Verb Tense Worksheet for 2nd and 3rd Grade - Free Printable

Let’s go step by step to sort the verbs into Past Tense and Present Tense.

First, remember:
- Past tense = action that already happened (like “jumped”, “slept”)
- Present tense = action happening now or regularly (like “writes”, “calls”)

Now let’s look at each verb one by one:

1. jumped → past (you jumped yesterday)
2. writes → present (he writes every day)
3. sang → past (she sang a song last night)
4. cook → present (I cook dinner tonight — but note: this is base form; in context of sorting, it’s treated as present unless specified otherwise)
- Wait! Actually, “cook” can be present tense for I/you/we/they. But if we’re comparing with “cooked”, then “cook” is present.
5. slept → past (I slept well last night)
6. calls → present (she calls her mom daily)
7. drive → present (I drive to school — again, base form, used for present with I/you/we/they)
8. talked → past (we talked for hours)
9. paints → present (he paints pictures)
10. bought → past (I bought a toy)
11. fixes → present (she fixes bikes)
12. sold → past (they sold cookies)
13. taught → past (the teacher taught us)
14. watch → present (I watch TV — base form, present for I/you/we/they)
15. rode → past (he rode his bike)
16. sees → present (she sees birds)

Wait — let’s double-check tricky ones:

- “cook”, “drive”, “watch” — these are base forms. In English, when we say “I cook”, “You drive”, “We watch”, those are present tense. So yes, they belong in Present Tense column.
- “writes”, “calls”, “paints”, “fixes”, “sees” — all end in -s, which means third person singular present (he/she/it). Still present tense.
- All others like “jumped”, “sang”, “slept”, etc., are clearly past tense.

So now let’s list them under correct headings:

Past Tense:
- jumped
- sang
- slept
- talked
- bought
- sold
- taught
- rode

That’s 8 words.

Present Tense:
- writes
- calls
- cook
- drive
- paints
- fixes
- watch
- sees

Also 8 words. Perfect — matches the number given.

Let me count again from original list to make sure none missed:

Original list:
jumped, writes, sang, cook,
slept, calls, drive, talked,
paints, bought, fixes, sold,
taught, watch, rode, sees → 16 total.

We have 8 in each column → good.

Final Answer:

Past Tense
jumped
sang
slept
talked
bought
sold
taught
rode

Present Tense
writes
calls
cook
drive
paints
fixes
watch
sees