Verb Tenses and Pronoun Agreement

Understanding Verb Tenses#

Verbs are action words, and verb tense tells us when an action takes place — in the past, present, or future. Choosing the right verb tense and using it consistently is one of the most important grammar skills you will develop in Grade 4.

The Three Main Tenses#

Past Tense — describes actions that already happened.

• She walked to school.
• They played basketball yesterday.
• Regular past tense: add -ed to the base verb.
• Irregular past tense verbs: run → ran, eat → ate, go → went, have → had

Present Tense — describes actions happening now or habitually.

• He walks to school every day.
• They are playing basketball right now.
• For third-person singular subjects (he, she, it), add -s or -es.

Future Tense — describes actions that will happen.

• She will walk to school tomorrow.
• They are going to play basketball this weekend.
• Use will or going to before the base verb.

Regular vs. Irregular Verbs#

Regular verbs follow the standard -ed pattern for past tense:

• jump → jumped, listen → listened, watch → watched

Irregular verbs have unique past tense forms you must memorize:

Progressive Tenses#

Progressions show ongoing actions:

• Past progressive: She was running. (was/were + -ing)
• Present progressive: She is running. (is/am/are + -ing)
• Future progressive: She will be running. (will be + -ing)

Mastering these tense forms gives your writing precision and clarity.