To be -Present-Past Tenses worksheet - Free Printable

Let's solve this Formative Evaluation worksheet for 5th grade, focusing on the "to be" verb in Present Simple and Past Simple tenses.

We need to fill in the blanks with:
am, is, are, was, or were

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🔹 Rules to Remember:

- Present Simple (now):
- I → am
- You / We / They → are
- He / She / It → is

- Past Simple (yesterday, last night, etc.):
- I / He / She / It → was
- You / We / They → were

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Now, let’s go through each sentence one by one.

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1. I ________ by the river now.
→ "now" = present tense
→ Subject: I → am
✔ am

2. I ________ at home yesterday.
→ "yesterday" = past tense
→ Subject: I → was
✔ was

3. We ________ at the beach now.
→ "now" = present; subject: we → are
✔ are

4. They ________ in the mountains last night.
→ "last night" = past; subject: they → were
✔ were

5. She ________ on the island now.
→ "now" = present; subject: she → is
✔ is

6. She ________ at school yesterday.
→ "yesterday" = past; subject: she → was
✔ was

7. My mom and I ________ at home now.
→ "now" = present; subject: my mom and I = two people → plural → are
✔ are

8. My mom and I ________ by the lake last night.
→ "last night" = past; plural subject → were
✔ were

9. Tom ________ by the river yesterday.
→ "yesterday" = past; subject: Tom (he) → was
✔ was

10. Tom and his father ________ by the river now.
→ "now" = present; two people → plural → are
✔ are

11. They ________ by the river last night, too.
→ "last night" = past; subject: they → were
✔ were

12. _______ you at home now?
→ "now" = present; subject: you → Are
✔ Are

13. _______ they at home now?
→ "now" = present; subject: they → Are
✔ Are

14. _______ they at school last night?
→ "last night" = past; subject: they → Were
✔ Were

15. _______ he at home now?
→ "now" = present; subject: he → Is
✔ Is

16. _______ he at school yesterday?
→ "yesterday" = past; subject: he → Was
✔ Was

17. _______ you at school yesterday, too?
→ "yesterday" = past; subject: you → Were
✔ Were

18. _______ Tom on the island last night?
→ "last night" = past; subject: Tom (he) → Was
✔ Was

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✔ Final Answers:

1. am
2. was
3. are
4. were
5. is
6. was
7. are
8. were
9. was
10. are
11. were
12. Are
13. Are
14. Were
15. Is
16. Was
17. Were
18. Was

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📝 Explanation Summary:

- Use am/is/are for present time (now).
- Use was/were for past time (yesterday, last night, etc.).
- Match the verb form to the subject:
- I → am / was
- He/She/It → is / was
- You/We/They → are / were
- For questions, the auxiliary verb comes first: Are you?, Was he?, etc.

This exercise helps students understand subject-verb agreement and tense usage with the verb "to be".

Let me know if you'd like a printable version or a worksheet with explanations!