Tense Time Machine

• 2nd–4th grade
• Ages 7–10
• Free, no sign-up

Climb into the time machine! Each sentence has its verb in bold. Your child decides when it happens: in the past (visited), in the present (reads) or in the future (will go), and sends it through time.

▶ Play

About the game

How to play

1. Read the sentence. Look at the verb in bold.
2. Ask when. Already happened, happens now, or will happen?
3. Send it. Tap past, present or future.
4. Sort 12 sentences. Right on the first try earns stars.

For parents: what Tense Time Machine practices

Tense Time Machine teaches kids to recognize simple past, present and future tense verbs, including irregular past forms like saw and swam. It pairs with:

• Verb tenses
• Past, present and future
• Irregular Verb Racer

Common Core: L.3.1e (form and use the simple verb tenses), L.1.1e (use verbs to convey past, present and future), L.3.1d.

Getting the most out of it

• Future tense usually uses will.
• Past tense often ends in -ed, but not always: saw, swam, wrote.
• Add a time word to check: yesterday, every day, tomorrow.

Games are best as a reward or a warm-up, not the main lesson. Ten minutes of play after a short lesson works better than an hour of play on its own.

More games

• Run-On RescueSpot run-on sentences and rescue them.3rd–5th grade
• Adjective or Adverb?Does the word describe a noun or a verb?2nd–4th grade
• Sentence or Fragment?Complete sentence, or just a piece of one?2nd–4th grade

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Last reviewed: November 11, 2026

Questions parents ask