|
Verb
Tense Consistency
There are three main verb forms for
showing time or tense:
Simple Tense
Simple present (action goes on now): I sit
Simple past: (action happened and is over): I sat
Simple future (action will happen): I will sit
Perfect Tense
- uses have, has, or had as
auxiliary verb
- allows action to continue over time
Present perfect (action happened and may still be going on): I
have sat
Past perfect (action happened before something happened in the past): I
had sat
Future perfect (action will be considered in the future, by which time it will
have already happened):
I will have sat
Progressive Tense
- uses is, are, was, or were as auxiliary
verb with -ing ending on main verb
- focuses on “progress” of action
Present progressive (action is in progress right now):
I am sitting
Past: progressive (action was in progress in the past): I
was sitting
Future progressive (action will be in progress in the future):
I will be sitting
Each of the above tenses denotes a
specific time for an action or event to take place. Writers should be
careful to use the exact tense needed to describe, narrate, or explain.
In general . . .
-
Do not switch from one tense to
another unless the timing of an action demands that you do.
-
Keep verb tense consistent in
sentences, paragraphs, and essays.
Verb
tense consistency on the sentence level
INCORRECT:
CORRECT:
Since there is no indication that the
actions happened apart from one another., there is no reason to shift the tense
of the second verb.
Note another example.
INCORRECT:
CORRECT:
The above sentence means that Mary walks
into a room at times. The action is habitual present. The second action
happens when the first one does. Therefore, the second verb should be present
as well.
Change tense only when there is a need to do
so.
Usually, the timing of actions within a sentence will dictate when the
tense must change.
CORRECT:
The first action will take place in the
future; therefore, the second one will as well.
CORRECT:
The second action took place in the past; the
first action occurred before the past action. Therefore, the first action
requires the past perfect tense (had + verb).
Verb tense consistency on
the paragraph level
-
Generally, establish a primary tense
and keep tenses consistent from sentence to sentence.
-
Do not shift tenses between
sentences unless there is a time change that must be shown.
PRESENT TENSE PARAGRAPH
All actions in the
above paragraph happen in the present except for the future possibility dependent upon a
present action taking place: " If a
cat sees the bird, the cat will kill it."
PAST TENSE PARAGRAPH
All of the
actions in the above paragraph happen in the past except for the possibility
dependent upon
one action taking place: "If a cat saw
the bird, the cat would kill it."
Verb tense consistency on
the essay level
1.
Use present tense when writing essays about
- your own ideas
- factual topics
- the action in a specific movie, play, or book
YOUR OWN IDEAS
FACTUAL TOPIC
ACTION IN A SPECIFIC
MOVIE OR BOOK
NOTE: When quoting from a work,
maintain the present tense in your own writing, while keeping the original tense
of the quoted material.
EXAMPLE (quoted material is shown in blue)
2. Use past tense when writing about
- past events
- completed studies or findings, arguments presented in
scientific literature
EXAMPLE
- PAST EVENT
Note the justified use
of present tense in the last sentence (shown in blue).
EXAMPLE - SCIENTIFIC STUDY
3. Use
future tense when writing about
- an event that will occur in the future.
EXAMPLE
- FUTURE EVENT
Remember . . .
Note how the following example incorporates tense change as needed to clarify several time
periods.
|