Year 6 · SPaG · Autumn: Verbs and tenses
Year 6 keeping the tense the same worksheet and PowerPoint
To keep the tense consistent within a sentence and to spot and correct a verb that changes tense by mistake.
Consistent tense
When two or more verbs in a sentence describe things that happen at the same time, they should be in the same tense. Do not slip from the past to the present (or the other way) by mistake.
| past, past | We walked to the shop and bought some milk. |
|---|---|
| present, present | We walk to the shop and buy some milk. |
| a mistake | We walked to the shop and buy some milk. (past, then present) |
| a good change | Sometimes the tense changes for a reason: I live here now, but I lived in Spain. |
Examples
- Ravi opened the door and looked inside.
- Ravi opens the door and looks inside.
Key words
- tense
- the form of a verb that shows when something happens
- consistent
- staying the same all the way through
- past tense
- something that has already happened
- present tense
- something that happens now or regularly
What is on the worksheet
Every sheet for this lesson has a short teaching box and 12 questions that get gradually harder: 8 fluency questions, then 4 reasoning questions that ask pupils to explain or choose. A writing challenge follows. The questions use the same styles as the key stage 2 grammar and punctuation test (circle, underline, tick, fill the gap, add punctuation, rewrite, explain). They are written for this website, not copied from past papers.
All the answers are on the last page of the same editable Word file. New questions are made every time, so you can print a different sheet for every group or for homework. The same sheet code always gives the same sheet.
Writing challenge: Write a story opening of six sentences in the past tense. Then rewrite it in the present tense. Check that every verb has changed.
Pupil target: I can keep my tenses the same.
The PowerPoint
A 20-slide lesson deck for the same lesson: a starter that revisits earlier learning, key words, an I do and a You do question on each slide with a countdown timer, answers that appear one click at a time, and a challenge. Download the keeping the tense the same PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 17 of 72 in the Year 6 SPaG scheme, in the Autumn term, block “Verbs and tenses”. It is taught before the SATs grammar test in May.
Other lessons in this block
- Present tense
- Past tense
- Was and were in Standard English
- Recognising the subjunctive
- Using the subjunctive
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