Tenses

What are Tenses?

• Tenses tell us when an action happens.
• In Grade 1, we focus on three main times: Past, Present, and Future.
• The verb (action word) changes its spelling or adds a "helping word" to show the time.

1. Present Tense (Happening Now) Use this when the action is happening right this second or happens all the time.

• The Rule: For many words, you add -ing to the end.
• Example: "I am eating an apple."
• Example: "She plays outside."

2. Past Tense (Already Happened) Use this when the action is finished. It could have happened yesterday, last week, or a minute ago.

• The Rule: Most of the time, you just add -ed to the end of the verb.
• Example: "I walked to the park."
• Example: "He jumped over the puddle."

3. Future Tense (Going to Happen) Use this for things that haven't happened yet but will happen later.

• The Rule: Add the word will before the verb.
• Example: "I will sleep tonight."
• Example: "We will go to the zoo tomorrow."

Special "Rule Breakers" Some words don't like the -ed rule for the past. They change completely! These are called Irregular Verbs.

• Go Went ("I went to the store.")
• Eat Ate ("I ate my lunch.")
• See Saw ("I saw a bird.")
• Run Ran ("I ran fast.")

Lesson Summary

• Present: Use -ing or the plain word (Now).
• Past: Usually add -ed (Before).
• Future: Use the word will (Later).