Identifying verbs and complete verb phrases, then choosing present, past and future forms that agree with the subject and time context.
Where your child meets this in real life: Keeping actions and states clear and consistent when describing routines, reporting past events and planning or predicting what will happen
SEAGReady breaks verbs and simple tenses into 3 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.
Identify the word or complete verb phrase that carries a sentence's action or state, including helper verbs and excluding nearby nouns, adjectives and adverbs.
Choose and recognise simple and progressive present or past verb forms by checking the complete phrase, subject agreement and time context together.
Recognise and complete future plans, predictions and results using 'will' plus the base verb, with no added -s, -ed or -ing ending.
Three free sample questions from our verbs and simple tenses course. Every question comes with a full explanation, and hints that guide without giving the answer away.
This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.
Read this sentence: 'The lanterns beside the path were glowing softly.'
What is the complete verb phrase in this sentence?
Start with the subject: the sentence is about 'the lanterns'.
Step 1 of 4
Read this sentence: 'The lanterns beside the path were glowing softly.'
What is the complete verb phrase in this sentence?
The complete verb phrase is 'were glowing': the helper 'were' and main verb form 'glowing' work together.
The key insight: Find what is happening, then look left of the main verb form for any helper that belongs with it. Words telling how, when or where usually sit outside the verb phrase.
Common mix-up: Choosing only 'glowing' or choosing 'glowing softly'. 'Glowing' needs its helper 'were' to give the complete verb phrase. 'Softly' describes how the glowing happened, so it is an adverb rather than part of the verb phrase.
These are the misconceptions we see most often in verbs and simple tenses, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.
SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.
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