Year 2 — Grammar

Joining and tense

Join two ideas together using words like 'because' or 'and', and keep your writing in the same tense — either present (now) or past (already happened).

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💡Understand

We can join two sentences with a joining word. 'And', 'or', 'but' join two equal ideas (coordination). 'Because', 'when', 'if' join a main idea to an extra idea (subordination). We should also keep our TENSE the same throughout — don't mix 'is' (present) with 'was' (past) in the same story.

“I stayed inside because it was raining.”

'Because' joins the main idea (I stayed inside) to the reason (it was raining) — this is subordination. Both parts use the past tense ('stayed', 'was'), keeping the tense consistent.

🔍Spot it

Is this coordination (joining equal ideas) or subordination (adding a reason/extra idea)?

Question 1

I like apples and oranges.

💡 'And' joins two equal ideas (apples, oranges) — coordination.

Question 2

We went inside because it was cold.

💡 'Because' adds a reason to the main idea — subordination.

Question 3

Which sentence keeps a consistent past tense?

💡 Both verbs ('walked', 'ate') are in the past tense — consistent.

🧠Think about it

Why might mixing tenses — like 'Yesterday I go to the park' — sound wrong?

✍️Try it

Choose the correctly joined sentence.

You want to join 'I was tired' and 'I went to bed early' using a reason word.

Question 1

Which correctly joins these ideas?

💡 Look for the option that gives a reason, using 'because'.

📝Practise

Choose the correctly joined or correctly tensed sentence.

Question 1

Join: 'I like dogs' + 'I like cats' (equal ideas)

Question 2

Join: 'She was happy' + reason 'she won the race'

Question 3

Which sentence has a consistent tense?

Question 4

In one word, what do we call joining a main idea to an extra idea using words like 'because' or 'when'?

💡 It's one of the two joining types explained in this lesson.

Question 5

Which sentence has a consistent tense?

Question 6

Join: 'We stayed home' + reason 'it was raining'

🎯Apply

Read the passage, then answer the questions below.

Yesterday, Leo felt excited because it was his birthday. He opened his presents and played with his new toys all afternoon.

Question 1

What joining word links 'Leo felt excited' to the reason why?

💡 Look for the word explaining WHY Leo felt excited.

Question 2

Is this passage written in the present or past tense?

💡 Look at the verb endings throughout the passage.

Question 3

What word joins 'opened his presents' and 'played with his new toys'?

💡 It joins two equal actions Leo did.

🏆Challenge

Can you write a sentence joining 'I was tired' to a reason, using 'because'?

🔄Review

A quick mastery check — 3 questions.

Question 1

Which uses coordination (joining equal ideas)?

Question 2

Which uses subordination (adding a reason)?

Question 3

Which sentence has a consistent tense?

Want more practice mixing this with other grammar rules? Try Grammar practice →