Tenses of Verbs – Present, Past, and Future

Grade 10 · English Grammer

Semester 1 | Period 2 | Week 10

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Subject: English Grammer

Semester: 1

Period: 2

Week: 10


School Name:
Teacher’s Name:
Subject: English Grammar
Grade Level: Grade 10
Period: II
Week & Period: Week 10, Period II

Topic: Tenses of Verbs – Present, Past, and Future

Specific Objectives:
By the end of this lesson, learners should be able to:

  1. Define verb tense.
  2. Identify the three basic tenses of verbs: present, past, and future.
  3. Use verbs correctly in different tenses.
  4. Construct accurate sentences in each tense.

 

A – Anticipation (Engage learners)

Starter Questions:

  • When you say "I eat rice" vs "I ate rice" – what is different?
  • Can you tell a story in future tense?

Think-Pair-Share:

  • Think: Write a sentence about what you did yesterday, what you are doing now, and what you will do tomorrow.
  • Pair: Share with a partner and identify the tenses used.
  • Share: Students present and teacher categorizes sentences on the board.

Quick Demonstration:

  • Teacher uses flashcards or actions to represent the past, present, and future (e.g., "I jump," "I jumped," "I will jump").

B – Building Knowledge (Core Content)

  1. What is Tense?
  • Tense tells the time of the action.
  1. Types of Tenses:
  • Present Tense: Action happening now.
    • Examples: I walk to school. He eats yam.
  • Past Tense: Action that has already happened.
    • Examples: I walked to school. He ate yam.
  • Future Tense: Action that will happen.
    • Examples: I will walk to school. He will eat yam.
  1. Sentence Patterns:

Tense

Sentence Example

Present

She plays football every day.

Past

She played football yesterday.

Future

She will play football tomorrow.

  1. Tense Markers:
  • Present: base verb or verb+s/es
  • Past: verb+ed or irregular form
  • Future: will + base verb
  1. Irregular Verbs:
  • Some verbs do not follow the regular –ed pattern.
    • Examples: go – went – will go, eat – ate – will eat, come – came – will come

 

C – Consolidation (Application and Reflection)

Class Activities:

  1. Tense Sorting: Learners categorize verbs into present, past, and future.
  2. Tense Roleplay: Act out a short drama using different tenses.
  3. Verb Transformation Race: Convert present verbs to past and future.
  4. Story Completion: Teacher gives a short paragraph with missing verbs; learners complete them using correct tense.

Assignments:

  1. Write 5 sentences each in present, past, and future tense.
  2. Change the tense of these sentences: a. I eat bread. (past) b. They danced well. (present) c. She will read the book. (past)
  3. Write a short paragraph (5–7 sentences) about your week using all three tenses.

Assessment (In-class):

  1. Fill in the blanks with the correct tense of the verb in brackets:
  2. She ________ (sing) beautifully every morning.
  3. We ________ (visit) the zoo last week.
  4. I ________ (travel) to Bomi next month.
  5. He ________ (do) his homework yesterday.
  6. They ________ (go) to church every Sunday.
  7. Identify the tense of each sentence and underline the verb:
  8. She will bake a cake.
  9. They eat together every morning.
  10. I wrote a letter to my cousin.
  11. We will attend the concert.
  12. The dog barked loudly.
  13. Rewrite these sentences in the indicated tense:
  14. I walk to school. → (past)
  15. They played basketball. → (future)
  16. She sings well. → (past)
  17. We will write the exam. → (present)
  18. He draws a picture. → (future)

Teacher’s Reflection:

  • Were learners able to distinguish among the tenses?
  • Did learners correctly transform verbs across tenses?
  • Which tenses proved most difficult?