Lab Activity 40: Correct and Consistent Verb Tense

Lab Activities
Lab Activity 40: Correct and Consistent Verb Tense

Objective To practice using verb tenses correctly and consistently throughout your writing.

Step 1: In each item below, write a sentence as instructed. After you finish, check to make sure the verb tenses in each sentence are consistent unless the instruction asks for the tenses to be different. You may refer to Chapter 40.

Example:
Write a sentence using the verbs write and submit in the past tense.
Kelly wrote her lab report last week and submitted it two days before the deadline.

Example:
Write a sentence using the verb place in the past tense and bet in the present tense.
When I was younger I placed bets whenever I could, but today I hardly ever bet.


		1. Write a sentence using the verbs drive and take in the present tense. To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

		2. Write a sentence using the verbs meet and discuss in the past tense. To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

		3. Write a sentence using the verbs see and teach in the present tense. To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

		4. Write a sentence using the verbs earn and spend in the past tense. To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

		5. Write a sentence using the verb know in the past tense and tell in the present tense. To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

		*Step 2: Now, select the topic of one of the sentences you wrote in Step 1. Write a paragraph of at least five sentences about any topic that spans at least a year. After you finish, check to make sure all of your verb tenses are used correctly, and fix any that are not. To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.*

		*Step 3:* For each sentence below, select the choice that uses verb tenses correctly. In general, verb tenses should be consistent within a sentence. There are some instances, however, when it is correct to switch tenses in the same sentence. If the original sentence is correct, select "No change." 1. My granddad grew up in California, and that was where he first tries gambling [Hint]

		2. He drove to the racetracks there and takes his chances on the horses. [Hint]

		3. He told us now how he carefully studied the racing form before each race. [Hint]

		4. The racing form provided detailed past performances of each horse, so the gambler feels he or she is making an informed bet. [Hint]

		5. My granddad agonizes over the racing form's information, but he had no luck at the track. [Hint]

		6. Granddad now feels that he wasted his money whenever he went to the track. [Hint]

		7. He believed that, no matter how much information the racing form provides, there were still important variables about the readiness of horses for a specific race that the average person cannot know about. [Hint]

		8. Granddad also went to the casinos in Las Vegas occasionally, but his luck is no better there. [Hint]

		9. In fact, Granddad always knows that casinos have a fixed payout on their slot machines, so the person who gambles a lot has little hope of coming out on top. [Hint]

		10. Now, Granddad maintains an ironclad rule for himself about gambling: Do not do it. [Hint]

		*Step 4:* Now that you have practiced using verb tenses correctly and, when appropriate, consistently, think about an experience you or someone you know about has had with gambling. You can make it up if you like. Write a paragraph of at least five sentences about that experience. In your paragraph, write most sentences with their verb tenses consistent. However, write at least one sentence using different verb tenses. After you finish, check to make sure all of your verb tenses are used correctly, and fix any that are not. To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

Answer choices in this exercise are randomized and will appear in a different order each time the page is loaded.