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English•Grammar

Verb tenses

Upper Primary 8 questions
AI-drafted from platform data — specialist review scheduledBy DigiTransact Mastermind editorial teamLast updated
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What verb tenses means

You use this skill to choose the right verb form for the time in a sentence. It helps you show whether an action happened in the past, is happening now, or will happen later.

What you will practise

  • Spot verbs that show past, present, and future time.
  • Choose the correct form after time words like by next year.
  • Use continuous forms for actions still in progress.
  • Pick the tense that fits a sentence with two actions.

Before you start

You should already know what a verb is and how to find it in a sentence. It also helps if you can read time words such as yesterday, now, and tomorrow.

Not confident yet? Work through Subject-verb agreement first.

Worked example

One question from this skill's own question bank, shown with its full working.

Question

Which sentence is in the past tense?

  • I walk to school.
  • I walked to school.
  • I will walk to school.
  • I am walking to school.
Answer: I walked to school.

Working: "Walked" is the past tense form of "walk".

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Using a present form when the sentence clearly talks about the past.
  • Mixing up will have finished and has finished in future-time sentences.
  • Choosing a simple past form when the action was still continuing.
  • Ignoring clue words that show when the action happened.

Curriculum and exam alignment

Ghana GES Basic 4 to 6 syllabusGroundwork for the BECE

In Upper Primary, this topic normally appears in grammar work on sentence structure and verb forms. It supports school-based assessment and gives a base for the kind of tense questions you may meet later in BECE preparation.

Curriculum notes are a general guide to where this work normally sits. Always check the syllabus your school or examination body is currently using.

Related skills

Other Grammar skills in English, at the same point in the course.

Other English topics

Early Reading and WritingSHS English and LiteratureAcademic and Professional WritingVocabularyReading ComprehensionPunctuation

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Exams that assess verb tenses

Upper Primary work on this skill feeds directly into these exam papers. Each page lists the English topics that appear on it.

GESGES practice questionsFree GES practice across the subjects at this stage, with worked answers.BECEBECE practice questionsListed as a related subject on the BECE practice page.WASSCEWASSCE practice questionsListed as a related subject on the WASSCE practice page.

How this page was produced

This text was drafted with AI assistance from the questions and topics already stored on the platform. A subject-specialist review is scheduled but has not yet been recorded, so we do not claim it here.

Written by
DigiTransact Mastermind editorial team
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8 questions with a worked answer after every attempt, and a SmartScore that tracks how close you are to mastery.

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