Matching the Past and Present Tense Verbs Worksheet - Twinkl - Free Printable

The task in the image is a "Matching Past and Present Tense Verbs" activity. The goal is to match each present tense verb (on the left) with its correct past tense form (on the right). This exercise helps learners understand how regular verbs change from present to past tense, especially focusing on spelling patterns.

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🔍 Step-by-Step Solution:

We’ll go through each present tense verb and match it with the correct past tense form by analyzing the spelling changes.

#### 1. looking → looked
- "Looking" ends in "-ing", so the base verb is "look".
- The past tense of "look" is "looked".
✔ Match: looking → looked

#### 2. jumping → jumped
- Base verb: "jump"
- Past tense: "jumped"
✔ Match: jumping → jumped

#### 3. cooking → cooked
- Base verb: "cook"
- Past tense: "cooked"
✔ Match: cooking → cooked

#### 4. playing → played
- Base verb: "play"
- Past tense: "played"
✔ Match: playing → played

#### 5. listening → listened
- Base verb: "listen"
- Past tense: "listened"
✔ Match: listening → listened

#### 6. sleeping → slept
- Base verb: "sleep"
- Past tense: "slept" (irregular verb)
⚠️ Note: Not all verbs follow the "-ed" rule. "Sleep" is irregular — past tense is slept, not "slepped".

So, sleeping → slept

#### 7. growing → grew
- Base verb: "grow"
- Past tense: "grew" (irregular)
✘ "Grown" is the past participle, but the simple past is grew.
✔ Match: growing → grew

#### 8. eating → ate
- Base verb: "eat"
- Past tense: "ate" (irregular)
✔ Match: eating → ate

#### 9. building → built
- Base verb: "build"
- Past tense: "built" (irregular)
✔ Match: building → built

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✔ Final Matches:

| Present Tense | Past Tense |
|---------------|------------|
| looking | looked |
| jumping | jumped |
| cooking | cooked |
| playing | played |
| listening | listened |
| sleeping | slept |
| growing | grew |
| eating | ate |
| building | built |

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📌 Key Observations:

- Regular verbs: Add "-ed" to form the past tense (e.g., look → looked, jump → jumped).
- Irregular verbs: Do not follow the "-ed" rule (e.g., sleep → slept, grow → grew, eat → ate, build → built).

This activity teaches students to recognize both regular and irregular verb patterns and pay attention to spelling changes.

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✔ Answer Summary:

Match each present tense verb with its correct past tense form:
- looking → looked
- jumping → jumped
- cooking → cooked
- playing → played
- listening → listened
- sleeping → slept
- growing → grew
- eating → ate
- building → built

This completes the matching task! 🎉