Grade 9 English Verb Form Correction Worksheet — Present & Past Tense (17-year-old)

Instructions

Read each sentence or paragraph below carefully. Identify the verb that is in the incorrect tense (present or past) or form. Rewrite the entire sentence with the corrected verb. Some sentences may have more than one error.

Part A: Simple Present & Simple Past Tense

Correct the verb form errors in the following sentences. The error is highlighted in italics.

1. Yesterday, the research team announce a major breakthrough in their study.
2. He usually don't agree with the popular opinion, which makes for interesting debates.
3. When she was younger, she spended every summer at her grandparents' lake house.
4. The ancient ruins is a popular tourist attraction for those interested in history.
5. Last semester, the professor teached us about modernist literature.

Part B: Present & Past Continuous Tense

Correct the verb form errors in the following sentences. The error is highlighted in italics.

1. While I was finish my homework, my friend called to discuss our project.
2. Please be quiet; the students are take a very important exam right now.
3. He couldn't answer the phone because he were driving through a tunnel.
4. They was watching the final match when the power suddenly went out.
5. At 8 PM last night, I am studying for my history final.

Part C: Present & Past Perfect Tense

Correct the verb form errors in the following sentences. The error is highlighted in italics.

1. By the time the paramedics arrived, the clever bystander has already administered first aid.
2. She was disappointed because she had never saw the film in a theater before.
3. I can't go to the concert because I have forgot to buy the tickets.
4. After he had wrote the novel, he sent it to several publishing houses.
5. They reported that they have not received the package that was sent last week.

Part D: Narrative Tense Correction

Read the short paragraph below. Find and correct the five verb tense errors to make the story logical and grammatically correct.

Last month, my robotics club enter a national competition. We had been working on our robot for months, and we were confident. On the day of the event, another team’s robot suddenly malfunctioned. Sparks fly from its circuits, and it stopped moving. Their captain looks devastated. Remembering we had a spare controller, my teammate runs over and offered it to them. They were incredibly grateful and manage to get their robot working just in time for their turn.

Answer Key

Part A: Simple Present & Simple Past Tense

1. Yesterday, the research team announced a major breakthrough in their study.
2. He usually doesn't agree with the popular opinion, which makes for interesting debates.
3. When she was younger, she spent every summer at her grandparents' lake house.
4. The ancient ruins are a popular tourist attraction for those interested in history.
5. Last semester, the professor taught us about modernist literature.

Part B: Present & Past Continuous Tense

1. While I was finishing my homework, my friend called to discuss our project.
2. Please be quiet; the students are taking a very important exam right now.
3. He couldn't answer the phone because he was driving through a tunnel.
4. They were watching the final match when the power suddenly went out.
5. At 8 PM last night, I was studying for my history final.

Part C: Present & Past Perfect Tense

1. By the time the paramedics arrived, the clever bystander had already administered first aid.
2. She was disappointed because she had never seen the film in a theater before.
3. I can't go to the concert because I have forgotten to buy the tickets.
4. After he had written the novel, he sent it to several publishing houses.
5. They reported that they had not received the package that was sent last week.

Part D: Narrative Tense Correction

Corrected paragraph:

Last month, my robotics club entered a national competition. We had been working on our robot for months, and we were confident. On the day of the event, another team’s robot suddenly malfunctioned. Sparks flew from its circuits, and it stopped moving. Their captain looked devastated. Remembering we had a spare controller, my teammate ran over and offered it to them. They were incredibly grateful and managed to get their robot working just in time for their turn.