Tense shifts

Mastering Tense Shifts

FROM THE WRITING CENTER@ THE A.R.C.

Knowing when to use the right tense can be difficult for academic writing. However, it is important because it defines certain characteristics for your paper.

These Characteristics: • Show the reader when something takes place• Show the reader how something takes place • Help the overall flow of the paper

Examples of tense mistakes“I climbed out of the canoe, walked down the trail, and prepared to meet the River Master, but instead a huge, dark-scaly alligator dashes at my feet.”What went wrong? The beginning of the sentence started with past tense, and then shifted to present tense. “I climbed out of the canoe, walked down the trail, and prepared to meet the River Master, but instead a huge, dark-scaly alligator dashed at my feet.”The proper way to fix the sentence was to change “dashes,” to “dashed” to match the other tenses in the sentence. This is a way you can work yourself out of tense jail!

However, there are times when tense changes are needed to make the sentence better.

“We visited the house we are moving into tomorrow.”This sentence goes from past tense, to present tense and is still grammatically correct.

There are also times where you need to use double past tense phrases!“Although I was ten feet away from the cliff, I was terrified. I think my feelings were influenced by the strong gusts of wind.”This sentence goes from past to present tense.This sentence goes from past tense to present tense and is grammatically correct. What if I wanted to make this as if I was talking in past-past tense? “Although I was ten feet away from the cliff, I was terrified. I thought my feelings were influenced by the strong gusts of wind.” This sentence goes past-past tense.Or even: “Although I was ten feet away from the cliff, I was terrified. I had thought my feelings were influenced by the strong gusts of wind.”This sentence goes past-double-past tense.

What tenses do I use in academic writing?

Certain writing styles go better with different types of writing. For example, for an analysis, it is better to talk in present tense. “Mark Twain is one of the greatest writers in American History.”Talking in the present helps with analyzing, while talking in past tense sounds more like a narrative.“Mark Twain was one of the greatest writers in American History.”When you use past tense, it sounds more like you’re telling a story about it rather than analyzing it. Present tense is better for analyzing, and past tense is better for narrative writing.

Tips to help with tense shifts!• Don’t change tenses randomly on specific types of

papers. Instead, keep your tense consistent throughout your paper.

• When you do use tense changes, make sure it flows in your paper, especially when you recall an event that needs to be in past tense.

• Practice knowing when to use the right tense shift changes while writing.

These tips should help get your tense shift train rolling!