Verb Tense
Verb tenses tell readers when actions are taking place. Careful and accurate use of tenses is importarat to clear writing. If the verbs in a passage refer to actions occurring at different times, they may require different tenses. Make sure you use the appropriate tense for each action so that readers can follow.
Be careful, however, not to change tenses for no reason. When you shift from one tense to another with no clear reason, you can confuse readers. Sometimes they have to guess which tense is the right one.
It is easy to edit for confusing shifts: i f you shift from one tense to another, check to be sure there is a reason for doing so.
Make sure you put the different actions of your sentence in chronological order:
| 6 tenses | progressive forms |
| Simple past: I played | I was playing |
| Present: I play | I am playing |
| Simple future: I will play | I will be playing |
| Past perfect: I had played | I had been playing |
| Present perfect: I have played | I have been playing |
| Future perfect: I will have played | I will have been playing |
- To indicate actions occurring at the same tune as or later than the action of the predicate verb, vou can use an infinitive:
- To indicate actions occurring at the same time as that of the predicate verb. use a present participle:
- To indicate actions occurring before that of the predicate verb, use a past participle or a present perfect participle:
We had hoped to plant our garden by now.
Seeking to relieve unemployment, Roosevelt established several public works programs.
Flown to the front, the troops joined their hard-pressed comrades,
II. Passive / Active Voice Shifting from active to passive voice can also be confusing. Check for those shifts, ask yourself if they are intentional--and, if so, for what reason. Most of the time, making all verbs active clears up the confusion.
III. Discussing Literary Works When discussing works of literature, be sure to use present-tense verbs:
Alice Walker's Grange Copeland displays his frustration through neglect.Use past tense only to describe historical events:
Thus sharecropping, like slavery before it, contributed to the black man's feeling of powerlessness.When you write about literary and artistic works created in the past, generally follow MLA style and use present-tense verbs:
As Eudora Welty notes, "learning stamps you with its moments." "Childhood's learning," she continues, "is made up of moments. It isn't steady. It's a pulse."
IV. Editing Strategies:
- Circle all the verbs in your draft.
- Look at the verbs in sequence, and check that any shift from one tense to another is logically consistent. Check for consistency both within a sentence and between sentences. Vou might even find it helpful to make a time-line charting the various tenses used.
- If you find any illogical shifts in tense, revise to eliminate them.
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