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Grade 1 · lesson 2 of 4

Tell action time

Locate the action expression and use its ending or will to choose the time. Do not change the sentence while classifying it.

About 15 minutes, plus any extended practice

Download the grade pack

Supplied materials

  • Paper and pencil, or a browser text area. All named people/events/records are fictional learning inputs.
  • Worked case: Subject: Ana, described as she. Verb: walked. Highlight: box. Purpose: telling: Ana walked home
  • Primary check: Subject: Ben, described as he. Verb: walks. Highlight: boxes. Purpose: asking: Does Ben walk home
  • An adult may read every direction and answer choice aloud; learners may respond by speaking, pointing or drawing.

Learn the idea

Verbs help show time. Walked points to the past; walks can show a regular present action; will walk points to the future.

Locate the action expression and use its ending or will to choose the time. Do not change the sentence while classifying it.

Example to read or listen to: Subject: Ana, described as she. Verb: walked. Highlight: box. Purpose: telling: Ana walked home The answer is in the past. The relevant input states: Verb: walked. This fits in the past. Verbs help show time. Walked points to the past; walks can show a regular present action; will walk points to the future. An -ed form is not the present form.

  1. Read or listen to the worked example. Say what the reading or writing task asks you to find. An adult can help with unfamiliar words.
  2. Locate the action expression and use its ending or will to choose the time. Do not change the sentence while classifying it.
  3. Check the worked solution: in the past. The relevant input states: Verb: walked. This fits in the past. Verbs help show time. Walked points to the past; walks can show a regular present action; will walk points to the future. An -ed form is not the present form.
  4. Try the question and the practice questions. Point to the words that helped you choose before checking the feedback.
Worked example

See the method in action

Subject: Ana, described as she. Verb: walked. Highlight: box. Purpose: telling: Ana walked home Solved: in the past. The relevant input states: Verb: walked. This fits in the past. Verbs help show time. Walked points to the past; walks can show a regular present action; will walk points to the future. An -ed form is not the present form. Locate the action expression and use its ending or will to choose the time. Do not change the sentence while classifying it.

Your turn

Check your reasoning

Your answer is temporary and is not saved to an account. Download your current answer before leaving or reloading. Written work on paper or in another app stays in your own file.

Helpful tips
  • Will signals future here.
  • An -ed form is not the present form.
Subject: Ben, described as he. Verb: walks. Highlight: boxes. Purpose: asking: Does Ben walk home When does the verb say this action happens?

Feedback appears here after you check. This is practice, not a graded school assessment.

See the answer and explanation

now or regularly

The relevant input states: Verb: walks. This fits now or regularly. Verbs help show time. Walked points to the past; walks can show a regular present action; will walk points to the future. An -ed form is not the present form.

Take it further

Optional extra practice: Use fictional Jo, whose pronoun is they, to write: Jo will draw two boxes. Replace Jo with They, circle will draw, underline plural boxes, and add a period. Say why the action is future and boxes means more than one. Practice this lesson’s skill as you complete the task. Use this idea to check your work: Verbs help show time. Walked points to the past; walks can show a regular present action; will walk points to the future.

Nothing here is saved to an account or sent to a teacher. The answer download includes your current choice and any checked feedback. It does not include choices from the separate More practice section. Download that section separately.

More practice: try new cases

Choose an answer for each problem. Explain your method on paper, then use the feedback to decide what to revisit.

More practice: try new cases
1. Subject: Ana and Ben, described as they. Verb: will walk. Highlight: jump, used as an action. Purpose: excited: What a huge jump When does the verb say this action happens?
Need a hint?
  • Will signals future here.
  • An -ed form is not the present form.
2. Subject: the toy, described as it. Fragment: The yellow toy. Highlight: yellow. Purpose: telling: It is yellow When does the verb say this action happens?
Need a hint?
  • Will signals future here.
  • An -ed form is not the present form.
3. Subject: the toy, described as it. Verb: rolled. Highlight: balls. Purpose: question: Did it roll When does the verb say this action happens?
Need a hint?
  • Will signals future here.
  • An -ed form is not the present form.

Your choices are temporary. Feedback appears after you check all the answers.

Nothing here is saved to an account or sent to a teacher. Keep your own notes or download them before leaving. The score describes these questions; it does not certify subject mastery.

Check the subject sources

These LifeStarter passages, scenarios and exercises are authored for this Academy with AI assistance and review. External resources keep their publishers’ terms. A grade label suggests a starting level; it does not establish alignment with your school’s complete requirements.