Editing Workshop: Verbs & Adjectives
Learn
Editing your writing for grammar helps make it clear and correct. This lesson focuses on fixing common verb and adjective errors.
Common Verb Errors to Fix
- Wrong tense: "Yesterday I walk to school" → "Yesterday I walked to school"
- Tense switching: "She ran fast and jumps high" → "She ran fast and jumped high"
- Subject-verb agreement: "The dogs runs fast" → "The dogs run fast"
Common Adjective Errors to Fix
- Wrong order: "The red big ball" → "The big red ball"
- Overusing adjectives: "The very, very, very big house" → "The enormous house"
- Comparing incorrectly: "She is more taller" → "She is taller"
Examples
Error:
"Last week, I go to the store and buyed some apples."
Fixed:
"Last week, I went to the store and bought some apples."
Fixed: Changed "go" to "went" and "buyed" to "bought" (past tense).
Practice
Find and fix the errors in each sentence.
1. Fix the verb: "Yesterday she walk to the park."
A) Yesterday she walks to the park.
B) Yesterday she walked to the park.
C) Yesterday she walking to the park.
D) Yesterday she walk to the park.
Answer
B) - "Yesterday" signals past tense, so use "walked."
2. Fix the tense switch: "The cat jumped up and meows loudly."
A) The cat jumped up and meowed loudly.
B) The cat jumps up and meows loudly.
C) The cat jumping up and meowing loudly.
D) The cat jump up and meow loudly.
Answer
A) - Both verbs should be past tense to match.
3. Fix the agreement: "The birds flies south."
A) The birds flying south.
B) The birds fly south.
C) The bird flies south.
D) The birds flied south.
Answer
B) - "Birds" is plural, so use "fly" (no s).
4. Fix the adjective order: "She has a wooden small box."
A) She has a small wooden box.
B) She has a wood small box.
C) She has a box wooden small.
D) She has a wooden box small.
Answer
A) - Size (small) comes before material (wooden).
5. Fix: "He runned very fast."
A) He runs very fast.
B) He ran very fast.
C) He running very fast.
D) He runned very faster.
Answer
B) - The past tense of "run" is "ran," not "runned."
6. Fix the comparison: "This book is more better than that one."
A) This book is most better than that one.
B) This book is better than that one.
C) This book is more good than that one.
D) This book is best than that one.
Answer
B) - "Better" already means "more good," so don't add "more."
7. Fix: "The childs played in the park."
A) The child played in the park.
B) The children played in the park.
C) The childs plays in the park.
D) The child play in the park.
Answer
B) - The plural of "child" is "children," not "childs."
8. Fix: "She is the most tallest girl."
A) She is the more tallest girl.
B) She is the tallest girl.
C) She is the most tall girl.
D) She is most tallest girl.
Answer
B) - Use "tallest" alone, not "most tallest."
9. Fix: "I goed to the store."
A) I go to the store.
B) I went to the store.
C) I going to the store.
D) I gos to the store.
Answer
B) - The past tense of "go" is "went," not "goed."
10. Which sentence has correct verb tense throughout?
A) She walked to school and sees her friend.
B) She walks to school and saw her friend.
C) She walked to school and saw her friend.
D) She walk to school and see her friend.
Answer
C) - Both verbs are in past tense, which is consistent.
Next Steps
- Practice editing your own writing for verb errors
- Check that your adjectives are in the right order
- Continue to the Unit Checkpoint