Simple Present and Simple Past: Year 6 SPaG

Year 6 SPaG worksheet on simple present and simple past: 14 SATs-style questions with answers. Free printable PDF.

3-page A4 PDF from the Tiger Shark Education question bank (Verbs and tense): two pages of questions (tick one) and an answer page. Example questions: Which sentence is written in the simple present tense? Tick one. / Which sentence is written in the simple present tense? Tick one.

What are the simple present and simple past? The simple present describes habits, general truths and current states (She walks to school. Water boils at 100°C). The simple past describes completed actions (She walked to school yesterday). Regular verbs add -ed in the past, but many common verbs are irregular (go, went; take, took; see, saw).

Common mistakes and tips: The most frequent errors are irregular past forms (goed, taked, brung) and forgetting the -s ending for he, she and it in the present (she walk). Non-standard forms from speech (we was, I done) also appear. Practising irregular verbs in short, regular bursts and saying sentences aloud helps children hear what is correct.

Quick example to try: read a short paragraph in the present tense and ask pupils to retell it in the past, then circle every verb that changed. Pick out the irregular verbs (go, went; catch, caught; think, thought) and add them to a class list to practise.

This topic is part of the Year 6 English grammar, punctuation and spelling curriculum and appears in the SATs. Because the test uses precise terminology, practising with the correct terms here helps children recognise what a question is asking.

How teachers use it: as a ten-minute daily grammar slot, as a homework task, or as part of a mixed revision pack in the run-up to the SATs. Pairs can work through it and compare answers before checking the answer page. Revisiting the same topic a few weeks later is an effective way to check retention.

Building understanding, not just recognition: the SATs ask children to identify features, but the real aim is for them to use grammar confidently in their own writing. After completing the sheet, ask pupils to find examples of the topic in a class text and discuss why the author used them. Then set a short writing task where the feature must be used deliberately, such as a paragraph of a story or a piece of non-fiction. Shared editing, where the class improves a weak sentence together, is a powerful way to show the effect of a grammatical choice. Linking grammar to purpose and effect helps children remember the terminology, because it becomes a tool rather than a label.