Verb Tense Keeping tense consistent Simple Tenses A

Verb Tense Keeping tense consistent

Simple Tenses ¡ A tense is a verb form that shows the time of an action or condition. Verbs have 3 simple tenses: ¡ Present Tense ¡ Past Tense ¡ Future Tense

Examples The car door opens easily. ¡ The present tense shows that the action or condition occurs now. The car door opened, and the man stepped out. ¡ The past tense shows that the action or condition occurred in the past. The car door will open, and I will jump out. ¡ The future tense shows that the action or condition will occur.

Progressive Forms ¡ A progressive form of a verb expresses an action or condition in progress. ¡ Progressive forms of the three simple tenses are used to show that actions or conditions were, are, or will be in progress.

Examples ¡ You are writing notes. Present Progressive ¡ You were reading. Past Progressive ¡ You will be cheering. Future progressive

Present Perfect ¡ The present perfect tense places an action or condition in a stretch of time leading up to the present. Many people have rafted here. ¡ People have rafted here at unspecified times before the present.

Past Perfect ¡ The past perfect tense places an action or condition before another past action or condition. After the guide had straightened the raft, we entered the rapids. ¡ The straightening happened before the entering.

Tense Shift ¡ Once you begin a sentence with a particular verb tense, maintain that tense as long as you are referring to the same period of time. ¡ Switching tense without a valid reason creates a problem known as a tense shift.

Now You Try! Fix the sentence below: ¡ When we arrived, we are upset to learn we have missed the party. ¡

Corrected Sentence ¡ When we arrived, we were upset to learn that we had missed the party.

¡ At the beginning of Anna Karenina, Oblonsky is introduced as an unfaithful husband. His wife, Dolly, was furious because of his affair with the French governess. Oblonsky's sister, Anna, soon arrived and persuaded Dolly to forgive him.

Can Inconsistent Verb Tense Ever Be Correct? The answer is yes ¡ When there is a shift in time frame different verb tenses can be used ¡ For example: ¡ l When shifting from general description to a specific occasion

Example of Mixed Verb Tense ¡ Huck Finn is a clever boy who doesn’t like to follow the rules, and as a result, he often gets into trouble. On one occasion, he escaped from Pap’s cabin and ran away to avoid civilization.