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1st Grade Past, Present, and Future Verbs Worksheets

Verbs carry the time of a sentence: jumped is past, jumps is present, will jump is future. First graders sort verbs into yesterday, today, and tomorrow piles, which turns an abstract idea into something they can physically do.

Free printable PDF, aligned to Common Core L.1.1.e. One skill per page, answer key on page two.

Every sheet is one of a kind and prints with a version code, so you can reprint the exact same one later. New version every click.

A sample 1st grade sheet. Yours will have different sentences. Click it to print your own.

The kind of words you'll sort

Write each verb from the bank under Past, Present, or Future.

washeswill cookwill wavewill hugcoloredrainedlickswill packrestedwavesbarkspacked

Columns: Past and Present and Future. "rested" belongs under past; "waves" belongs under present; "will pack" belongs under future.

Every print draws a fresh mix of word lists at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different sheet.

What's on each sheet

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Anchor the columns to days: yesterday, today, tomorrow. Act a verb out, then ask "did it already happen, is it happening, or is it going to happen?" Keep the verbs regular at first (-ed pasts only) so the ending itself becomes a reliable clue before the irregulars arrive.

Watch for: The future never changes the verb itself; it borrows the helper will. On these sheets, if you see will, it's future. Some past verbs skip -ed and change instead: sang, wrote, ran. They're still past.

Common questions about past, present, and future verbs

How do I explain verb tenses to a 1st grader?
Use time words they own already: yesterday, today, tomorrow. Jumped goes with yesterday, jumps with today, will jump with tomorrow. Sorting word cards into those three piles teaches the idea faster than any explanation.
Should a 1st grader know the word "tense"?
It's fine to say it, but it isn't the goal. What matters at this age is hearing that jumped already happened and will jump hasn't yet. The vocabulary word can arrive in 2nd or 3rd grade once the idea is solid.

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One page, answer key included. A fresh version every time you click.

Aligned to Common Core L.1.1.e. Reviewed by the One More Sheet curriculum team. Content version 68, updated July 2026.