tense?
Question 2
What is the past tense of "jump"?
Question 3
Which is the correct past tense of "go"?
Question 4
Which sentence is in the future tense?
Question 5
Complete the sentence with the correct tense: "Yesterday, I blank a bird in the garden." (see)
Key Concepts Summary
- ● Past tense tells us something already happened (yesterday). Example: walked, played.
- ● Present tense tells us something is happening now (today). Example: walk, play.
- ● Future tense tells us something will happen later (tomorrow). Use "will" + verb.
- ● Regular verbs add -ed for past tense (walk → walked).
- ● Irregular verbs change in different ways (go → went, see → saw, eat → ate).