From Richard Nordquist,
Your Guide to Grammar & Composition.
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After you have reviewed our pages on Regular Verbs and Irregular Verbs, give these five proofreading exercises a try.

In each of the following paragraphs, some of the sentences contain errors in verb tense. Write out the correct form of any verb that is used incorrectly, and then compare your answers with those at the bottom of the page.

1. The following paragraph contains six errors in verb tense.
   
   Hands Up!
   
   Recently in Oklahoma City, Pat Roughen, a watchman, deposit 50 cents in a City Hall vending machine and reach in to get a candy bar. When the machine catch his hand, he pull out his pistol and shoot the machine twice. The second shot sever some wires, and he got his hand out.



2. The following paragraph contains six errors in verb tense.
   
   The Christmas Spirit
   
   Mr. Theodore Dunnet, of Oxford, England, run amok in his house in December of 1972. He ripped the telephone from the wall, thrown a television set and a tape-deck into the street, smash to bits a three-piece suite, kicked a dresser down the stairs, and torn the plumbing out of the bath. He offer this explanation for his behavior: "I was shock by the over-commercialization of Christmas."



3. The following paragraph contains six errors in verb tense.
   
   Late Bloomers
   
   Some very remarkable adults are known to have experience quite unremarkable childhoods. English author G.K. Chesterton, for instance, could not read until the age of eight, and he usually finish at the bottom of his class. "If we could opened your head," one of his teachers remark, "we would not find any brain but only a lump of fat." Chesterton eventually become a successful novelist. Similarly, Thomas Edison was label a "dunce" by one of his teachers, and young James Watt was called "dull and inept."



4. The following paragraph contains 10 errors in verb tense.
   
   Mona Lisa
   
   Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is the most famous portrait in the history of painting. Leonardo took four years to complete the painting: he begun work in 1503 and finish in 1607. Mona (or Madonna Lisa Gherardini) was from a noble family in Naples, and Leonardo may have paint her on commission from her husband. Leonardo is said to have entertain Mona Lisa with six musicians. He install a musical fountain where the water play on small glass spheres, and he give Mona a puppy and a white Persian cat to play with. Leonardo did what he could to keep Mona smiling during the long hours she sit for him. But it is not only Mona's mysterious smile that has impress anyone who has ever view the portrait: the background landscape is just as mysterious and beautiful. The portrait can be seen today in the Louvre Museum in Paris.



5. The following paragraph contains 10 errors in verb tense.
   
   Hard Luck
   
   A bank teller in Italy was jilted by his girlfriend and decide the only thing left to do was kill himself. He stolen a car with the idea of crashing it, but the car broken down. He steal another one, but it was too slow, and he barely dent a fender when he crashed the car into a tree. The police arrive and charge the man with auto theft. While being questioned, he stab himself in the chest with a dagger. Quick action by the police officers saved the man's life. On the way to his cell, he jumped out through a third-story window. A snowdrift broken his fall. A judge suspends the man's sentence, saying, "I'm sure fate still has something in store for you."

Answers

Corrected verb forms are in bold print.

1. Hands Up!
   
   Recently in Oklahoma City, Pat Roughen, a watchman, deposited 50 cents in a City Hall vending machine and reached in to get a candy bar. When the machine caught his hand, he pulled out his pistol and shot the machine twice. The second shot severed some wires, and he got his hand out.



2. The Christmas Spirit
   
   Mr. Theodore Dunnet, of Oxford, England, ran amok in his house in December of 1972. He ripped the telephone from the wall, threw a television set and a tape-deck into the street, smashed to bits a three-piece suite, kicked a dresser down the stairs, and tore the plumbing out of the bath. He offered this explanation for his behavior: "I was shocked by the over-commercialization of Christmas."



3. Late Bloomers
   
   Some very remarkable adults are known to have experienced quite unremarkable childhoods. English author G.K. Chesterton, for instance, could not read until the age of eight, and he usually finished at the bottom of his class. "If we could open your head," one of his teachers remarked, "we would not find any brain but only a lump of fat." Chesterton eventually became a successful novelist. Similarly, Thomas Edison was labeled a "dunce" by one of his teachers, and young James Watt was called "dull and inept."



4. Mona Lisa
   
   Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is the most famous portrait in the history of painting. Leonardo took four years to complete the painting: he began work in 1503 and finished in 1607. Mona (or Madonna Lisa Gherardini) was from a noble family in Naples, and Leonardo may have painted her on commission from her husband. Leonardo is said to have entertained Mona Lisa with six musicians. He install a musical fountain where the water played on small glass spheres, and he gave Mona a puppy and a white Persian cat to play with. Leonardo did what he could to keep Mona smiling during the long hours she sat for him. But it is not only Mona's mysterious smile that has impressed anyone who has ever viewed the portrait: the background landscape is just as mysterious and beautiful. The portrait can be seen today in the Louvre Museum in Paris.



5. Hard Luck
   
   A bank teller in Italy was jilted by his girlfriend and decided the only thing left to do was kill himself. He stole a car with the idea of crashing it, but the car broke down. He stole another one, but it was too slow, and he barely dented a fender when he crashed the car into a tree. The police arrived and charged the man with auto theft. While being questioned, he stabbed himself in the chest with a dagger. Quick action by the police officers saved the man's life. On the way to his cell, he jumped out through a third-story window. A snowdrift broke his fall. A judge suspended the man's sentence, saying, "I'm sure fate still has something in store for you."