Myriora English › Grammar and punctuation › Chapter 3: Tenses

Keep the tense steady

Ages 7–9Chapter 3 · Lesson 5

In this lesson

Pick a tense and stick to it.
Check every verb: past or present?
Change the tense only when the time really changes.

Your turn

Which word keeps the tense steady? She opened the door and blank inside.

Show the answer

Stepped! Opened is in the past, so stepped keeps the tense steady.

The common mistake

Here's a common mistake. Lots of people think every verb must always be in the same tense. But if the time really changes, the tense can change too. Last year I lived in Leeds, but now I live in York.

Try it at home

Tense detective: read a page of a story together and underline the verbs. Is the story in the past or the present? Then retell it in the other tense, keeping every verb steady.

Read the whole lesson

Hello, and welcome to Myriora English! When you write a story, pick a tense and stick to it. If it starts in the past, it should stay in the past.

Look at this. Yesterday we went to the beach. We build a sandcastle, and then we swim. The tense jumps from past to present! Here it is fixed: we built a sandcastle, and then we swam.

To check, find every verb, and ask: is it past or present? If one doesn't match, change it. Only change the tense when the time really changes. Yesterday I was ill, but today I feel better.

Let's try one together. Which verb is in the wrong tense? The dog barked, and then it runs away. Say it out loud!

Runs! The story is in the past, so it should be ran. The dog barked, and then it ran away.

Your turn! Which word keeps the tense steady? She opened the door and blank inside. Pick the right card. You've got eight seconds, or pause the video. Go!

Time's up! Stepped! Opened is in the past, so stepped keeps the tense steady.

Quick review. Pick a tense and stick to it. Check every verb: past or present? Change the tense only when the time really changes. See you next time!