How can you tell they’ve got it: Consistent verb tense?

If they’ve got it, you’ll see things like: Identify and correct unnecessary tense shifts in a given paragraph; Edit own writing to ensure consistent tense use throughout a narrative; Explain when a tense shift is appropriate such as when describing a flashback. Or just try it together: If you read back a paragraph your child has written and it unexpectedly switches from past tense to present tense mid-way through, can they spot the shift and correct it so the tense stays consistent?

English Grammar & Punctuation Ages 10–11

Consistent verb tense

Your child can keep the tense steady across their writing. They spot and fix a place where it jumps from past to present by mistake.

In curriculum terms

Recognise and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense within and across sentences and paragraphs, maintaining consistency unless a shift is required by meaning

Ages are typical, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace. How to help at home →

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Identify and correct unnecessary tense shifts in a given paragraph
Edit own writing to ensure consistent tense use throughout a narrative
Explain when a tense shift is appropriate such as when describing a flashback

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Try this together

If you read back a paragraph your child has written and it unexpectedly switches from past tense to present tense mid-way through, can they spot the shift and correct it so the tense stays consistent?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Simple Past, Present and Futureages 8–9Correcting inappropriate tense shifts requires secure use of simple past, present, and future tenses

Choosing Tenses for Precise Meaningages 10–11Correcting tense shifts requires understanding tense use

Progressive and Continuous Tensesages 9–10Recognising tense shifts is enriched by knowledge of progressive tenses, which are a common source of unintentional shifts

Consistent verb tensethis skill · ages 10–11

Unlocks

Nothing on the map depends on this yet.

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Where this fits in the official school curriculum — our best automated guess, not yet checked by a person.

Show candidate curriculum codes · 1 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

This skill sits outside the F–6 Australian Curriculum — no candidate code matched (v0.1).

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2E6LA06low confidenceEnglish · Level 6 · Language strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Active and passive voiceages 10–11 Bullet Point Punctuationages 10–11 Choosing Tenses for Precise Meaningages 10–11 Colons and Semicolons in Listsages 10–11

All Grammar & Punctuation skills →