Instructions
Verbs are action words. When we talk about things that happened in the past (Then), we change the verb. When we talk about things happening now (Now), we use the present tense of the verb. Let's practice changing verbs from "Now" to "Then"!
Part 1: Matching Verbs
Read the short story about life a long time ago. The "Then" verbs are in bold. Then, draw a line to match the "Now" verb to the correct "Then" verb from the story.
In the past, children played outside until the sun went down. They rode their bikes everywhere. People wrote letters and cards to stay in touch. For fun, a family listened to exciting shows on the radio. It was a very different time!
| Now | Then | |
| write | was | |
| is | rode | |
| play | listened | |
| listen | played | |
| ride | wrote |
Part 2: Rewrite the Story
The story below is about what Sam does "Now". Rewrite the story on the lines below to tell us what Sam did "Then" (yesterday). Change each verb in bold to its past tense form.
Now: Sam wakes up early. He eats a big bowl of cereal. He walks to the bus stop and sees his best friend, Maria. They talk all the way to school.
Then (Yesterday):
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Answer Key
Part 1: Matching Verbs
- write âž” wrote
- is âž” was
- play âž” played
- listen âž” listened
- ride âž” rode
Part 2: Rewrite the Story
Yesterday: Sam woke up early. He ate a big bowl of cereal. He walked to the bus stop and saw his best friend, Maria. They talked all the way to school.