G0472 Week 7: Verbs and Tenses

Learning Outcomes The students are expected to be able to edit mistakes in the use of tenses in manuscripts.

VERBS AND TENSES Verb tenses are tools that English writers use to express time in their language. You may find that many English tenses do not have direct translations in your language.

VERBS AND TENSES In English, there are three basic tenses: present, past, and future. Each has a perfect form, indicating completed action; each has a progressive form, indicating ongoing action; and each has a perfect progressive form, indicating ongoing action that will be completed at some definite time.

Shift in Tense   The tense of your verb tells when events are taking place--whether in the past, the present, or the future. Early in a writer’s writing process, she should establish a "base tense" for her paper, and shift away from it only for good reason. If she is writing about past events, she should use the past tense as her base tense. If she is writing about the present or the future, she should build around one of those tenses.

Change: To: Shift in Tense We went into Bruno's and ordered a pizza. The waitress comes over and brings us our drinks. I can see she's going to spill one. To: We went into Bruno's and ordered a pizza. As the waitress came back with our drinks, I could see she was going to spill one.

Edit the following paragraph for consistency in tense: The first thing I hear was the terrible scream of somebody's voice blending into the squeal of rubber as we come hurtling down on the Honda from behind. It's my little sister, both hands pressed to the sides of her head, while my dad tried to push the brakes through the floor. Then suddenly we're going sideways, and I see a big church come floating across the windshield. Then I knew we'll crash.

Shift in Person  Here again, the goal is to be clear and consistent. This time, however, the aim is to establish a steady, reliable point of view. Doing so helps the reader understand where the two of you stand in relation to the subject, and generally helps build a strong writer/reader relationship. The aim is to establish a steady, reliable point of view.

Steps in Editing Change: Linda is my best friend. She won't let a person down. You can always count on her to be there when you need help. To: Linda is my best friend. She won't let me down. I can always count on her to be there when I need help.

Edit the following paragraph twice, each time from a different point of view: At the entrance of the canyon you could see the vegetation change radically. What struck you most was the sparse, stunted growth of plants otherwise similar to those you had seen a few miles back where the river, calmer and wider, took you through a lush, open area covered with huge trees and some of the longest grasses you had ever seen.

Look at the following sentences. which one is correct? 1. Last Saturday, I told my wife not to forget to close the window before she went to bed; but she didn't. 2. Last Saturday, I told my wife not to forget to close the window before she goes to bed; but she didn't. 3. Last Saturday, I told my wife not to forget to close the window before going to bed; but she didn't.