Identify Tense of the sentence

Tense is about time: does the action happen in the past, the present, or the future?
The verb form tells you which, and time words like "yesterday," "every day," or "next year" back it up.
Past verbs often end in "-ed," present verbs describe now or in general, and future verbs use "will."

Tense matters most when you add a verb to a sentence.
The new verb should usually match the tense already there.
If the sentence is in the past, a second verb should be in the past too.

Take "Last year, John returned to the group and _____ two albums."
The time word "last year" and the verb "returned" show the sentence is about the past.
So the blank should be a past-tense verb like "recorded," not "records."

A sentence about something generally true or ongoing uses the present tense.
"Today, these flutes are still known as fipple flutes" is present, because it describes an ongoing fact, not a one-time past event.
So a past-tense verb like "were known" would not fit.

What is the tense of "The bakery opens at seven every morning"?
The verb is "opens," a present-tense verb, and it describes a regular, ongoing action.
So the sentence is in the present tense.

A sentence reads "She traveled to Rome and _____ the ancient ruins." Should the blank be "explored" or "explores"?
The verb "traveled" is past tense, so the sentence is about the past.
Use "explored" to match.

A sentence reads "Bats are mainly nocturnal, and they _____ at night." Should the blank be "hunt" or "hunted"?
"Are" is present tense and states an ongoing fact, so the sentence is present.
Use "hunt" to match.