Proofreading for Errors in Verb Tense

Verb tenses tell you when the action in a sentence happens. The three verb tenses are past, present, and future. Past tense verbs describe when something has happened or used to happen continuously, present-tense verbs describe things that are continuous or that are happening now, and future tense verbs describe things that haven't happened yet but are likely to occur in the future.

Proofreading Exercises

Proofreading exercises are a great way to familiarize yourself with different verb tenses. 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 findings with the answers provided further below. Paying close attention to context and reading these aloud will help you to spot inconsistencies.

Hands Up!

Recently, in Oklahoma City, Pat Rowley, a security guard, 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.

The Christmas Spirit

Mr. Theodore Dunnet of Oxford, England, run amok in his house in December. 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 right out of the bath. He offer this explanation for his behavior: "I was shock by the over-commercialization of Christmas."

Late Bloomers

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Identifying and Correcting Verb Tense Errors

By Richard Nordquist

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 8, 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."

Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" is one of the most famous portraits in the history of painting. Leonardo took four years to complete the painting: he begun work in 1503 and finish in 1507. 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.

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

Here are the answers to the above verb-tense exercises. Corrected verb forms are in bold print.

Hands Up!

Recently in Oklahoma City, Pat Rowley, a security guard, 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.

The Christmas Spirit

Mr. Theodore Dunnet of Oxford, England, ran amok in his house in December. 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 right out of the bath. He offered this explanation for his behavior: "I was​ shocked by the over-commercialization of Christmas."

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."

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 1507. 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 installed 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.

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."