General Idea | Using the Right Tense | Exercises

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The General Idea: One of the first things any reader likes to know is when what you're telling them about takes place. You don't want to confuse your reader, right? So while you're talking about the same event (or group of events), make sure you stick to a single general tense--past, present, or future.
 
 

Not: "I opened the door, and Mike is standing there. "
But: "I opened the door, and Mike was standing there. "
(Mike was there when I opened the door, but he isn't still standing there, is he?)

Exception: If you absolutely must refer to more than one time period in one sentence (or in one paragraph, for that matter), it is okay to use more than one tense, but be as clear as possible about which events happen when.

Not: "He tells the truth, and he tells it again, but he chooses to lie."
But: "He told the truth at first, and he will tell it again, but now he chooses to lie."
(The first version implies that he tells the truth and lies all at the same time.)

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General Idea | Using the Right Tense | Exercises

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More on Using the Right Tense:

• Plot synopsis (summary) should be in the present tense.

Not: "Hamlet had doubts, and couldn't bnng himself to act. "
But: "Hamlet has doubts, and can't bring himself to act. "

• Use present tense for eternal truths.

Not: "Beauty was in the eye of the beholder. "
But: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. "
(Always has been, always will be--it just is!)

• Also use present tense to introduce quotes and paraphrases of an author's words.

Not: "The first line of Moby Dick was 'Call me Ishmael."'
But: "The first line of Mobv Dick is 'Call me Ishmael."'
(Melville didn't change the line; it is and always will be "Call me Ishmael.")

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General Idea | Using the Right Tense | Exercises

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Exercises - What's Wrong With These Sentences?

1. He didn't like his daughter's friends, so he kicks her out of the house.

 
2. At the end of the movie, Indy finally listened to his father and left the Grail behind, and they ride off into the sunset together.

 
3. Columbus proved that the Earth was round.

 
4. Beethoven writes some of his best music after he went deaf.

 
5. Greedy people always wanted more.

For More Information: Diana Hacker, A Writer's Reference, Section G2-F (pp. 135-139). Margaret Shertzer, The Elements of Grammar, pp. 27-35. Watkins and Dillingham, Practical English Handbook, pp. 89-91.

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