Which term describes the past, present, or future tense of the verb?

• A. Verb Tense
• B. Noun Phrase
• C. Base Word
• D. Prefix

Answer: (A)

Tense is the way we express when an action happens by changing the verb. It covers past, present, and future forms. For example, changes like “ran” (past), “runs” (present), and “will run” (future) show different times of action. The other terms don’t describe time: a noun phrase is a group of words acting as a noun, a base word is the verb in its core dictionary form without endings, and a prefix is an attached beginning piece that changes meaning but doesn’t indicate time. So the term that captures how we place the action in time is verb tense.