Verbs: Tense Shifts

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Using consistent tenses in a piece of writing makes it easier for readers to follow your train of thought and to know what is happening and when. Check that your verbs fit consistently with present or past time, both within a sentence and from one sentence to the next.

	Faulty	Selecting a jury was very difficult. The lawyers ask many questions to discover bias and prejudice; sometimes the prospective jury members had the idea they are acting in a play.
	Revised	Selecting a jury was very difficult. The lawyers asked many questions to discover bias and prejudice; sometimes the prospective jury members had the idea they were acting in a play.

When you write about events or ideas presented by another writer, use the present tense.

	Faulty	The author illustrated the images of women in two ways, using advertisements and dramas on TV. One way shows those women who advanced their careers by themselves, and the other shows those who used beauty as a way to gain recognition.
	Revised	The author illustrates the images of women in two ways, using advertisements and dramas on TV. One way shows those women who advance their careers by themselves, and the other shows those who use beauty as a way to gain recognition.

 
Note two occasions when tense shifts are appropriate:

1.	Shift tenses when you signal a time change. A time word or phrase will alert your reader to a shift and set up expectations for a change in tense.

Example

Harold was my late grandfather's name, and now it is mine. [signal for switch from past to present = now]

2.	Shift tenses when you follow a generalization (present tense) with a specific example of an incident in the past.

Example

Some bilingual schools offer intensive instruction in English. My sister, for example, went to a bilingual school where she studied English for two hours every day. [generalization followed by specific example]

 

See also
Sentence Problems: Verbs