Verb Tense Consistency - Los Angeles Mission College

[Pages:2]Verb Tense Consistency

Verb tense indicates time: past, present, or future. It lets us know when an action takes places.

After I get a call from my parent, I will call my friends.

[present]

[future]

When writing a paper, it is crucial to pay attention to verb tenses throughout. Unnecessary shifts in verb

tenses may confuse the reader.

I jumped when I heard the shriek outside; I run to the window to see what was going on. I stand frozen in the room wondering what I should do, so I rushed to the door.

The correct way to write this is: I jumped when I heard the shriek outside; I ran to the window to see what was going on. I stood frozen in the room wondering what I should do, so I rushed to the door.

Let's look at another one:

As we were walking to the ice cream shop yesterday, a large dog jumps in front of us and blocks our way.

The correct way to write this is:

As we were walking to the ice cream shop yesterday, a large dog jumped in front of us and blocked our way.

There are some instances in which shifting tenses are necessary; however, make sure that you have a reason to do so.

Students today remember very little about what they learned about the Titanic in their history

classes. Instead, they remember the Hollywood movie they have watched on the topic.

Read the following paragraph, paying close attention to the highlights verbs. Change any verbs which are inconsistent.

I always thought I want to major in chemistry. After taking a chemistry class my first semester, however, I realize that perhaps chemistry was not for me. I decided not to worry about it and to just take classes that fulfilled my core requirements. I took a journalism class and loved it. Since then, I have decided to major in journalism, and I felt confident that this is the right decision.

Compare your answers to the following corrected version: I always thought I wanted to major in chemistry. After taking a chemistry class my first semester, however, I realized that perhaps chemistry was not for me. I decided not to worry about it and to just take classes that fulfilled my core requirements. I took a journalism class and loved it. Since then, I have decided to major in journalism, and I feel confident that this is the right decision.

Keywords can help you identify the correct verb tense that should be used:

Present tense:

Key Words

always, often, seldom lately, rarely, never, every day , now,

Past tense:

yesterday, last week, already, already,

Future tense:

tomorrow, next week, when, next month, etc.

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