Grade 1 | English | Tenses, Tenses, Olympiad, CBSE, ICSE, Maths Olympiad, Science Olympiad, English Olympiad
English - Tenses (Grade 1)
Tense tells the time of an action: now, before now, or after now. We focus on Simple Present, Present Continuous, Simple Past, and Simple Future. We also use am / is / are and was / were correctly.
Spot the Time Clues
now: now, today, always, every day
past: yesterday, last night, ago
future: tomorrow, next week, later
Simple Present (habits, facts)
Form
Examples
I / we / you / they + verb
I play. They read. We walk to school.
he / she / it / singular noun + verb + s or es
He plays. She washes. The dog barks.
Clue words: always, usually, every day, on Sundays.
Present Continuous (happening now)
Form
Examples
I am + verb + ing
I am reading now.
he / she / it is + verb + ing
She is running.
we / you / they are + verb + ing
They are cooking.
Clue words: now, right now, at the moment, today (if action is going on now).
Simple Past (finished before now)
Form
Examples
verb + ed (most verbs)
We played yesterday. I visited my aunt.
irregular verbs
go -> went, eat -> ate, see -> saw, come -> came.
Clue words: yesterday, last night, last week, ago.
am / is / are and was / were
Present forms
I am happy.
He / she / it is tall.
We / you / they are ready.
Past forms
I / he / she / it was late.
We / you / they were early.
Simple Future (after now)
Form
Examples
will + verb
We will visit tomorrow. The train will arrive at 6 in the evening.
Clue words: tomorrow, next week, later, this evening (if it has not started yet).
Common Mistakes
Using is with I. Correct: I am, not I is.
For he / she / it in simple present, add s or es: She reads, not She read (habit).
Do not use was with plural subjects. Use were: They were.
Use because to show reason and choose tense to match the time clue: I ate slowly because the soup was hot.
For actions happening now, use am/is/are + ing, not simple present: I am eating now, not I eat now.
MCQ Achievers (5 tougher items)
The museum opens at 9 every day, but today it ______ at 10.
A. opens
B. is opening
C. opened
D. will open
Lata usually walks to school, but it rained, ______ she took the bus.
A. so
B. and
C. is
D. were
"Aarav paints very well." Identify the tense.
A. Simple past
B. Present continuous
C. Simple present
D. Simple future
Choose the correct pair: I ______ tired now; yesterday I ______ fine.
A. am, am
B. am, was
C. is, was
D. are, were
The train timetable says 6:00 p.m. We ______ at 6 even if we start late.
A. will reach
B. reach
C. reached
D. are reaching
Show Answers
1-D (special time today in the future), 2-A (reason result; rained so she took the bus), 3-C (habit/fact), 4-B (now = am; yesterday = was), 5-B (scheduled events can use simple present).
Practice reading the time clues before choosing the tense.
Practice that feels like the real Olympiad.
Achievers’ question banks that mirror the exam. Less theory. More score.
* Olympiad Genius is an independent organization and is not an official partner of SOF (Science Olympiad
Foundation), Silverzone and Indian Talent Olympiad Organizations.
