Today I’d like to present you with the key to good writing…tense consistency!
The tense of a sentence is the time at which the action occurred.
When writing, we must be aware of the tenses we use in our text.
There’s no need to feel tension with verb tense – Just stay consistent!
In order to be sure you have no tense consistency mistakes in your writing, use WhiteSmoke Writer – the ultimate grammar software to your writing matters.
The 3 main tenses in English (and many other languages) are: Past, Present and Future.
There are variations of each of these, but it is best to become totally comfortable and familiar with these 3 in order to even attempt to understand the others.
Consistency is the Key
If you are writing about an event in the past – always use the past tense.
The same applies for present and future.
If you are unsure about which tense to use, simply refer to the last verb you wrote.
As with every rule, there are exceptions – but consistency is always your safest bet.
If you suspect tense inconsistency in your own writing, or the writing of others:
1) THINK about what “tense” or “time” the overall sentence is in – past, present or future.
2) LOCATE verbs (action words) in the sentence, and see what tense they are in.
3) RE-READ the sentence, to make sure you understand what it is saying.
4) RE-EXAMINE the verbs in the sentence, to make sure they are in a consistent tense
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