How do irregular past verbs fit this skill?

They're past verbs that changed their shape instead of taking -ed: sing became sang, build became built. On a sort, students place them by meaning rather than by ending, which is exactly the deeper check this skill needs by 3rd grade.

What comes after sorting tenses?

Keeping a tense steady. By 5th grade the standards ask students to notice and fix sentences that hop between past and present mid-story. A student who sorts quickly is ready to start that editing work early; the sort is the warm-up, consistency is the game.

3rd grade past, present, and future verbs

3rd grade past, present, and future verbs worksheets

Third graders name the three simple tenses and sort confidently, including the irregular pasts (wrote, built, flew) that don't wear an -ed. The sort also sets up the harder grade-3 skill of keeping one tense steady across a whole paragraph.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.3.1.e.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of words you'll sort

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

will sitbringsaterodewill eatgavesleepsdrawswalkeddiscoverswill wanderwill write

Columns: Past and Present and Future. "gave" belongs under past; "brings" belongs under present; "will eat" belongs under future.

Every print pulls a new set of words at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 3rd grade sheet

3rd grade sheets draw from 150 words, 21 to a page. All 90 of 2nd grade's words are here too, plus 60 more.

Some of the words:

swamkickeddescribedplaysmakessitsrideswill smilewill gatherwill borrow

Sorting. Write each verb from the bank under Past, Present, or Future. 21 words per page.

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

How to teach this

Mix in the irregulars freely and ask students to justify each placement in a sentence: "wrote: she wrote a letter yesterday." The justification sentence is the real assessment. Connect the sort to writing: pick a column and tell a two-sentence story staying inside it.

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 3rd grade past, present, and future verbs

How do irregular past verbs fit this skill?: They're past verbs that changed their shape instead of taking -ed: sing became sang, build became built. On a sort, students place them by meaning rather than by ending, which is exactly the deeper check this skill needs by 3rd grade.
What comes after sorting tenses?: Keeping a tense steady. By 5th grade the standards ask students to notice and fix sentences that hop between past and present mid-story. A student who sorts quickly is ready to start that editing work early; the sort is the warm-up, consistency is the game.

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Aligned to Common Core L.3.1.e. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 240, updated July 2026.

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