Which tenses does each grade cover?

Simple past, present and future are first through third grade. Progressive tenses are fourth grade, perfect tenses fifth, and correcting inappropriate shifts in tense runs from fifth through eighth.

How do I help with irregular verbs?

Short and frequent beats long and occasional. A ten-question sheet of just irregular past forms two or three times a week does more than one forty-question sheet.

Can I set the worksheet to only irregular verbs?

Not as a separate switch — the verb tense bank mixes regular and irregular by design, since a test does too. Choosing a lower grade weights the sheet towards the common irregular forms.

Verb Tenses Worksheets

Verb tense practice runs the length of elementary school. Early sheets ask for walked instead of walk; later ones ask why "She walked in and opens the fridge" is wrong.

Settings

Grade level

Number of questions

About 1 page of paper.

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Name: Date:

5th Grade Verb Tenses Practice

Verb Tenses

Circle the correct answer.

1.
Last week she blank a whole book.
readreadswill read
2.
When the bell rang, we blank our books away.
will putwere puttingare putting
3.
By the time we arrived, the movie blank already started.
hadhaswill have
4.
She still lives on our street. She blank lived here since she was six.
havehadhas

Write the correct word on each line.

5.
Today I write a letter. Yesterday I blank a letter.
6.
Today I catch the ball. Yesterday I blank the ball.
7.
Today I teach the class. Yesterday I blank the class.
8.
Today I think about it. Yesterday I blank about it.
9.
Today I take the bus. Yesterday I blank the bus.
10.
Today I bring lunch. Yesterday I blank lunch.
11.
At noon tomorrow I blank (be) sitting on a plane.

Follow the directions for each sentence.

12.
The kettle is boiling on the stove. (circle the full verb and write its tense)

Rewrite each sentence following the directions in brackets.

13.
He picks up the phone and answered it. (rewrite so both verbs are in the past tense)

Each sentence has at least one mistake. Write the sentence correctly.

14.
She walked into the kitchen and opens the fridge.
15.
I seen that bird in our yard.

Verb Tenses: the rules these questions test

Regular past tense adds -ed: walk / walked, jump / jumped. The irregular verbs are the ones worth drilling: go / went, eat / ate, bring / brought, catch / caught, teach / taught.
Progressive tenses use a form of be plus -ing: is walking (now), was walking (then), will be walking (later). They describe an action in progress rather than a finished one.
Perfect tenses use a form of have plus the past participle: has walked, had walked, will have walked. Past perfect marks the earlier of two past events: by the time we arrived, the movie had started.
seen and taken need a helping verb: "I seen that bird" is the classic error. On its own it is I saw; with a helper it is I have seen. Same pattern for took / have taken.
Do not switch tense mid-sentence: Pick past or present and stay there. "She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge" — both past.

Questions parents and teachers ask

Which tenses does each grade cover?: Simple past, present and future are first through third grade. Progressive tenses are fourth grade, perfect tenses fifth, and correcting inappropriate shifts in tense runs from fifth through eighth.
How do I help with irregular verbs?: Short and frequent beats long and occasional. A ten-question sheet of just irregular past forms two or three times a week does more than one forty-question sheet.
Can I set the worksheet to only irregular verbs?: Not as a separate switch — the verb tense bank mixes regular and irregular by design, since a test does too. Choosing a lower grade weights the sheet towards the common irregular forms.