Free Year 7 Tense consistency in verb groups Practice | Skillo

Year 7 students facing their third NAPLAN need to be confident with tense consistency in verb groups. Consistency of tense through verbs and verb groups achieves clarity in sentences (avoid mixing past and present mid-sentence). Skillo has targeted practice questions for this exact skill, mapped to the Australian Curriculum v9.0, free and ready to go.

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What is tested: Tense consistency in verb groups

  • ✓Consistency of tense through verbs and verb groups achieves clarity in sentences (avoid mixing past and present mid-sentence).
  • ✓Questions test identification and correction of errors
  • ✓Both Australian English conventions and sentence structure are assessed

Sample questions

Question 1 — Easy

Priya walked to the oval and ___ her water bottle on the bench.

A) places
B) is placing
C) placed
D) will place

Answer: The opening verb 'walked' is in the simple past tense, so the second verb must also be in the simple past tense to maintain consistency. 'Placed' is the correct simple past form. 'Places' is present tense, 'is placing' is present continuous, and 'will place' is future tense — all of which break tense consistency.

Question 2 — Medium

Which sentence contains a tense consistency error?

A) Luca opened his textbook and read the first chapter.
B) Mia finished her experiment and records the results.
C) Zac packed his bag and left the classroom quietly.
D) Anika answered the question and sat back down.

Answer: In option B, 'finished' is past tense but 'records' switches to present tense, creating an inconsistency within the same sentence. Options A, C, and D all maintain consistent past tense throughout, using two past tense verbs joined by 'and'.

Question 3 — Hard

The coach blew the whistle, and all the players ___ to the centre of the court.

A) run
B) jogged
C) are running
D) have run

Answer: The first verb 'blew' is in the simple past tense, so the second verb must also be simple past to keep the tense consistent throughout the sentence. 'Jogged' is the only simple past option. 'Run' is present tense, 'are running' is present continuous, and 'have run' is present perfect — all inconsistent with the past tense set by 'blew'.

How to use Skillo for Year 7 Grammar

  1. Select Year 7 and Grammar on the home screen
  2. Use Quick Practice — questions on tense consistency in verb groups will appear as part of the session
  3. Check the Skill Breakdown on your profile to track your accuracy on tense consistency in verb groups specifically
  4. Review explanations after each question to understand the reasoning behind correct answers

Skillo is free, requires no email or account details, and is built specifically for Australian students. Every question is mapped to the Australian Curriculum v9.0 and filtered by skill so your child practises exactly what they need.

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