Transcript Verb-Tense Consistency

English Lab
Verb tense consistency
Verb tense consistency: the basics
In English, there are only two tenses that are created from only the
main verb: simple present and simple past.
The other tenses are created with the help of other verbs called
auxiliaries. Here is a table showing common verb tenses:
Aspect
Present
Past
Future
I study
I studied
I will study
I am studying
I was studying
I will be
studying
I have studied
I had studied
I will have
studied
I have been
studying
I had been
studying
I will have been
studying
Simple
Continuous
Perfect
Perfect continuous
Verb tense consistency: the rules
All successful writing needs to make use of verb tenses consistently
and clearly.
Generally speaking, you should use one main tense in each piece
of writing.
Create changes in the time frame by changing tense while using
your main tense as a foundation.
Verb tense consistency: the rules
Do not change from one tense to another if the time frame does not
change.
Example: Yesterday I finished my assignment, and today I started a
new one. (= although one event happened yesterday and one
happened today, they both happened in the past)
Do change tense to show a change in time frame.
Example: Paul is very proud of his results, which he worked very hard
for.
(= Paul is proud now, in the present, because he worked hard in the
past)
Verb tense consistency: the rules
Past perfect tense requires changes in tense. In English we call it ‘the
past of the past.’ It is used when you are describing more than one
event in the past, but only if it is unclear which event happened first.
Compare:
• The plane left when we got to the airport. (= this sounds like both
events happened at the same time)
• The plane had already left when we got to the airport. (= this
sounds like the plane left before we got to the airport)
In this case, I want to say that the plane left before we got to the
airport, therefore I need to use the past perfect so that my meaning
is clear.
Verb tense consistency: the rules
Conditional tenses have specific rules for changes in tense.
Examples:
• Second conditional: If John attended class every day, he would
understand his assignments.
(if + simple past + would + infinitive)
• Third conditional: If I had concentrated better in class, I would not
have failed my exam. (if + past perfect + would have + past
participle)
Verb tense consistency: the rules
Continuous tenses often require changes in tense.
Example: As Debbie was walking to university, she dropped her
books.
It is necessary to change tense here to show the meaning that a
shorter action happened at the same time as a longer one.
These slides have been adapted from
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/601/04/