<h3>Using Tenses Correctly</h3><p><strong>Tense</strong> shows the time of an action. The three simple tenses are:</p><ul><li><strong>Simple present</strong> – habits and facts: <em>She sells vegetables at the market.</em></li><li><strong>Simple past</strong> – finished actions: <em>She sold all her tomatoes yesterday.</em></li><li><strong>Simple future</strong> – actions to come: <em>She will sell mangoes next week.</em></li></ul><h3>Subject–Verb Agreement</h3><p>The verb must match the subject in number. A <strong>singular</strong> subject takes a singular verb; a <strong>plural</strong> subject takes a plural verb: <em>The pupil <strong>writes</strong></em> but <em>the pupils <strong>write</strong></em>.</p><h3>Punctuation Basics</h3><ul><li><strong>Full stop (.)</strong> ends a statement.</li><li><strong>Question mark (?)</strong> ends a question.</li><li><strong>Comma (,)</strong> separates items or clauses.</li><li><strong>Apostrophe (')</strong> shows possession (<code>Otieno's bag</code>) or a missing letter (<code>can't</code>).</li></ul><div class="callout"><strong>Kenyan context:</strong> Read this M-Pesa-style message aloud with and without punctuation: “you have received KES 500 from Wanjiku confirm balance” versus “You have received KES 500 from Wanjiku. Confirm balance?” The punctuated version is instantly clear. Correct tense, agreement and punctuation make your everyday writing – texts, notes and letters – easy to understand.</div>