See free Year 2 past and present tense worked examples with clear strategies and answers, aligned to the England primary curriculum.
Model the thinking
Four worked examples
Try each question first, then compare the strategy and answer. The aim is to understand the method, not just copy the final result.
1
Present
Change 'I walked' to present tense.
How to think about it: Identify the sentence feature first, apply the rule only where it is needed, then reread the whole sentence aloud to check that the meaning and punctuation are clear.
Show answer
Answer: I walk
2
Past
Change 'She jumps' to past tense.
How to think about it: Identify the sentence feature first, apply the rule only where it is needed, then reread the whole sentence aloud to check that the meaning and punctuation are clear.
Show answer
Answer: She jumped
3
Choose
Yesterday we play / played football.
How to think about it: Identify the sentence feature first, apply the rule only where it is needed, then reread the whole sentence aloud to check that the meaning and punctuation are clear.
Show answer
Answer: played
4
Irregular
Past tense of 'go' is __.
How to think about it: Identify the sentence feature first, apply the rule only where it is needed, then reread the whole sentence aloud to check that the meaning and punctuation are clear.
Show answer
Answer: went
Next step
Turn the explanation into practice
Use the printable for independent work, or return to the topic overview to choose another way to practise.