Dragon Boat Practice: Tenses for Time, Order, and If

Show when things happen, which came first, and what will or would happen.

Times and states

Verb tenses and time clues work together to show when something happens or how something is.

Ines paddles for the Cedar Lake Comets, a youth dragon boat team. In a dragon boat, the paddlers sit in pairs, a drummer at the front beats a steady rhythm, and a steerer at the back guides the boat.

Match each sentence to the time clue that fits its verb.

Underline the verb phrase that shows an action that was in progress when something else happened.

Write the form of the verb feel that fits each time clue.

Yesterday before the race, Priya nervous. Right now, she calm and ready.

Write the form of the verb be that fits each time clue. Use will for the future.

The lake calm right now, but tomorrow afternoon it choppy.

What happened first?

The past perfect tense (had + past participle) shows which of two past actions happened first.

Read the three sentences. Each one tells about two events. Sort every event: did it happen first or second?
1. By the time we pushed off from the dock, the rain had stopped.
2. Hana had tightened her life jacket before she climbed into the boat.
3. When Coach Duong blew the whistle, the boats had already lined up.

Write the form of the verb forget that shows which action happened first (two words).

Mateo paddled with bare hands at practice because he his gloves at home.

Write the form of the verb lift that shows which action happened first (two words).

By the time the first race began, the morning fog .

Coach Duong wants to say that the team finished its warm-up before the race started. Which sentence says this correctly?

A. The team is finishing its warm-up before the race started.B. The team has finished its warm-up before the race started.C. The team will finish its warm-up before the race started.D. The team had finished its warm-up before the race started.

If-sentences

An if-sentence can tell what will happen if something real comes true, or what would happen in an imagined situation.

Match each beginning to the ending that makes sense and uses the right verb form.

10.

This sentence tells what will happen if something real comes true. Write the form of each verb in parentheses.

If we (finish) in the top two, we (race) again in the final.

11.

Lucia says, "If I had a bigger drum, everyone would hear the beat." What does Lucia's sentence tell?

A. Lucia has a bigger drum than the other teams.B. Lucia will get a bigger drum before Saturday.C. Lucia is imagining a drum she does not have.D. Lucia had a bigger drum at last year's race.

12.

Write one sentence that tells what your team will do if it rains on race day. Then write one sentence that uses had to tell what happened before a race began.