Past Simple vs Present Simple
The present simple tense describes things that are generally true or that happen regularly, such as 'I walk to school', while the past simple describes actions that have already finished, such as 'I walked to school yesterday'. Year 3 pupils learn to choose the correct tense for the time being described and to keep the same tense consistent across a sentence or paragraph.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Decide whether the action happens regularly or generally (present simple) or has already finished (past simple).
- Look for time clues in the sentence, such as 'every day' (present) or 'yesterday' (past), to help you choose.
- For present simple, use the base verb, adding 's' or 'es' for he/she/it, e.g. 'she walks'.
- For past simple, add 'ed' to regular verbs, e.g. 'walked', or use the correct irregular past form, e.g. 'go' becomes 'went'.
- Check the whole sentence or paragraph stays in the same tense throughout, without accidentally switching.
Worked example
Choose the correct tense to complete this sentence: 'Every morning, my dad (drink) a cup of tea, and yesterday he (drink) two cups.'
- The first clue is 'every morning', which shows a regular, repeated action, so use present simple.
- Present simple for 'he/she/it' adds 's': 'drinks'.
- The second clue is 'yesterday', which shows a finished action, so use past simple.
- 'Drink' is irregular in the past tense: it becomes 'drank', not 'drinked'.
- Final answer: 'Every morning, my dad drinks a cup of tea, and yesterday he drank two cups.'
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a English exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Complete the sentence with the correct tense of the verb in brackets: 'Usually, the shop ___ (open) at nine o'clock, but last Monday it ___ (open) late.'
Write two sentences about a school day: one using the present simple to describe something that always happens, and one using the past simple to describe something that happened on one particular day.
Read the paragraph: 'Every summer, our family go to the seaside. Last year, we go to Cornwall and it rains every day.' Identify all the tense errors, explain why each one is incorrect, and rewrite the paragraph using the correct tenses throughout.
Free printable worksheet
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