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Cheat Sheet: Verb Tenses in Academic Writing

June 9, 2022 | Blog

Cheat sheet

No time to read? Here’s the short version:

  • Prefer the present simple, past simple, and present perfect tenses in academic writing.
  • Different sections of your paper will require different tenses.
  • Only change the tense if the timing of the action changes.
  • Use the progressive and perfect tenses only when it’s important to stress the ongoing nature of an action or its relationship to another action.
  • Use the future tense only when discussing events that have yet to take place.

Common verb tenses

Most academic papers are written using these three verb tenses:

If you’re not sure which tense to use, default to the present simple. Use the past simple or present perfect for events that began and ended in the past.

Verb tenses by section

Different sections of an academic text may require different tenses. Some fields of study have very specific guidelines regarding tenses. Scientific journals may, for instance, prescribe the present perfect tense for the abstract and the past simple tense for the literature review. Economics, philosophy and literature papers, in contrast, tend to use the present tense almost exclusively. Always consult your style guide for specific guidance.

When to change tense

Inconsistency in the use of verb tenses is a common problem in academic writing. In the example below, the writer introduces a published article in the present tense, but then switches to the past tense even though the two verbs ( argues and stated ) should refer to the same time frame—when the article was written.

Martinez (2011) argues that educators are aware of the need for early diagnosis. In her introduction, she stated that early detection is key to treating a learning disorder.

Avoid this error by following a simple rule: only change tense when the timing of the action changes.

The animals’ weight decreased as the feed’s nutritional value decreased . This outcome suggests that feeds with lower nutritional value contribute to livestock weight loss. While scientists have confirmed this relationship, many questions remain .

Here, the past simple tense ( decreased ) is used to discuss the results of a scientific investigation that was completed in the past. The writer switches to present simple ( suggest and contribute ) to describe a conclusion that is unlikely to change—even if consulted at a later date, the data gathered in the study will continue to suggest this conclusion. The writer then uses the present perfect tense ( have confirmed ) to refer to other research that scientists have conducted in the recent past and that is relevant to the current discussion. Finally, the present tense ( remain ) refers to the current state of knowledge.

This example shows that a writer can change tense several times within a paragraph or even within a sentence to accurately convey changes in the timing of the narrative.

Use simpler verbs whenever possible

Writers sometimes complicate their sentences unnecessarily by using progressive and perfect tenses.

The author has been arguing for social reform.

This paper is analysing the effect of temperature on soil quality.

Japan had been experiencing a period of economic stagnation after the 1992 crash.

Doctors were stating that Wilma Rudolph would require leg braces to counter the effects of childhood polio.

These sentences can be made clearer and more direct by replacing progressive and perfect tenses with simple tenses.

The author argues for social reform.

This paper analyses the effect of temperature on soil quality.

Japan experienced a period of economic stagnation after the 1992 crash.

Doctors stated that Wilma Rudolph would require leg braces to counter the effects of childhood polio.

When to use progressive and perfect tenses

Progressive (or continuous) tenses pair the auxiliary verb to be with another verb ending in ‑ing to indicate that an action is or was still unfolding. Only use these tenses (whether the present progressive or past progressive) if it’s important to emphasize the ongoing nature of the action, especially if an activity is interrupted or changed by another action or state of affairs.

Work on the building project is continuing despite the architect’s absence.

I was preparing dinner when the earthquake struck.

A perfect tense links the auxiliary verb to have with another verb in the past tense to indicate a completed event. Only use a perfect tense (whether present perfect or past perfect) to emphasize that something about the past is still relevant.

While archaeologists have discovered many artefacts at the site, the location of the chieftain’s tomb remains unknown.

Although the artist had painted portraits early in her career, scholars hold her later murals in higher regard.

Soften language around predictions

While most of your paper will be written in the past and present tenses, you may also want to talk about future events.

Legislators will not be able to escape the consequences of their inaction.

No matter how confident you are, though, no one can predict the future. For that reason, avoid assertive expressions like will , shall , or going to . Instead, use modal verbs like can, may, could, would, and ought to acknowledge uncertainty. Words like likely and unlikely  can also soften predictions.

Legislators may not be able to escape the ramifications of their inaction.

Avoid overstatements and strong personal opinions in academic writing; showing prudence adds credibility.

Use the present tense to discuss the paper itself

Writers often use the future tense to discuss later sections of their paper.

This paper will analyse the use of rhetorical tropes in Dryden’s poetry.

Chapter 3 will discuss the environmental significance of the research, while Chapter 4 will explore the link between energy use and poverty.

Using the future tense here is inappropriate because by the time a reader looks at these lines, the paper and all its sections will already exist. Since the content of the paper won’t change after it’s published or submitted, the present simple tense is the best choice.

This paper analyses the use of rhetorical tropes in Dryden’s poetry.

Chapter 3 discusses the environmental significance of the research, while Chapter 4 explores the link between energy use and poverty.

Research proposals are an exception. If you’re planning to conduct research in the future, then the future tense is necessary.

The analysis will address the implications of wage increases in the community.

The proposed experiment will study the drug’s impact on the social behaviour of mice.

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The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Verb Tenses

What this handout is about.

The present simple, past simple, and present perfect verb tenses account for approximately 80% of verb tense use in academic writing. This handout will help you understand how to use these three verb tenses in your own academic writing.

Click here for a color-coded illustration of changing verb tenses in academic writing.

Present simple tense

The present simple tense is used:

In your introduction, the present simple tense describes what we already know about the topic. In the conclusion, it says what we now know about the topic and what further research is still needed.

“The data suggest…” “The research shows…”

“The dinoflagellate’s TFVCs require an unidentified substance in fresh fish excreta” (Penrose and Katz, 330).

“There is evidence that…”

“So I’m walking through the park yesterday, and I hear all of this loud music and yelling. Turns out, there’s a free concert!” “Shakespeare captures human nature so accurately.”

Past simple tense

Past simple tense is used for two main functions in most academic fields.

“…customers obviously want to be treated at least as well on fishing vessels as they are by other recreation businesses. [General claim using simple present] De Young (1987) found the quality of service to be more important than catching fish in attracting repeat customers. [Specific claim from a previous study using simple past] (Marine Science)

We conducted a secondary data analysis… (Public Health) Descriptional statistical tests and t-student test were used for statistical analysis. (Medicine) The control group of students took the course previously… (Education)

Present perfect tense

The present perfect acts as a “bridge” tense by connecting some past event or state to the present moment. It implies that whatever is being referred to in the past is still true and relevant today.

“There have been several investigations into…” “Educators have always been interested in student learning.”

Some studies have shown that girls have significantly higher fears than boys after trauma (Pfefferbaum et al., 1999; Pine &; Cohen, 2002; Shaw, 2003). Other studies have found no gender differences (Rahav and Ronen, 1994). (Psychology)

Special notes

Can i change tenses.

Yes. English is a language that uses many verb tenses at the same time. The key is choosing the verb tense that is appropriate for what you’re trying to convey.

What’s the difference between present simple and past simple for reporting research results?

  • Past simple limits your claims to the results of your own study. E.g., “Our study found that teenagers were moody.” (In this study, teenagers were moody.)
  • Present simple elevates your claim to a generalization. E.g., “Our study found that teenagers are moody.” (Teenagers are always moody.)

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Biber, Douglas. 1999. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English . New York: Longman.

Hawes, Thomas, and Sarah Thomas. 1997. “Tense Choices in Citations.” Research into the Teaching of English 31 (3): 393-414.

Hinkel, Eli. 2004. Teaching Academic ESL Writing: Practical Techniques in Vocabulary and Grammar . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Penrose, Ann, and Steven Katz. 2004. Writing in the Sciences: Exploring the Conventions of Scientific Discourse , 2nd ed. New York: Longman.

Swales, John, and Christine B. Feak. 2004. Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Tasks and Skills , 2nd ed. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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  • Knowledge Base
  • Simple Past Tense | Examples & Exercises

Simple Past Tense | Examples & Exercises

Published on August 22, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan . Revised on October 23, 2023.

The simple past tense is a verb form used to refer to an action or series of actions that were completed in the past.

The simple past tense of regular verbs is formed by adding “-ed” to the infinitive form of the verb (e.g., “cook” becomes “cooked”). Most verbs in the simple past take the same form regardless of the subject (e.g., “He worked/we worked”).

Simple Past Tense Forms

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Table of contents

How to use the simple past, present perfect vs. past simple, simple past vs. past perfect, how to form negatives, how to form questions, how to form the passive voice, exercises: simple past tense, other interesting language articles, frequently asked questions about the simple past tense.

The simple past tense (also called the past simple or preterite ) is used to describe an action or series of actions that occurred in the past.

The past simple of regular verbs is typically formed by adding “-ed” to the end of the infinitive (e.g., “talk” becomes “talked”).

Irregular verbs don’t follow a specific pattern: some take the same form as the infinitive (e.g., “put”), while others change completely (e.g., “go” becomes “went”).

Most verbs in the simple past tense don’t follow subject-verb agreement (i.e., they don’t change form depending on the subject).

Ariana rented a car and drove to the coast.

We visited a museum, walked the Champs-Élysées, and dined at a fancy restaurant.

Forming the simple past

The simple past of regular verbs is usually formed by adding “-ed” to the end of the verb (e.g., “guess” becomes “guessed”). However, this can vary depending on the verb’s ending.

Irregular verb: “be”

The stative verb “be” in the simple past tense is used to describe unchanging past conditions (e.g., “My father was a good man”) and temporary past situations (e.g., “The children were tired”). Unlike other verbs in the simple past, “be” changes form depending on the subject, as shown in the table below.

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Both the present perfect and past simple tenses are used to refer to past action. However, they serve different purposes:

  • The present perfect is used to refer to an action that began in the past and may continue or to an action that took place in the past and has present consequences.
  • The past simple is typically used to describe an action that was completed in the past and is not ongoing.

I have run a marathon before. [I may run a marathon again]

I was a vegetarian when I was younger.

While the past simple is used to describe an action or series of actions that occurred in the past, the past perfect is used to indicate that an action was completed before another past action began.

In the past simple tense, negative statements are formed by adding “did not” (or the contraction “didn’t”) between the subject and the infinitive form of the verb.

For the verb “be,” negative statements are formed by adding “was not/were not” (or the contractions “wasn’t/weren’t”) after the subject .

To ask a yes–no question using the simple past, add “did” before the subject and the infinitive form of the verb.

To ask a question starting with a wh-word (an interrogative pronoun like “who” or an interrogative adverb like “where”), follow the same word order as above, but add the pronoun or adverb at the start of the sentence.

Why did Eva leave so early?

Passive sentences are ones in which the subject is not the person or thing performing the action. Instead, the subject is the person or thing being acted upon.

In the past simple, passive constructions are formed using a subject , “was”/“were,” and the past participle of the verb.

Maria was ignored by the salesman.

Practice using the simple past correctly with the exercises below. In the blank space in each sentence, fill in the correct simple past form based on the subject and verb specified (e.g., “[he / talk]” becomes “he talked”). Some answers may also be negative statements or questions.

  • Practice questions
  • Answers and explanations
  • __________ [you / go] to the shop this morning.
  • __________ [they / play] a board game.
  • __________ [my son / not / study] for the exam.
  • __________ [the band / rehearse] every day this week.
  • __________ [I / plan] to be home by six!
  • When __________ [you / travel] to France?
  • The simple past form of the irregular verb “go” is “went.”
  • The simple past form of the regular verb “play” is “played.”
  • In the simple past tense, negative statements are formed by adding “did not” (or the contraction “didn’t”) between the subject (“my son”) and the infinitive form of the verb (“study”).
  • The simple past form of the regular verb “rehearse” is “rehearsed.”
  • For short verbs, where the last three letters follow a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern (e.g., “plan”), you double the final consonant and add “-ed.”
  • To ask a question starting with a wh-word, add the wh-word at the start of the sentence, followed by “did,” the subject (“you”), and the infinitive form of the verb (“travel”).

If you want to know more about commonly confused words, definitions, common mistakes, and differences between US and UK spellings, make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations, examples, and quizzes.

Nouns & pronouns

  • Common nouns
  • Proper nouns
  • Collective nouns
  • Personal pronouns
  • Uncountable and countable nouns
  • Verb tenses
  • Phrasal verbs
  • Sentence structure
  • Active vs passive voice
  • Subject-verb agreement
  • Interjections
  • Determiners
  • Prepositions

The simple past tense of the verb “read” is “read” (e.g., “I read a book last week”).

While “read” is spelled the same in both its past and present forms, its pronunciation differs depending on the tense :

  • The simple present form is pronounced “reed.”
  • The simple past form is pronounced “red.”

The simple past tense of the verb “teach” is “taught” (e.g., “You taught me a lesson”).

While the simple past of a regular verb is typically formed by adding “-ed” to the end of the infinitive (e.g., “talk” becomes “talked”), irregular verbs like “teach” don’t follow a specific pattern.

The simple past tense of the verb “go” is “went” (e.g., “Ava went to Spain”).

While the simple past of a regular verb is typically formed by adding “-ed” to the end of the infinitive (e.g., “jump” becomes “jumped”), irregular verbs like “go” don’t follow a specific pattern.

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Writing academically: Tenses

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In simple terms, verb tenses refer to the past, present or future. Verb tenses tell the reader when something happened, and are used to convey what is or is not known at the time of writing.

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If you are reporting on your own or others’ specific research activities (such as methods that were used, or results that were found) then you would generally use the past tense.

  • An experiment was conducted…
  • It was found that…
  • Brown (2010) found that…

In the example based on Brown’s research, the writer was referring to a specific result that Brown found when he conducted his research in 2010, and is therefore written in the past tense.

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Present tense

Use the present tense if you are making general statements that draw on previous research, and usually indicates what is known at the time of writing , for example:

Example: 

  • The research shows...
  • The results of the experiment suggest that…
  • Brown’s (2010) study suggests that…

In the above example based on Brown’s research, the writer makes a reference to what is known at the time of writing , and so it is written in the present tense.

Here is an example of using both the past and present tense in your writing:

Example:  Brown (2010) conducted a survey of 1000 students. The results of his survey suggest that all his students are geniuses.

In this example the writer refers to a specific survey that Brown conducted (past tense) in 2010. The writer then conveys how the results of Brown’s survey are still considered worthy today by writing in the present tense ( suggest ).

Compare this to the following example:

Example:  Brown (2010) conducted a survey of 1000 students. The results of his survey suggested that all his students were geniuses, but his later work (Brown, 2015) suggests this is not the case.

As previously, Brown’s specific study of 2010 is referred to in the past tense. But we now find that a later study by Brown (2015) appears to be in disagreement with his earlier 2010 study. Consequently the writer now refers to the conclusions drawn from the 2010 study in the past tense ( suggested ), and it is the results of Brown’s 2015 study – which represents what is known at the time of writing - that is referred to in the present tense ( suggests ).

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Future tense

The future tense is not often used in academic writing because it tends to imply a level of certainty that academics can find uncomfortable. If you use verbs such as will or shall then be certain of your certainty! Otherwise use verbs that express possibility, such as could or may .

The exception is in research proposals where you are writing about what you intend to do - so the future tense is used.

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Tense Use in Academic Writing: Past, Present and Future

Tense Use in Academic Writing: Past, Present and Future

4-minute read

  • 2nd December 2016

While the dreary constraints of physical reality mean that we’re stuck in the present for all practical purposes, in speech or writing we can skip from past to present to future at will.

To do this, you’ll need to master the past, present and future tense. These grammatical tenses are useful in all kinds of writing, but here we’ll focus on their use in academic work .

What is Grammatical Tense?

Before anything else, we need to quickly clarify what we mean by “grammatical tense.”

The main thing you need to know is that the form of the verb in a sentence changes depending on when the action described occurs.

As such, by modifying a sentence to adjust the tense, we can change its meaning:

Present Tense: Alfred burns the cakes.

Past Tense: Alfred burned the cakes.

Future Tense: Alfred will burn the cakes.

In the first example, the present tense verb “burns” suggests that it’s happening now. The past tense verb “burned”, however, shows that it has already happened. And by adding the helping verb “will,” we can instead suggest that the action is going to happen in the future.

Looks like the dog is going to have them anyway.

The examples above are the simple forms of each of these tenses. There are many variations on these, however, so it’s worth checking how each form differs in practice.

The Past Tense in Academic Writing

In an academic paper, you could use the past tense to show that an idea is not widely accepted any more. In the following, for instance, the past tense “claimed” and “has since been disputed” both signal that the study no longer applies:

Cook and Moore (1964) originally claimed that profane language is amusing, although this has since been disputed by many experts.

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Pete and Dud: Pioneering researchers in the profane.

The past tense is also commonly used in academic writing when describing the methods used in an experiment that has already been conducted:

The sample was tested using several techniques.

Some colleges have specific instructions for how a methodology chapter should be written, though, so make sure to check for rules about tense use in your style guide.

The Present Tense in Academic Writing

The present tense is dominant in most forms of academic work, since it applies when writing about current events or states of being. This includes describing:

  • Existing facts and theories (e.g., “Profane language is common among young people…”)
  • The findings of a study (e.g., “The results demonstrate that…”)
  • The opinions or claims of other thinkers (e.g., “Cook and Moore argue that…”)

The present tense is usually correct even when describing a study that happened in the past, as long as the conclusions are still relevant in the present.

The Future Tense in Academic Writing

The future tense is less common in academic writing, but it still has a couple of important roles. One is in research proposals , since you’ll need to describe your research aims, predictions about results, and the methods you intend to use:

This study will examine the role of profane language in comedy. We predict that profane language will be considered hilarious by the majority of respondents.

The future tense is also useful when recommending fresh avenues of research or suggesting how the results of a study could be applied:

Our study suggests that further research should be conducted into the increasing use of profane language in everyday life.

The crucial thing is that the future tense is used when describing something that hasn’t yet happened or that is expected to occur in the future.

Think of it as like academic fortune telling. Or don't. (Photo: David Shankbone/flickr)

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Tense Use in Essays: Past vs. Present

Tense Use in Essays: Past vs. Present

  • 2-minute read
  • 16th April 2016

It’s mostly time travellers who worry about the more convoluted aspects of grammatical tense , but the issue of tense use in academic writing is, nonetheless, controversial.

To be specific, there is much disagreement about tense use in essays : specifically, is past or present tense best? Today, we look into this tricky problem.

Present Tense

The present tense is used when discussing current events or states. It will often be the dominant tense used in academic writing due to the number of situations to which it applies:

  • Stating general principles or theories (e.g. ‘The third law of thermodynamics states …’)
  • Describing a fact (e.g. ‘Catalysts increase the rate of a reaction…’)
  • Expressing an opinion or making a claim (e.g. ‘I believe further research is required…’)
  • Analysing the results of an experiment (e.g. ‘The results show that…’)

In all these cases, the present tense shows that something applies at the current time or emphasises its relevance to the present.

The present tense can also do this in a literature review, since it frames research in terms of its current significance. This shows that you’re engaged with ongoing debate in your field of study, not simply describing out-of-date research.

The past tense is used when describing events that have already happened. In academic writing, this could be writing up a completed experiment.

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For example, the past tense can be used in methodology and results sections. Likewise, the past tense is useful when writing a case study, since this is almost always about something that has already occurred.

While you can use the past tense in a literature review, saying that someone ‘believed’ something may imply that they changed their mind. As such, the past tense can be used for discussing ‘dead’ ideas (i.e. things that no-one holds true any more) or something that someone has since disavowed.

Future Tense

The future tense is useful for discussing things that are yet to happen, such as when we commit to doing something (e.g. ‘I will continue to research this issue’).

Generally, you won’t need to do this too often in academic writing. However, the future tense can be useful in the following situations:

  • Making predictions about the future
  • Offering recommendations based on your results
  • Suggesting new avenues of research

In all these cases, the future tense will help you express yourself more clearly.

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Verb Tense Consistency

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This handout explains and describes the sequence of verb tenses in English.

Throughout this document, example sentences with nonstandard or inconsistent usage have verbs in red .

Controlling shifts in verb tense

Writing often involves telling stories. Sometimes we narrate a story as our main purpose in writing; sometimes we include brief anecdotes or hypothetical scenarios as illustrations or reference points in an essay.

Even an essay that does not explicitly tell a story involves implied time frames for the actions discussed and states described. Changes in verb tense help readers understand the temporal relationships among various narrated events. But unnecessary or inconsistent shifts in tense can cause confusion.

Generally, writers maintain one tense for the main discourse and indicate changes in time frame by changing tense relative to that primary tense, which is usually either simple past or simple present. Even apparently non-narrative writing should employ verb tenses consistently and clearly.

General guideline: Do not shift from one tense to another if the time frame for each action or state is the same.

Explains is present tense, referring to a current state; asked is past, but should be present ( ask ) because the students are currently continuing to ask questions during the lecture period.

CORRECTED: The instructor explains the diagram to students who ask questions during the lecture.

Darkened and sprang up are past tense verbs; announces is present but should be past ( announced ) to maintain consistency within the time frame.

CORRECTED: About noon the sky darkened , a breeze sprang up , and a low rumble announced the approaching storm.

Walk is present tense but should be past to maintain consistency within the time frame ( yesterday ); rode is past, referring to an action completed before the current time frame.

CORRECTED: Yesterday we walked to school but later rode the bus home.

General guideline: Do shift tense to indicate a change in time frame from one action or state to another.

Love is present tense, referring to a current state (they still love it now;) built is past, referring to an action completed before the current time frame (they are not still building it.)

Began is past tense, referring to an action completed before the current time frame; had reached is past perfect, referring to action from a time frame before that of another past event (the action of reaching was completed before the action of beginning.)

Are installing is present progressive, referring to an ongoing action in the current time frame (the workers are still installing, and have not finished;) will need is future, referring to action expected to begin after the current time frame (the concert will start in the future, and that's when it will need amplification.)

Controlling shifts in a paragraph or essay

General guideline: Establish a primary tense for the main discourse, and use occasional shifts to other tenses to indicate changes in time frame.

  • Rely on past tense to narrate events and to refer to an author or an author's ideas as historical entities (biographical information about a historical figure or narration of developments in an author's ideas over time).
  • Use present tense to state facts, to refer to perpetual or habitual actions, and to discuss your own ideas or those expressed by an author in a particular work. Also use present tense to describe action in a literary work, movie, or other fictional narrative. Occasionally, for dramatic effect, you may wish to narrate an event in present tense as though it were happening now. If you do, use present tense consistently throughout the narrative, making shifts only where appropriate.
  • Future action may be expressed in a variety of ways, including the use of will, shall, is going to, are about to, tomorrow and other adverbs of time, and a wide range of contextual cues.

Using other tenses in conjunction with simple tenses

It is not always easy (or especially helpful) to try to distinguish perfect and/or progressive tenses from simple ones in isolation, for example, the difference between simple past progressive ("She was eating an apple") and present perfect progressive ("She has been eating an apple"). Distinguishing these sentences in isolation is possible, but the differences between them make clear sense only in the context of other sentences since the time-distinctions suggested by different tenses are relative to the time frame implied by the verb tenses in surrounding sentences or clauses.

Example 1: Simple past narration with perfect and progressive elements

On the day in question...

By the time Tom noticed the doorbell, it had already rung three times. As usual, he had been listening to loud music on his stereo. He turned the stereo down and stood up to answer the door. An old man was standing on the steps. The man began to speak slowly, asking for directions.

In this example, the progressive verbs had been listening and was standing suggest action underway at the time some other action took place. The stereo-listening was underway when the doorbell rang. The standing on the steps was underway when the door was opened. The past perfect progressive verb had been listening suggests action that began in the time frame prior to the main narrative time frame and that was still underway as another action began.

If the primary narration is in the present tense, then the present progressive or present perfect progressive is used to indicate action that is or has been underway as some other action begins. This narrative style might be used to describe a scene from a novel, movie, or play, since action in fictional narratives is conventionally treated as always present. For example, we refer to the scene in Hamlet in which the prince first speaks (present) to the ghost of his dead father or the final scene in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing , which takes place (present) the day after Mookie has smashed (present perfect) the pizzeria window. If the example narrative above were a scene in a play, movie, or novel, it might appear as follows.

Example 2: Simple present narration with perfect and progressive elements

In this scene...

By the time Tom notices the doorbell, it has already rung three times. As usual, he has been listening to loud music on his stereo. He turns the stereo down and stands up to answer the door. An old man is standing on the steps. The man begins to speak slowly, asking for directions.

In this example as in the first one, the progressive verbs has been listening and is standing indicate action underway as some other action takes place. The present perfect progressive verb has been listening suggests action that began in the time frame prior to the main narrative time frame and that is still underway as another action begins. The remaining tense relationships parallel those in the first example.

In all of these cases, the progressive or -ing part of the verb merely indicates ongoing action, that is, action underway as another action occurs. The general comments about tense relationships apply to simple and perfect tenses, regardless of whether there is a progressive element involved.

It is possible to imagine a narrative based on a future time frame as well, for example, the predictions of a psychic or futurist. If the example narrative above were spoken by a psychic, it might appear as follows.

Example 3: Simple future narration with perfect and progressive elements

Sometime in the future...

By the time Tom notices the doorbell, it will have already rung three times. As usual, he will have been listening to loud music on his stereo. He will turn the stereo down and will stand up to answer the door. An old man will be standing on the steps. The man will begin to speak slowly, asking for directions.

In this example as in the first two, the progressive verbs will have been listening and will be standing indicate ongoing action. The future perfect progressive verb will have been listening suggests action that will begin in the time frame prior to the main narrative time frame and that will still be underway when another action begins. The verb notices here is in present-tense form, but the rest of the sentence and the full context of the narrative cue us to understand that it refers to future time. The remaining tense relationships parallel those in the first two examples.

General guidelines for use of perfect tenses

In general the use of perfect tenses is determined by their relationship to the tense of the primary narration. If the primary narration is in simple past, then action initiated before the time frame of the primary narration is described in past perfect. If the primary narration is in simple present, then action initiated before the time frame of the primary narration is described in present perfect. If the primary narration is in simple future, then action initiated before the time frame of the primary narration is described in future perfect.

Past primary narration corresponds to Past Perfect ( had + past participle) for earlier time frames

Present primary narration corresponds to Present Perfect ( has or have + past participle) for earlier time frames

Future primary narration corresponds to Future Perfect ( will have + past participle) for earlier time frames

The present perfect is also used to narrate action that began in real life in the past but is not completed, that is, may continue or may be repeated in the present or future. For example: "I have run in four marathons" (implication: "so far... I may run in others"). This usage is distinct from the simple past, which is used for action that was completed in the past without possible continuation or repetition in the present or future. For example: "Before injuring my leg, I ran in four marathons" (implication: "My injury prevents me from running in any more marathons").

Time-orienting words and phrases like before, after, by the time , and others—when used to relate two or more actions in time—can be good indicators of the need for a perfect-tense verb in a sentence.

  • By the time the senator finished (past) his speech, the audience had lost (past perfect) interest.
  • By the time the senator finishes (present: habitual action) his speech, the audience has lost (present perfect) interest.
  • By the time the senator finishes (present: suggesting future time) his speech, the audience will have lost (future perfect) interest.
  • After everyone had finished (past perfect) the main course, we offered (past) our guests dessert.
  • After everyone has finished (present perfect) the main course, we offer (present: habitual action) our guests dessert.
  • After everyone has finished (present perfect) the main course, we will offer (future: specific one-time action) our guests dessert.
  • Long before the sun rose (past), the birds had arrived (past perfect) at the feeder.
  • Long before the sun rises (present: habitual action), the birds have arrived (present perfect) at the feeder.
  • Long before the sun rises (present: suggesting future time), the birds will have arrived (future perfect) at the feeder.

Sample paragraphs

The main tense in this first sample is past. Tense shifts are inappropriate and are indicated in bold .

(adapted from a narrative)

Inappropriate shifts from past to present, such as those that appear in the above paragraph, are sometimes hard to resist. The writer becomes drawn into the narrative and begins to relive the event as an ongoing experience. The inconsistency should be avoided, however. In the sample, will should be would , and rise should be rose .

The main tense in this second sample is present. Tense shifts—all appropriate—are indicated in bold.

(adapted from an article in the magazine Wilderness )

This writer uses the present tense to describe the appearance of a dragonfly on a particular July morning. However, both past and future tenses are called for when she refers to its previous actions and to its predictable activity in the future.

Click here for exercises on verb tense.

Ask Betty: grammar for college writers by the Department of English at the University of Washington

Tenses in writing

Verb tenses.

The present tense is used to express anything that is happening now or occurring in the present moment. The present also communicates actions that are ongoing, constant, or habitual. For example:

Use the past tense to indicate past events, prior conditions, or completed processes. For example:

The future tense indicates actions or events that will happen in the future. For example:

Aspect allows you to be more precise in your selection of verbs. Aspect falls into two categories: continuous and perfect. To indicate the continuous aspect, add a form of the verb "to be" and a present participle to your main verb. The perfect aspect is created with a form of the verb "to have" and a past participle. The following chart shows twelve forms of the verb "to write" that result from combining time with aspect.

( aspect summary )

A participle is a verb form that can be used as an adjective.

Aspect in Detail

The continuous aspect is created with a form of "to be" and a present participle ( about participles ). For example:

The perfect aspect is created with a form of the verb "to have" and a past participle. For example:

The perfect aspect is often the most challenging to understand, so here's a brief overview.

Past Perfect describes a past action completed before another. For example, the next two sentences describe one action followed by another, but each achieves a different rhetorical effect by using different verb forms.

"Wrote" and "reread" sound equally important in the first sentence. In the second, the past perfect form "had written" emphasizes the action "reread."

Present Perfect refers to completed actions which endure to the present or whose effects are still relevant.

Future Perfect refers to an action that will be completed in the future.

One final note: the terms used to describe aspect have changed over time, and different terms are often used to describe the same aspect. It may help to know that the following terms are equivalent:

  • "simple present" (or) "present indefinite"
  • "past continuous" (or) "past progressive" (or) "past imperfect"
  • "past complete" (or) "past perfect"
  • "past perfect continuous" (or) "past perfect progressive"

Verb Tenses in Context

Conventions governing the use of tenses in academic writing differ somewhat from ordinary usage. Below we cover the guidelines for verb tenses in a variety of genres.

Academic Writing

  • Books, Plays, Poems, Movies, etc.

Historical Contrast

Research proposals, resumes and cover letters, stories/narrative prose.

1. Academic writing generally concerns writing about research. As such, your tense choices can indicate to readers the status of the research you're citing. You have several options for communicating research findings, and each has a different rhetorical effect. For example:

  • 1.3 According to McMillan (1996), the most common cause of death was car accidents.

If you choose the present tense, as in Example 1.1, you're implying that the findings of the research are generally accepted, whereas the present perfect tense in 1.2 implies not only general acceptance but also current relevance and, possibly, the continuity of the findings as an authoritative statement on the causes of death. On the other hand, the past tense in Example 1.3 emphasizes the finding at the time the research was conducted, rather than its current acceptance.

However, if you are writing about specific research methods, the process of research and data collection, or what happened during the research process, you will more commonly use the past tense, as you would normally use in conversation. The reason is that, in this instance, you are not emphasizing the findings of the research or its significance, but talking about events that occurred in the past. Here is an example:

  • 1.4 During the data collection process, Quirk conducted 27 interviews with students in his class. Prior to the interviews, the students responded to a brief questionnaire.

Books, Poems, Plays, Movies

2. When you are discussing a book, poem, movie, play, or song the convention in disciplines within the humanities is to use the present tense, as in:

  • 2.1 In An Introduction to English Grammar (2006), Noam Chomsky discusses several types of syntactic structures.
  • 2.2 In Paradise Lost , Milton sets up Satan as a hero who changes the course of history.

3. In cases where it is useful to contrast different ideas that originate from different periods , you can use the past and the present or present perfect tense to do so. The past tense implies that an idea or a theory has lost its currency or validity, while the present tense conveys relevance or the current state of acceptance.

For example, when you want to discuss the fact that a theory or interpretation has been supplanted by new perspectives on the subject:

  • 3.1 Stanley Fish (1993) maintained a reader-response stance in his analysis of Milton's L'Allegro and Il Penseroso . However, recent literary critics consider/have considered this stance to be inappropriate for the two poems.

The verb tenses used above emphasize the contrast between the old view (by Stanley Fish), which is indicated by the past tense, and the new view (by "recent literary critics"), which is indicated by the present tense or the present perfect tense. The difference between the present tense and the present perfect (i.e. between consider and have considered ) is that the present perfect suggests that the current view has been held for some time.

4. The future tense is standard in research proposals because they largely focus on plans for the future. However, when writing your research paper, use the past tense to discuss the data collection processes, since the development of ideas or experiments— the process of researching that brings the reader to your ultimate findings—occurred in the past.

5. In a resume, the past tense is used for reporting past experience and responsibilities. However, in a statement of purpose, a personal statement, or a cover letter, the present perfect tense is commonly used to relate past experience to present abilities, e.g., "I have managed fourteen employees."

6. The past tense is commonly used when writing a narrative or a story , as in:

  • 6.1 Once upon a time, there was a peaceful kingdom in the heart of a jungle . . .

Some writers use the present tense in telling stories, a technique called the "historical present" that creates an air of vividness and immediacy. For example:

  • 6.2 Yesterday when I was walking around downtown, the craziest thing happened. This guy in a suit comes up to me, and says , "If you know what's good for you . . . "

In this example, the speaker switches from the past tense in giving context for the story to the present tense in relating the events themselves.

Back to Grammar in College Writing

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What Tense Should I Use in Writing?

past tense essay writing

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When writing, people are often confused about what tense they should use. Should I write this MLA history paper in past tense? Should I write my short story in present or past tense? How about a resume: should I write my job entries in present or past? And these people are right to be confused because what tense you should use varies widely depending on your writing style and your purpose.

Academic (Four Main Styles)

APA/Harvard: Per APA (and its non-American variant, Harvard), you should primarily use past tense, especially in literature reviews where you’re talking about authors’ past studies. It should be:

“Johnson (2008) argued . . .”

“Johnson (2008) argues . . . .”

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The same is true for your Results and Method sections, but APA makes an exception for Discussion sections (where you examine your conclusions and the implications of the study), which can be in present tense if it better conveys your meaning.

MLA: This style is a bit more straightforward. Per MLA, you should be almost always using present tense:

“In To Kill a Mockingbird , Atticus Finch argues . . .”

If you need to differentiate time, you should use present perfect tense:

“For many years, Scout has been worrying about . . . .”

If you must, you can use some past tense, but keep it to a minimum.

Chicago: This style is a bit more lenient. Per Chicago, you can use either present or past (Though it’s best to use present when discussing literature and past when writing about history.), but make sure you stay consistent. If you switch, make sure you need to, such as:

The Romans used various military strategies, some of which are still in use today.

AP: AP, which is used by news media, is also more flexible. There is no set tense; instead, you should be endeavoring to use present/past/future as necessary to make sure the events you are describing are as clear as possible. AP also recommends using time words (today, tomorrow, March 17, etc.) to anchor your piece and further reduce ambiguity.

When talking about your job experience in resumes, the rule is simple: Use present tense for current positions:

Lead team in HVAC solutions

And use past tense for past positions:

Led team in HVAC solutions

Business Plan

Professors and potential investors have different views on what tense a business plan should be written in, but definitely you should be using either future or present tense. Some people argue that you should always write a business plan in future tense because you’re talking about your future plans.

But there’s another school of thought that recommends using present tense instead because this will allow your plan to stay current as you develop it and you develop your business. In other words, as you develop your business, you develop your plan, and it stays current with what you’re doing.

past tense essay writing

Above all, fictional writing needs to be consistent in its tense. Just as above, don’t switch unless you must. (BTW, fictional writing is done in Chicago Style.)

Everything Else

For everything else, such as business letters, admission essays, and e-mails, and especially in more informal contexts, just use your best judgment and write in whatever tense feels right to you. Go with your instincts and remember that, unless you’re writing in a formal academic context, you have more leeway to do whatever you like.

Just remember, for all styles and purposes, always be consistent. Try to pick one tense and stick with it throughout your piece. If you have to switch tenses, make it very obvious why you are doing so, and at least try to start new paragraphs for new tenses.

That’s it, I hope you have/had/will have good luck in your writing!

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Shifty Tenses

Many students believe that tense changes should always be avoided. However, sometimes a shift in tense is necessary to indicate a change in the timeframe of the action. It is the unnecessary shifts in tense that sometimes cause awkwardness and should be avoided.

What is tense?

Tense is the grammatical word to describe the ending of a verb (usually -ed for past and -s for present). English usually marks the sense of time with an adverb (for example: it is happening today or it happened yesterday.) When proofreading for unnecessary tense shifts, there are several questions to keep in mind: “When do I want to set this action?” and “Has the time period changed?” For example, I may be writing an essay about my experiences on a recent trip to Virginia and want to say that I saw the Mason-Dixon line for the first time. I have several options. I can write my paper in the past tense, which is the style most people are used to reading in novels or short stories, as follows:

Then the driver pointed to a white line painted on the road and said , “There's the Mason-Dixon line.”

However, I may choose to make my essay more immediate by placing the action in the present. This is also an acceptable writing style, especially for an essay:

Then the driver points to a white line painted on the road and says , “There's the Mason-Dixon line.”

In this case, the tense is merely a matter of style; it is your choice.

Should I ever change tense?

Sometimes it is necessary to change tense. For example, if the time frame of the action changes from past to present, the tense should change to indicate this:

Although it was only a four-hour ride from my home in Pennsylvania to my boyfriend's home in Virginia, I was terrified. Looking back, I think my feelings may have been influenced by stereotypes of the Old South.

Although this paragraph starts in the past tense, the phrase “Looking back” clearly shows the time frame of the action “think.” The tense change is perfectly acceptable without this phrase also:

Although it was only a four-hour ride from my home in Pennsylvania to my boyfriend's home in Virginia, I was terrified. I think my feelings may have been influenced by stereotypes of the Old South.

The reason for this tense change is that I am thinking now—in the present time. Notice how putting that sentence in the past tense changes the time frame and ameaning of the action.

I thought my feelings may have been influenced by stereotypes of the Old South.

Now it sounds as though I was reflecting during the car ride, but I wanted to imply that it was only later that I had this thought.

When is it wrong to shift tense?

There are other times, though, when a tense shift is not correct. For example, if the action all happened in the same time—past, present, or future—then the verbs should be consistent in tense. This “mistake” is often heard in speech, and it is even used in very informal writing. However, from a grammatical viewpoint, this type of unnecessary shift in tense should be avoided in more formal (such as academic) writing.

I climbed out of the car, walked through the door, and prepared to meet “the parents,” but instead a large, honey-colored dog runs to meet me at the door.

Here is a better way of writing this sentence:

I climbed out of the car, walked through the door, and prepared to meet “the parents,” but instead a large, honey-colored dog ran to meet me at the door.

What tense is best for my paper?

There are other uses of tense that a college student should be aware of. English majors and others who write analysis papers will often write in the literary present. This allows a writer to write about fictional or nonfictional information from a literary work in the present tense.

Shakespeare uses many risqué puns in his plays. In one scene, he disguises sexual references as sword-fighting terms.

Although Shakespeare wrote many years ago, his work can still be talked about in the present because it still exists. Again, though, there is no hard and fast rule about tense. If you wanted to stress that this happened in the past, perhaps as part of a biography of Shakespeare which was describing how he used to write, you may choose to write it in past tense instead of the literary present:

Shakespeare used many risqué puns in his plays. In one scene, he disguised sexual references as sword-fighting terms.

This is also grammatically correct, but it changes the focus of the sentence slightly. Now it reads more like a narrative than an analysis. In a situation like this, when both styles are equally grammatically correct, it becomes a choice of deciding which is better for your purposes. Are you analyzing or narrating?

I'm still confused. Do you have an example of a paper that uses tense changes well?

The following is an example of an essay that uses tense changes successfully. Read the description of how the student changes tense and then pay attention to the effects of the tense changes as you read his essay. Some of the verbs in the essay are in bold to help you spot these changes. (This example is taken from a paper by a former student in Professor Blackledge's Theater Criticism class.)

This writer begins in past tense to talk about a specific production of the play. Then he shifts into something called the universal present to make the reader feel like an observer watching the play unfold. Then he shifts back to past tense when making a comment about the play—something he felt when he was watching it. Then he shifts again to present tense in the final paragraph to state his overall evaluation of the play.

The Pittsburgh Public Theater production of The Pirates of Penzance presented their audience with a lighthearted theatrical experience that could be enjoyed by theater goers, young and old alike. Written over one hundred years ago by the legendary operetta team Gilbert and Sullivan, Pirates has enjoyed great success with each new incarnation. Pittsburgh Public managed to hold to this tradition once again by bringing this ageless piece of musical theater to life with freshness as well as a salute back to the days of theater past. This look back to the theater of Victorian England was most evident in the set design of Michael Schweikardt. When the audience first enters the theater their eyes are drawn to a large, false proscenium painted bright red to resemble a large red curtain found in an old opera house. At the top of the proscenium are the stylized letters “G&S” to acknowledge the plays creators. Hanging from the ceiling are two gaslight chandeliers helping to transport the viewers back in time to the world of Gilbert and Sullivan. The playing area in front of the proscenium is painted in a fashion which resembles the lobby of a grand opera house. Disrupting this grand Victorian vision are two brown boulders placed on either side of the stage, foreshadowing the scene that is to be staged. These aspects create a mood for the audience by acknowledging them and allowing them to just enjoy the show. As the curtain rises , the audience views the backdrop depicting a rocky beach with a ship anchored in the distance. Set in front of the backdrop is a rocky hill indicating that the action will take place on a flat of land above the beach. Cut into the hill is a tiny cave which will serve as a hiding place later in the act. The actors' entrances are made coming over this rocky structure and entering onto the stage. I felt that Michael Schweikardt's design was very effective in meeting the needs of this scene. We must take into account that most of the action takes place in front of this set and allows the twenty-member cast to move freely within their world. Once again, the image of a late nineteenth-century production is perceived with the use of the simplistic structures and the simply painted backdrop. I feel that Mr. Schweikardt's challenge in designing this production would be to provide a functional set without taking away from the spirit of this timeless tale. The Pirates of Penzance was written for a different audience from today's. In a time when landing helicopters on stage and giant chandeliers come crashing down dramatic finales, audiences expect more. By focusing the spectacle of his set to bring the audience into the time this operetta was first produced, the audience is satisfied from the beginning. They can better understand why there is still a demand for century-old productions like The Pirates of Penzance and enjoy the experience today.

by Jessica Knouse

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Past, Present, and Future Tense in Essays: How to Switch

Past, Present, and Future Tense in Essays: How to Switch

Past, Present, and the Future Tenses in Your Essay

Past, Present, and the Future Tenses in Your Essay

Choosing the correct grammatical tense for your essay can be a challenge. You have to decide whether to use past, present, or future tense. A wrong choice impacts your essay negatively. It will lack clarity and flow. This is not a situation that you ought to find yourself in.

Most students struggle with choosing the right tense. For some, it is due to the lack of guidance on using grammatical tenses. Others are careless with their writing. The result is a poorly written essay that a reader cannot understand. However, it is a problem that you can deal with once and for all.

past tense essay writing

Reading the instructions will enlighten you on which tense to use in writing your essay. Your tutor can also guide you on how to use grammatical tenses. You get the guidelines of when to use a particular tense. The help prevents you from choosing the wrong tense.

The type of your essay also reveals which tenses you ought to use. All essays are not the same. They have some distinct rules that create a significant difference. You must be aware of those rules and follow them to the latter. For instance, using the right tense is something you must take seriously. 

Should an Essay be in Present, Past, or Future Tense?

using verb tenses

Many students might find it challenging to choose the right tense. Some are yet to learn by heart the rules governing the use of tenses. They end up making the wrong choice.

Ultimately, the impact of their essay score is negative. Fortunately, it is a problem you can work on. 

Every essay needs to be clear and engaging, where the reader needs an easier time reading it. But, that is not the case with all students. Some find themselves using the wrong tenses.

Instead of using the present tense, they write essays in the past tense. But perhaps they do not know when to use a present, past, or future tense.

You can use present, past, and future tense in your essay. But there is a catch. Before you write your essay, you must know which tense fits it. You can either get guidance from your tutor or do your research. Above all, ensure the tense you use is consistent and clear.

Most essay writers use the present tense. It is simple and direct to the point. You can write short sentences that are easier to read and understand. The reader will use little time to read your essay. It will not be tiring to read it since the message is clear.

The present tense is common in academic writing. It allows you to write about current states of events more candidly. By using the present tense, you can easily describe theories. It will be easier to explain an event that is happening now. Generally, the present tense is ideal for writing essays.

Instances to Use Present Tense in an Essay

present tense

You do not have to write every essay in the present tense. There are instances under which it becomes a must. At that juncture, you have to play ball.

You must shun the past and future tenses to make your essay consistent. Deviating from the present tense might distort your sentence structure thereby complicating your essay.

The present tense is ideal for creating a sense of immediacy. The reader gets to experience every action as it unfolds. It is easier to grasp the information the writer is passing across. The clarity in the essay engages the reader .

This is one of the reasons why writing in the present tense is common.

Writing an essay in the present tense is much easier. You can write your essay within the shortest time possible, and meeting deadlines will not be an issue. Your essay will be simple and clear to the point, without any sophistication.

Use present tense in an essay where you refer to existing facts. The present tense shows that the fact is indeed true. It becomes easier for the reader to believe in what you are writing. Also, it describes the findings of a study in the present tense. That is also the case when expressing people’s claims and opinions .

Instances to Use Past Tense in an Essay

You must be careful with the tense you use in your essay. Each tense does come with its demands. For instance, past tense is ideal for emphasizing that people do not accept a particular idea. Use past tense to describe that idea for easier understanding.

If your essay describes historical events, you have to use past tense. It makes the description clearer to the reader. This is a clear indication that they can get a picture of the turn of events. This is very crucial for the flow of your essay.

Reading it becomes engaging and enjoyable without any sense of struggling to understand ideas.

Instances to Use Future Tense in an Essay

the future tense

Not often do students use the future tense in essays. They either use present and past tenses, the former being the most common.

But some instances permit the use of future tense. It does play a significant role.

Use future tense to describe your essay’s research predictions, methods, and aims. It becomes easier to demystify what the researcher is up to.

Besides, if you recommend research sources or state the application of study findings, then use future tense. You can easily describe something that is yet to happen or likely to occur in the future.

Can You Combine All Tenses in Essay Writing?

You can also use all tenses in your essay. However, you need to take this step with a lot of caution. Remember, the reader needs to get your message. You have to do that with some pomp to make your essay an enticing read .

Combining all tenses will certainly do that job for you.

Describe the cause and impact of interlocking events in an essay by combining all tenses. Your target audience can now get the hang of the events from a much broader perceptive. However, you have to respect time settings.

using verb tenses

It is crucial to avoid any confusion that might distort your message. Ensure you get rid of any sophistication bound to disturb the flow of thoughts in your write-up.

Combining all tenses can be a win or a loss for you. It depends on the context of your essay. Besides, you need to mind your reader.

Your essay should be on a standard that is easier to comprehend. Thus, proceed with caution. 

Make your point in a manner that captures the reader’s attention. Using all tenses can help you achieve that feat. However, the tenses should not appear haphazardly. If you are not careful, you might make it hard for your reader to understand your insinuating description.

Choosing the right tense for your essay is fundamental. It ensures that you can engage your reader in a comprehensive context easily. It starts by knowing when to use present, past, and future tense or combine them.

If your essay is about current events, it must be in the present tense. The reader gets to know what is happening at the very moment.

Use past tense to write an essay on past events. Describing those events will be much easier. You will do it with clarity hence not causing any confusion. On the other side, the future tense suits the description of events yet to occur.

You can also use the future tense to predict events that are about to happen. And if you want to polish your essay, care to combine all tenses, but do it with caution.

Watch this video to learn more about this.

YouTube video

When not handling complex essays and academic writing tasks, Josh is busy advising students on how to pass assignments. In spare time, he loves playing football or walking with his dog around the park.

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past tense essay writing

Writing tenses: 5 tips for past, present, future

Understanding how to use writing tenses is challenging. How do you mix past, present and future tense without making the reader giddy? What is the difference between ‘simple’ and ‘perfect’ tense? Read this simple guide for answers to these questions and more:

  • Post author By Jordan
  • 28 Comments on Writing tenses: 5 tips for past, present, future

Writing tenses - 5 tips for past present and future

What are the main writing tenses?

In English, we have so-called ‘simple’ and ‘perfect’ tenses in the past, present and future. The simple tense merely conveys action in the time narrated. For example:

Past (simple) tense: Sarah ran to the store. Present (simple) tense: Sarah runs to the store. Future (simple) tense: Sarah will run to the store

Perfect tense uses the different forms of the auxiliary verb ‘has’ plus the main verb to show actions that have taken place already (or will/may still take place). Here’s the above example sentence in each tense, in perfect form:

Past perfect: Sarah had run to the store. Present perfect: Sarah has run to the store. Future perfect: Sarah will have run to the store.

In the past perfect, Sarah’s run is an earlier event in a narrative past:

Sarah had run to the store many times uneventfully so she wasn’t at all prepared for what she saw that morning.

You could use the future perfect tense to show that Sarah’s plans will not impact on another event even further in the future. For example:

Sarah will have run to the store by the time you get here so we won’t be late.

(You could also say ‘Sarah will be back from the store by the time you get here so we won’t be late.’ This is a simpler option using the future tense with the infinitive ‘to be’.) Here are some tips for using the tenses in a novel:

1. Decide which writing tenses would work best for your story

The majority of novels are written using simple past tense and the third person:

She ran her usual route to the store, but as she rounded the corner she came upon a disturbing sight.

When you start drafting a novel or a scene, think about the merits of each tense. The present tense, for example, has the virtue of:

  • Immediacy: The action unfolds in the same narrative moment as the reader experiences it (there is no temporal distance: Each action happens now)
  • Simplicity: It’s undeniably easier to write ‘She runs her usual route to the store’ then to juggle all sorts of remote times using auxiliary verbs

Sometimes authors are especially creative in combining tense and POV. In Italo Calvino’s postmodern classic , If on a winter’s night a traveler ( 1979), the entire story is told in the present tense, in the second person. This has the effect of a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ novel. To rewrite Sarah’s story in the same tense and POV:

You run your usual route to the store, but as you round the corner you come upon a disturbing sight.

This tense choice is smart for Calvino’s novel since it increases the puzzling nature of the story. In If on a winter’s night a traveler , you, the reader, are a character who buys Calvino’s novel If on a winter’s night a traveler , only to discover that there are pages missing. When you attempt to return it, you get sent on a wild goose chase after the book you want.

Tense itself can enliven an element of your story’s narration. In a thriller novel, for example, you can write tense scenes in first person, present tense for a sense of danger unfolding now . Tweet This
A muffled shot. He sits up in bed, tensed and listening. Can’t hear much other than the wind scraping branches along the gutter.

Quote about verbs - Lynn Margulis

2. Avoid losing clarity when mixing tenses

Because stories show us chains and sequences of events, often we need to jump back and forth between earlier and present scenes and times. This is especially true in novels where characters’ memories form a crucial part of the narrative.

It’s confusing when an author changes tense in the middle of a scene. The fragmented break in continuity makes it hard to place actions in relation to each other. For example:

Sarah runs her usual route to the store. As she turned the corner, she came upon a disturbing scene.

This is wrong because the verbs do not consistently use the same tense , even though it is clear (from context) that Sarah’s run is a continuous action in a single scene.

Ursula K. Le Guin offers excellent advice on mixing past and present in her writing manual, Steering the Craft :

It is highly probable that if you go back and forth between past and present tense, if you switch the tense of your narrative frequently and without some kind of signal (a line break, a dingbat,a new chapter) your reader will get all mixed up as to what happened before what and what’s happening after which and when we are, or were, at the moment. Ursula K. Le Guin, Steering the Craft

In short, make sure there are clear breaks between sections set in different tenses and that actions in the same timeline don’t create confusion by using different tenses for the same scene’s continuous events.

These 10 exercises for practicing tenses provide a fun way to focus on mastering the basics.

Get a professional edit for perfect tense

Get a no-obligation quote for a manuscript evaluation, developmental editing, copy-editing or proofreading.

3: Mix the tenses for colour and variety

Le Guin raises a good point about writing tenses. Le Guin describes the downside of telling a story almost exclusively in present tense:

It all rather sounds alike…it’s bland, predictable, risk-free. All too often, it’s McProse. The wealth and complexity of our verb forms is part of the color of the language. Using only one tense is like having a whole set of oil paints and using only pink. Le Guin, Steering the Craft

Instead mix different tenses where appropriate, but signal changes between time settings:

For example:

That morning, she had run her usual route to the store. As she turned the corner, she had come upon a disturbing scene. Apart from the glass and metal sprayed across the road like some outgoing tide’s deposit, there were what looked like two stretchers, mostly eclipsed from view by a swarm of emergency workers. Now, safely home, she decided to lie down, all the while trying to get that scene out of her mind.

Mixing the tenses can help to show the cause and effect of interlocking events. The use of the past perfect to describe the scene of an accident in the example above is effective because the past perfect shows what is already complete. It gives it an irrevocable quality, the quality of a haunting, living-on-in-memory event. Finished, but not finished in the character’s mind’s eye.

Ursula Le Guin quote - verb tenses

4. Practice showing shadowy past or present actions using verb forms

In addition to simple and perfect tenses, there are different ‘moods’ that show verbs as hypothetical or possible actions. In addition to the indicative mood (‘she runs to the store’) there is also the subjunctive mood (‘If she runs to the store’) and the potential mood (‘she may run to the store’).

The different moods are useful because they can show possibilities and scenarios that might have happened, or might still happen, under different circumstances. Here are examples for correct uses for each of the tenses (in active voice):

Subjunctive mood:

Present tense: If she runs to the store… Past tense: If she ran to the store… Future tense: If she should run to the store… Present perfect tense: If she has run to the store… Past perfect tense: If she had run to the store… Future perfect tense: If she should have run to the store….

Think of this mood as setting up a possibility. For example: ‘If she runs to the store, she better be quick because we’re leaving in 5.’

The potential mood helps us show shadowy, more hypothetical, uncertain scenarios:

Present tense: She may run to the store. Present perfect tense: She may have run to the store. Past perfect: She might have run to the store.

In each of these examples, the action is a possibility and the mood (using the various forms of ‘may’) shows this.

These verb moods in conjunction with tense are useful. They help us describe situations in which a narrator or character does not have full knowledge of events, or is wondering how events might pan out. They help to build suspense in the build-up to finishing a book .

5. Practice rewriting paragraphs in different tenses

It’s often easiest to get the hang of tense by doing. Pick a paragraph by an author and rewrite in each of the tenses. Here, for example, is a paragraph from David Sedaris’ essay, ‘Buddy, Can you Spare a Tie?’:

The only expensive thing I actually wear is a navy blue cashmere sweater. It cost four hundred dollars and looks like it was wrestled from the mouth of a tiger. “What a shame,” the dry cleaner said the first time I brought it in. The sweater had been folded into a loaf-sized bundle, and she stroked it, the way you might a freshly dead rabbit. David Sedaris, ‘Buddy, Can you Spare a Tie?’ , When You Are Engulfed in Flames

Rewritten in past simple tense:

The only expensive thing I actually wore was a navy blue cashmere sweater. It cost four hundred dollars and looked like it was wrestled from the mouth of a tiger. “What a shame,” the dry cleaner said the first time I brought it in. The sweater was folded into a loaf-sized bundle, and she stroked it, the way you might a freshly dead rabbit.’

Here is the same passage in past perfect:

The only expensive thing I had actually worn was a navy blue cashmere sweater. It had cost four hundred dollars and had looked like it had been wrestled from the mouth of a tiger. “What a shame,” the dry cleaner had said, the first time I brought it in. The sweater had been folded into a loaf-sized bundle, and she had stroked it, the way you might a freshly dead rabbit.

The effect is of a character describing the defining experiences before another event (before buying an even more expensive item of clothing, for example). For example, you could write ‘Before I bought that lavish suit…’ before the paragraph.

To perfect writing tenses, make your own exercises and practice rewriting extracts from your story in each tense to see the changing effect this has on your narrative.

Do you need feedback on your use of tense in a story? Get novel help from our writing community or your own, experienced writing coach.

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  • Tags how to write tense , tense and narration , writing tenses

past tense essay writing

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

28 replies on “Writing tenses: 5 tips for past, present, future”

A fine explanation of tenses. A subject often ignored, having been overlooked except by students of language. In short, changes in tense are great aids to tension.

Thanks, Bob! It’s true that it’s not discussed as commonly as certain other topics such as characterization.

Reading such articles clear all the confusion. Thanks!

I have question though, I am writing in past tense, all the events are happening in past tense. But, say, my protagonist is in a situation where she has to decide something and she is anticipating something, in short, it’s future for her, how do we go about that.

She was still sitting on the same bench, as she didn’t want to leave the light. She was sure that ………………………………………………………………….

What I want to write here is, she knew that she will not find any cab at this hour. a. She was sure that she will not find any cab at this hour. b. She was sure that she was not going to any cab at this hour. c. She was sure that she couldn’t get a cab at this hour.

In my current scene, I am trying to show the thought process of the protagonist and I have encountered 2 or 3 places where I have come across this situation. Am I doing something wrong? Should I not come across such situation at all if I am writing in past tense?

I understand reading helps, but at this moment, my mind is blank and I am not able to recollect anything that I (must) have read.

Please suggest.

Hi Jayendra,

Thanks for your question and the feedback. Number a. would be incorrect because ‘will’ is in the simple future tense (it would be correct in ‘She is sure she will not find any cab at this hour’). B would be correct with a few small tweaks: ‘She was sure she wasn’t going to find any cab at such a late hour’ (or ‘…any cab so late at night.’) Incidentally, ‘this’ implies present, continuous time so it is a little jarring in past tense (hence the alternatives above). c. Similarly, this option would be better as ‘She was sure she wouldn’t find a cab at such a late hour.’ ‘Would not’ is the right past tense form here, in present tense it would be ‘will not’. It implies future action in relation to the present time of the narration.

I hope that helps!

Hey Bridget, thanks for your reply. It feels silly now. If I was able to come up with “could”, why couldn’t I think of “would”! 🙂

Thank you for this article. Tense has been driving me insane as it feels like there are hundreds of exceptions when it comes to usage of “simple present verbs” in past tense narratives. It makes me want to disregard the entire subject and rely on an editor to catch any mistakes that I don’t naturally leave out.

For example. When you said, “Past perfect: Sarah had run to the store.” “Run” is a present (simple) tense verb, which would make you think that it can’t be used at all in a past tense narrative, but it clearly can if you phrase it correctly. This holds true with literally dozens of other verbs, adverbs, and other “tense” related words. I’m finding my work being hampered by this as I literally stumble over myself thinking I buggered up a word in my narrative, only to later find out it was a perfectly acceptable usage. I’m really at the breaking point over this, and I’m close to just disregarding it all together and relying on pure instinct and proofreading, then review by an editor at a later date. Then of course, there’s the whole deal with acceptable tense shifting…

Am I incorrect for thinking this way? Will this kind of mindset bar me from any chance of ever getting published or even being given an offer by an agent? Is there room in this world for easily confusable writers? I don’t know, and I can’t imagine how confusing this must be for foreign speakers, either. As I’ve been speaking english all my life and writing as a hobby for nearly a decade.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I actually do have an actual question. How do you use simple present tense usages of “being” when writing in second person past tense? Because the phrase, “You are…(whatever character’s name) comes up quite a bit. However, there’s no way to get around the fact that you have to use “are,” in the past tense continuous, and I can’t find any info on if that is correct or not.

I have a question. Would it be incorrect if my story is in first person point of view and narrated in the past tense, but the internal monologue of my narrator is in the present tense?

Ex. “Don’t you ever go anywhere else, Red?” My name isn’t Red. I can’t remember where that nickname came from. “I go to school.” I said. I could feel him rolling his eyes at me. I think he’s done that before. “Come with me today.” I looked at him then, a little puzzled. It was a bad idea and yet I said: “Okay.”

It sounds right in my head but I feel like the tenses are too all over the place to be correct. The narrator has memory problems so I want what he’s thinking to be read but I’m just not sure if this is correct. I’m more comfortable with past tense writing but should I switch to present tense?

I have the same question!

Hi Hannah, this comment slipped by, my sincere apologies for that.

Regarding your question, the tense switching does jolt the reader out of the story. If you’re more comfortable with past tense, I’d suggest putting the internal monologue in past, too. For example:

“I go to school,” I said. I could feel him rolling his eyes at me. He’d done that before.’ Similarly, for ‘I can’t remember where that nickname came form’, you could simplify it to make past tense less clunky as: ‘Where did that nickname come from?’

I hope your story is much further along now!

I’m a translator struggling with getting the past perfect correct in the story I’m working on. I find your article very helpful. Thank you 🙂

I have one question:

That morning, she had run her usual route to the store. As she turned the corner, she had come upon a disturbing scene. Apart from the glass and metal sprayed across the road like some outgoing tide’s deposit, there were what looked like two stretchers, mostly eclipsed from view by a swarm of emergency workers.

The above example sentences describe an event that had happened in the past from the narrator’s perspective, and that’s why the past perfect is used. Okay, no problem. But why isn’t everything in the past perfect? Why is it okay to leave some parts in simple past?

“As she turned the corner” instead of “As she had turned the corner” “there were what looked like two stretchers” instead of “there had been what looked two stretchers”

This is the exact issue I’m having in my story. When I put every single verb in the past perfect, the sentences sound very heavy, especially when the section describing the past event is long. But I’m not sure which parts are okay to leave in simple past.

Thank you for the feedback and for your question. You struck the exact reason there – stylistically, to put every single verb in past perfect does read clunkier and isn’t necessary. As long as there is a past-perfect verb establishing the time-frame of events, the rest of the events that are still contextually happening in the earlier time period don’t necessarily need past perfect. For example:

‘It happened last week. I had stopped by the vet shop to get my dog’s flea tablet [past perfect – prior action is established]. I was standing at the counter waiting to pay when I saw the new vet through the back entrance.’ If you wrote ‘I had been standing at the counter waiting to pay when I had seen the new vet…’ each instance of past perfect situates the action in a time period before the ‘main action’. Whereas the scene the narrator is describing is the main event unfolding after a prior action (stopping at the vet shop) situated before this encounter by past perfect tense.

There’s a useful article explaining past perfect further here: http://www.englishlessonsbrighton.co.uk/use-past-perfect-build-narratives/

Thank you so much for your quick response, Jordan! Your explanation and the link you shared are very helpful 😀

It’s a pleasure 🙂 Glad I could help! Good luck with your story.

Hi Jordan. I have a question regarding exceptions. Are there any? I’m busy writing a short and it currently starts out as “I live on the top floor of a two storey apartment complex.” I then proceed to recollect in past tense. The entire story takes place over the course of 1 night and ends with the protagonist still living there. I think – as I’m typing this out – I should probably change it to past tense right? The rest of story is written in past tense. I should treat the entire event as a recollection rather than get caught up in the fact that the protagonist is still currently living there. It just felt like I was setting it up as a “Once upon a time I lived on the top floor…” which is not really my intention. It’s part of series so “I” will still be living there. It just seemed like a nice opener using present tense. Any ideas on how I can achieve the same effect?

Thank you for sharing this interesting question. I can’t see any reason why you couldn’t begin and end on present. As long as the cuts between present and past are clear/signaled to your reader it should be fine. For example:

‘I live on the top floor of a two-storey apartment complex. You’ll know why I’ve shared this detail soon, as it connects to what I’m about to tell you about a strange event that happened two weeks ago.

I was….’

If you bookend a section in present tense this way, with a clear transition between the tenses using narration, it should be fine. The main thing with tenses is not to hop between tenses within the same narrative time-frame (for example ‘I am running down a dark street. I heard footsteps behind me.’ Here, there’s nothing to signal the passage between present and past and it’s confusing.

I hope this helps!

Hey! I’m a self-taught proofreader, not a writer myself (haven’t a creative bone in my body, sadly), and I’m having a great deal of difficulty learning present tense. Up until now, all the stories I’ve proofread have been in past tense, so I’m trying to teach myself how to correct tense errors.

However, many of the websites I’ve come across aren’t tutorials, they’re essays about why not to use present tense in fiction! Well, that’s up to the author to decide! The issue I’m having is mostly with knowing when to allow usage of past tense to go and when to correct it.

For instance, in this sentence: “Thrown by the jump in numbers, most viewers click back in the video just to double-check that Danny had indeed jumped from #3 to #6, before shrugging and continuing to watch.” I’m thinking that “had” needs to be “has”, but I’m not 100% sure. I like to be mostly sure before suggesting a change. Thanks. 🙂

Hi Tracy! Here the past perfect tense (‘had’) is acceptable because it describes an action completed before the present narrative time-frame (e.g. ‘I’m walking to the store now which had been closed this morning’ would be correct if the narrator were walking in the afternoon). If you wrote ‘I’m walking to the store now which has been closed this morning’ this would imply that it is still morning in the time of narration, due to ‘has’ here being in the present perfect tense (describing a past action or condition (‘being closed’) stretching into the present time).

‘Has’ in your example would read a little strangely as it could imply that Danny ‘has’ (in the present, continuing moment) jumped from #3 to #6.

I would say, since the video has already been recorded, that ‘had’ makes sense because Danny’s error (jumping from #3 to #6) ‘had’ been made at the time of recording, and had been viewed prior to the viewer’s realization. So both moments are squarely in the past rather than stretching into the present.

Does that make sense? 🙂 Tense will get you!

It absolutely does, thank you! I’m going to have to go back and reread certain things now, but I definitely understand this. So things that happened prior to the time frame in the story can be past tense, even in a present tense story! Thank you again, so very much, I’m trying so hard to learn this, but I just find it difficult. xD Your explanation certainly simplified it for me, though! ^_^

This post also sums up the differences very well: https://www.dailywritingtips.com/has-vs-had/

So, in short, can I use different tenses in my work of a story writing? In direct speech inverted commas are needed.Isn’t it?

MIXING PAST AND PRESENT TENSES

The following paragraph has a mixture of past and present tense. I believe it to be grammatically wrong but, to my mind, it doesn’t jar when I read it back and it gives the reader a sense of immediacy. My question is: Is it an absolute no-no or is there a degree of artist license here?

Archie flicked on the chainsaw’s master switch and pumped the primer a few times. Resting the saw on the ground he gave the cord a good hard yank. It clacked through its gears but didn’t catch. The second pull bit and snapped back stinging his fingers as it recoiled. “Son of a….” he yelped. The third pull sprung the chainsaw into life with a metallic shrill sending out a cloud of blue smoke that wafted across the laundry. Archie let it idle in a high pitched grumble and then tested it with a few pumps of the throttle that sent the chain shinning around the blade. “Seems okay” he yelled over the noise before killing the master switch. “I guess the real test will be half way through a tree.

Thank you for sharing that, there’s a great descriptive density to it and a clear sense of scene.

I’m curious as to why you think it mixes tenses? To my eyes, it’s all in past tense. You do have a participle phrase or two (e.g. ‘Resting the saw on the ground’) that provide a present/unfolding action, but these are used correctly within past tense for the overall narration (you do use it correctly to show one action that is ongoing during another – the finite verb ‘he gave…’ after that participle phrase still keeps the tense within past as expected).

It would be mixed if you had finite verbs in different tenses for events occurring in the same time-frame, e.g. ‘He rests the saw on the ground and gave the cord a good hard yank.’ This would be jarring because there would appear to be two different time-frames for actions unfolding within the same scene, thanks to present verb ‘rests’ and past verb ‘gave’. I hope this helps!

Great article, many thanks!

Brief question – when writing in the past tense, can you still use present tense for general statements? For example:

I woke up as usual at 5:47 station time when air supply unit number five, that occupied the majority of the level below our quarters, sprang into action, producing a constant humming that would last for the next eight hours. It is never completely quiet on a space station, there are always sounds, vibrations and audible movements, and you learn to live with it. It never bothered me, it was the only life I knew.

Hi Stephan, it’s a pleasure. I’m glad you found it helpful.

Thank you for sharing your question. That does scan fine. In the first instance, there is a participle phrase which creates the sense of a presently unfolding action within the past time-frame (‘producing a constant humming…’). This is correct usage.

Then the flip to present informs the reader of a general, ongoing state of affairs which is where we would use present tense. It depends on the site in time from which the narrator is speaking. If they are no longer living in the quarters when narrating this, then perhaps ‘It was never completely quiet on the space station…’ would make more sense (past tense for recounting conditions no longer being experienced). But if they are still based at the station, then present tense narration for a general state of affairs in their environment fits, as presumably it still isn’t ever completely quiet when they’re narrating this.

I hope this helps! Thanks for the great question.

Thank you for this article. I found it helpful. Both of my main characters at one point recall their dreams. Since they are recalling them, I would write them in past tense correct?

Hi Chelsea, it’s a pleasure! Not necessarily. I find authors often use present tense for this (especially if the main narration is in past tense). It would look something like:

But then I remembered the dream I had…

I’m standing in a wide, open field. I hear someone calling from the other side …

Present tense does create a sense of the unfolding moment that suits the sense of reenacting an interesting event, so personally I would lean towards that. I hope this helps. Just remember whichever tense you’re using to have a narrative link that clarifies that the narration is now crossing over into the dream description (in my example above, it’s the words ‘But then I remembered the dream I had).

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Wow, This was fantastic

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Past simple or simple past is one of the essentials in English language. You can tell a story or write a story using the past simple tense.

I drove my dad's car yesterday.

I washed my face last night

So basically the simple past uses the past tense of the verb plus one of these:

Last holiday

Last ....etc

Of course you need to know the past simple of the irregular verbs

Irregular verbs read more

The regular verbs end with ed like

Work worked

Walk walked

Wash washed

and so on... etc

After you got familiar with your regular and irregular verbs then you can start writing

For example:

Write about your last holiday

What did you do?

Where did you go?

My last holiday was fantastic. I went to the mountains in a place called Salalah in Oman. The mountains were so green and the people were so friendly. I visited many places like, forts, beaches, the hotels at night and went shopping in the grand mall. I stayed there for 10 days. The weather was really nice and it was great for camping. So we went camping on the mountains and made a small fire for BBQ.

This is a sample paragraph for the past simple tense

Now it is your turn to try writing

_________________________________________________________________________

Free writing samples

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Writing Narration In the Past Tense

Writing Narration In the Past Tense

Past tense is a way of delivering a story that has already occurred; the narrator, whether first, second, or third-person, is recounting a tale. It is the most popular tense for fiction as it follows the natural tendency of retelling a story.

There are four types of past tense: past simple, past continuous, past perfect, and past perfect continuous.

Past simple tense means describing actions being undertaken in the past: I listened. You tried not to daydream. The children sang. Practice went on for hours.

Past continuous tense means describing actions during their undertaking in the past: I was listening. You were trying not to daydream. The children were singing. Practice was going on for hours.

Past perfect tense means describing actions after their undertaking in the past: I had listened. You had tried not to daydream. The children had sung. Practice had gone on for hours.

Past perfect continuous tense means describing actions that were undertaken after their undertaking in the past: I had been listening. You had been trying not to daydream. The children had been singing. Practice had been going on for hours.

Past Tense from a First-Person Perspective

With first-person perspective , past tense narration becomes a character literally telling their story. They share whatever details and insights they deem necessary whilst propelling the tale forward, as it appeared from their personal point of view. As such, it can be an immersive and natural way of delivering a story.

I waited, expecting more banter, more indignation, maybe another shot across the bow, but that was all she said. I decided that getting more out of her on the case was a lost cause. I changed the subject. Michael Connelly, The Lincoln Lawyer

Here Connelly uses the voice of his narrator—a lawyer—to almost coldly comment on the facts, whilst also imparting subtle opinions and almost subconscious judgements on the situation. The balance of objective observation—as per the character’s profession, which has shaped his worldview and attitude—and personal insight is well-maintained, showing a lot more about the narrator as he tells his story in an almost witness-statement-like fashion.

Past Tense from a Second-Person Perspective

By telling a story that has happened using second-person , the temptation for the reader to argue with the character’s choices is lowered as these are facts: this has happened, you can’t change it, you must accept it and move on. It makes for a more personal tale, but—as with all second-person stories—it is limiting on the amount of complex character depth you can impart upon the reader without them rebelling against it.

It was always you. When you gathered nuts in the forest with the other coltish boys, I liked your smiles and jokes the best. I swelled with pride when your slingshot brought down a big tom-turkey. Julie Berry, All the Truth That’s In Me

By combining first and second-person, Berry puts the reader into the story with the narrator, and both become surrogates for characters. The intimacy this creates is immediate and unsettling, thrusting the audience into the tale almost against their will, especially as these are past events that have already taken place, leaving the reader wondering how they fit with the narrator and what happened to make this story worth being shared.

Past Tense from a Third-Person Perspective

Third-person past is the staple of storytelling. Something happened to someone and now it is being explained. No matter the setting, time-period, scope of characters, or style of narration, third-person past will always be comfortable to read as it is a natural way of both delivering and receiving a story, and therefore is most accepted by all parties.

Standing at the door, Stephen glanced down to his left at the neat row of green wellies by the doorman, arranged in descending order of size, and tried not to feel like a salesman. David Nicholls, The Understudy

This extract demonstrates the use of character and narrative voice in a third-person scene, as it is Stephen making those observations, not the narrator. The style it is written in is clear and unique, yet Nicholls deceptively projects the characters onto the narrator (or, perhaps, the other way round) and the narration is hidden in the tale.

Narration In the Past Tense

Narratives written in past tense have already happened, so whoever the narrator is, they will be recalling the past. The most important aspect of writing in past tense is to ensure the narration remains as a recollection, and not a commentary on current or future events. This can create a feeling of distance from the story, in that events have already happened, however it can also build tension as it implies an inevitability which characters can try to escape.

Past tense reaffirms the reader that they are catching up on what has already taken place, whether that is something they are watching unfold, or they are told the tale by the central character, or even if they are themselves part of the story. It is a natural way to tell stories and remains incredibly popular with writers.

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My last holiday

My last holiday

Learn how to write about your last holiday.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.

Preparation

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My last holiday was a five-day trip to Prague in the Czech Republic. I know Prague well because I lived there when I was at university, more than ten years ago.

Instead of staying in a hotel, I stayed with one of my old friends. It was so much fun, and a little bit like my old life. I wanted to do all the same things I did in my university days, so I visited the university. It has changed a lot and looks more modern. I also went to the supermarket near my old house. I loved seeing all the different foods. I was really happy to find my favourite cheese and chocolate biscuits but they were a bit more expensive than I remember!

We did some touristy things too. We walked up beautiful Petrin Hill and around the castle. The views of the city are amazing up there. We walked across the historic Charles Bridge. My friend's flat is very near the TV Tower so we saw the famous baby statues climbing up it. Those things haven't changed, of course.

1. Try to make your writing interesting for the reader. To do this, you can make it personal with your own memories and experiences.

2. Use adjectives to add detail to your descriptions.

3. Write clear and simple sentences and organise your ideas in short paragraphs. Give each paragraph a different topic.

4. Use so, but, and, because and other linking words.

Where was your last holiday?

Language level

My last holiday was a two-day trip to Baguio in the Philippines. I had lived there before for five months. So I decided to go back for just a visit on my holiday. Unfortunately, there was heavily raining as we got off the bus. Otherwise, getting a taxi was super hard, and we were waiting for around an hour. Fortunately, I got home safely and I made so much fun with my friends. I visited the old places that I often did because it made me happy and refresh. In conclusion, I had so much fun spending my last holiday in Baguio.

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I remember last year when I went with friend to the beach in summer. My Lastsummer holidays was 2days and 3 nights trip to Ngwe Saung Beach in Myanamr . Ngwe Saung, is a beach resort located 48 km west of Pathein, Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar. In 2014, the town of Ngwesaung had 10,732 people.The beach is 5hours drive with no traffic away from the principal city of Yangon. Ngwe Saung is well know for An unspoilt 15 kilometres stretch of silvery sand and modern amenities have made Ngwe Saung a popular destination for less budget conscious tourists from Lower Myanmar. I booked for our stay at a hotel near the beach, name was "Grand Paradise Hotel ". My friend and i prepared everything we needed on our trip as light food and soft drinks to have on the way to the hotel. And also we prepared necessary clothing for the sea, sun cream and some essential medicines. After 5hours of driving we arrived the hotel at 12PM afternoon and went to our rooms to rest change clothes and take all what we need to go to the beach. This Hotel is near the beach,all services was good and room are cleaned, wide and nice. We put our bags on the table and went to swim in the sea and then went out for lunch that my friend ordered from a fish restaurant . The Crab ,Lobster and fish was fresh and tasty and we enjoyed our meal very much. After lunch we sat under the canopy enjoying the sea view, refreshing breaths ,listening to music and playing fun games. OH really nice Ngwe Saung beach Myanamr.

My last holiday was far away in time in different reasons. We were at black sea coast on September so there where not so much other people. We was drinking a wine that was cheap there and going some excursions

My last holiday. Last summer, in particular on the last weekend of June, I decided to visit Granada, an amazing city in Spain. I visited Granada for the second time with my family, my wife, and two daughters. I was so happy because I visited Granada sights, especially Alhambra Palace, and Civilization Museum. We arrived at the hotel by bus at 11 a.m. The hotel was wonderful and clean, and the food they offer was delicious. My family really liked the traditional typical dishes of Granada, in particular the dish named Baella. During the holiday, I met some of my Spanish colleagues and they invited us to visit their house which is located in a nice village in the city suburb. Really, I liked this place for the large landscape, calmness, and the kind people who live in. On the fifth day of our holiday, we walked around the city and saw the old city which has been built above the mountain. So, you can see the whole city from above it. Despite the enjoyment that we have got, the negative thing about that holiday was that we spent so much money and also many friends need to buy some things from there, so I bought some souvenirs and I hope that I can keep one for myself to remind of that divine place. By and large, this holiday was great and unforgettable thanks to my Spanish friend, Gaspar, who provided me with a Guidebook which makes my trip easy and coy.

My last holiday was four days on São Miguel dos Milagres with my family. We stay on the beach house of my grandpa. There is a pool, and four rooms in that. There we go to the beach, to some interesting restaurants, to a beach clube and to an ice cream shop. I love that travel and i'd love go back to São Miguel dos Milagres.

On the first weekend in March, we took an amazing trip to Barcelona. We went by train from Atocha station and the journey lasted two and a half hours.

When we arrived at the historic Barcelona Sants station, we took the metro to Plaza de Tetuan, which is where we had the apartment. We left our baggage and went to visit the city centre, Las Ramblas, Plaza Catalunya, La Boqueria Market, Paseo de Gracia, etc. On Sunday, we saw the beautiful Sagrada Familia which is my favourite landmark. Later, we went to the incredible Nou Camp stadium to see the Barça game against Valencia. After the game we visited the official store and did some shopping but everything was very expensive. On Monday, before returning to Madrid we went back to the Nou Camp to take a guided tour of the trophy room, changing rooms, benches, and the VIP box.

At the end, we went to the apartment to take the suitcases and so, we took the metro to the Sants station where we boarded the high speed train back to Madrid.

I go to Thailand for a camping holiday, It was fun I go caving on the first day, I see many bets are sleeping on top of the cave.(no time to finish)

Before 5 years, my sister and I went in a Euro trip. It was our first international trip together and we're beyond happy that it went well.

I planned the whole trip and to be honest I was quite nervous and anxious that something might go wrong. We visited 3 countries and 8 cities which were in our bucket list. Every place we visited has its own uniqueness; however, some cities just captivated our hearts, especially Paris, the city of light and love :).

Because we are food lovers, we tried to try as many dishes as we can. Some dishes touch our hearts before getting into our tummies, and croissant is my only example :D. I hope to visit more countries in the future with my sister and to make more memories together.

A place I have visited long before My last holiday was five days. I went with my cousin to Cappadocia in Turkey. We stayed at a cave hotel in Gorme village and it was amazing. We had a beautiful view over the all the caves. We did some touristy things too. In the first days we flown with balloon and we could see Cappadocia city. In the second days we went to the Open Museum so we could go inside the caves and to see how people lives at that time. Last days we walked about thirteen kilometers around the city and we visited the oldest castles in Cappadocia. We choose a different local restaurant every day. The food was delicious and cheap. I would like to go there again because that is a lot of things I want to see, and I recommend other people to go and see the magic city.

My last holiday was a five-day trip to Tbilisi the capital of Georgia. It was my first real holiday for last several years, usually I continue to work in my trips, but in this time I decided to not.

I went to this trip with my wife. We went by train. There was my first visit of Tbilisi but my wife was there a year before. So she knew all interesting places and sightseeings and showed me the city.

As it was my only holiday for the long time I don’t want to have a tight schedule and preferred spend it in chill way. I woke up without alarm had a breakfast slowly and then we decided where to go and what to do today.

We have visited some famous places as monument Mother of Georgia placed at the top of the mountain, some historical churches. We used old funicular to reach the top of another mountain with the amusement park. We walk a lot every day and explore almost every part of the city.

I really love restaurants in Tbilisi. We tried Italian, Japan, French and Georgian cosine. The food in Georgia is cheap and amazing!

It were five amazing days. I felt myself so relaxed and ready for new challenges at my job.

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Learn How You Can Maintain Good Tense Control In Your Writing

Keep all your tenses under control

What is tense control in writing?

It is staying in your selected primary tense and time and then using other tenses to highlight changes in the time frame.

Can you switch tenses in writing?

Yes, of course, you can change tenses and time. But only when you need to indicate a distinct change.

Time and tenses in writing

You can write in past, present, or future time in any form of writing.

In each time setting, you have a choice of verb tenses you can use.

For example, if you write in the present, you will mostly use the present simple, present continuous, and perhaps present perfect tense.

Writing in the past uses past simple, past continuous, and the past perfect form.

When writing in the future , you use will, going to, or any other future form.

Switching between past and present tense in writing is always necessary for variety.

But you need to be careful with changes in time to maintain tense control in writing.

Your choice of time and tense depends on what you intend to write.

It will be different for an essay, an article, a story, a research paper, a literary work, or a business proposal.

But you need to keep your tenses consistent.

Tenses for writing projects

tense control in writing

Story writing tenses

For short stories and novels, the past is the most common choice.

In fact, the simple past tense is often called the storytelling tense.

You are recounting a series of events in the past through your narration and dialogue .

You indicate changes or switches in the time order of events by using good tense control and selection.

For example, the past perfect says that it is an event older than an event in the past simple.

You can use it for flashbacks to what your characters might have gone through and how they felt at an earlier time.

The past continuous is another option to indicate an action that happened at the time of a past event.

Story writing is usually written in these forms of past tense.

Switching from past to present tense in a story is possible, however.

But it is not an easy feat.

There are possibilities when the narrator moves into the present to talk about facts or generalities.

But generally, you would write most stories in the past in narrative tenses.

One other choice you need to make is your point of view when you write any story.

Essay writing tense

The general rule is to use the present simple tense when writing an essay.

You would only use past tenses if you needed to write a narrative essay, which is quite rare.

In an essay, you are usually expressing facts, your understanding or beliefs, or your opinions.

You can only express these aspects by using present tenses.

The one possibility to change tense in essay writing is when you express a possible future outcome related to your facts or opinions.

Here is a quick example.

In the book, the author says that our waterways are highly polluted and that it now affects our domestic water supply.

I believe this will become a significant problem for our children in the future.

Blog and article writing

When you write an online article or blog post, you are often talking about something that has happened. Blog writing is frequently like news reporting.

You are telling the reader about events that occurred before you sat down to write.

In this case, you would always use past tenses.

However, if you are writing evergreen content like how-to articles or advice posts, you will probably choose to use the present tense.

Anytime that you are giving advice or instructions, you use the present simple or even the imperative.

Think here about a recipe article. You would always write it in the present.

You should always be clear about your tense control in writing before you start and avoid changing tenses unnecessarily in your writing.

One last factor to consider is your choice of point of view when writing blog posts and articles.

Professional and academic writing

You can usually classify this type of writing into three main categories. You are going to write either a plan, a report, or a statement.

For a plan, such as a business plan or a proposal for a new curriculum, you will use future tenses and forms.

If you need to write a sales report or the results of a survey, you should only use the past tense forms.

A statement like a code of ethics, a statement of purpose, or a press release are most often in the present.

For these three writing tasks, when you start writing in a particular tense, you should be consistent unless there is a compelling reason to switch between tenses.

Common mistakes in changing tenses in writing

The most common error in tense control in writing is switching from past to present tense at a sentence level.

One of my favorite examples of mixing tenses in a sentence is this one.

Who said writing is easy?

It is incorrect because the first verb is past, and the second is present.

There are two ways to correct this sentence with the right tense agreement.

Who says writing is easy?

Who said writing was easy?

Both sentences now agree.

Here are a few more examples of incorrect tense agreements and how to keep tenses located in the same time.

I was walking down the stairs, and there he stands , staring at me. Incorrect

I was walking down the stairs, and there he stood , staring at me. Correct

I saw Mary this morning, and she says that she is moving to Canada. Incorrect

I saw Mary this morning, and she said that she was moving to Canada. Correct

After I booked my flight to London, I am finding that all the prices for tickets were falling. Incorrect

After I booked my flight to London, I found that all the prices for tickets were falling. Correct

Tense change in a paragraph

Changing the tense in a paragraph is also an area that can cause problems.

It often happens when you use a pronoun linking back to the previous sentence.

You need to be careful with this and that . This is for present and future references. That is for a past reference.

The police believe the suspect is armed and is suffering from a severe mental disorder. That was why everyone in the district should be on alert. The detective in charge said all precautions were being taken. Incorrect

The police believe the suspect is armed and is suffering from a severe mental disorder. This is why everyone in the district should be on alert. The detective in charge says all precautions are being taken. Correct

With future tenses, mistakes often occur in first and second conditional sentences.

You can only use the future with the present and not with the past.

If I win the lottery, I’d buy a Ferrara. Incorrect

If I win the lottery, I’ll buy a Ferrara. Correct

If I won the lottery, I’ll buy a Ferrari. Incorrect

If I won the lottery, I’d buy a Ferrari. Correct

Use natural tenses

You can write more naturally if you first work out what tenses you would generally use when you speak.

You’ll save a lot of time and spend less time editing and revising.

If you write in perfect tenses that you’re not familiar with, such as present perfect or future perfect, you might find yourself shifting back to a more natural tense.

You need to stay in your comfort zone and your natural variety of English with tenses.

For US writers, past simple is much more common than present perfect. However, for UK writers, the opposite is true.

You should stay within your local voice but still pay attention to any mixed tense mistakes.

Get some help

It’s so easy to mix your tenses. Every writer is guilty of it occasionally.

If you’re not sure, get some help. Find a friend or family member who can read your text and check.

You don’t need to hire an editor, but a fresh pair of eyes always helps.

But don’t rely too much on online grammar checkers.

They are great for finding basic grammar errors, but for tense shifts, they are not as reliable.

You can write in three different times, present, past, and future.

The English tense system has four tenses, or verb forms, for each time.

They are simple, continuous, perfect simple, or perfect continuous.

As long as you use the correct tenses for your time setting, you won’t make a mistake.

When you are writing a story, stick with the past tenses.

For an essay or advice article , stay with present tenses.

If you want to write about a plan, use the future.

It’s that easy to maintain tense control in writing.

Related reading: What Is The Subjunctive Mood And How To Use It?

About The Author

Avatar for Derek Haines

Derek Haines

More articles.

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Memoir Or Autobiography? How To Choose The Right Genre

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Morning Suit And Mourning Suit – Are Both Of Them Correct?

More To Blog Writing

Good Blog Writing Needs Know How And Your Imagination

7 thoughts on “learn how you can maintain good tense control in your writing”.

Avatar for Zann

Great article! I did notice one potential error in your favourite sentence though… maybe you’ll like it even better with this alternative interpretation ;)

I would argue the primary issue with this sentence is not that it’s changing tense in the middle, but that it’s lost its quotation marks.

I’ve noticed this sometimes happens with well-known rhetorical questions.

Put them back, and there’s no problem:

Who said “writing is easy”?

Now the sentence is no more incorrect than any other dialogue. The narration is in the past, but the speaker is using the present tense. As you pointed out, you can always have narration and dialogue differ.

Laura said “writing is easy.” Laura said “I like peas”. Jill will respond, as she always does “But you used to hate peas, and writing has not always come naturally”.

Avatar for Derek Haines

It’s an example phrase, so I didn’t think it needed to be written in strict dialogue. But yes, it could also be written in different ways. “Who said writing is easy?”, I asked. “Who said writing is easy?”, I wondered. But thanks for your interest and interaction.

Avatar for PAUL O

Hi Lisa, I have been reading (and rereading) your articles on writing. I have found them to be very interesting and very inspiring. I am enquiring if I can download all your articles into a Word document, so I can read the offline. I know I could this without your knowledge but I find it polite to ask permission to do so.

That’s fine with us, Paul. Glad to hear that our writing articles are useful for you.

Avatar for Shyne

I’m from Philippines, greetings from filipinos! Such a good starter pack about writing. It’s very useful, keep it up! :)

Avatar for Tavi

Hi Lisa, great article, as all that you write. Keep on doing the good work. And keep on smiling, too.

Avatar for Polly at ZetterbergEditing.com

Hi Lisa- Thanks for the heads-up to writers about the need that “other set of eyes”, professional eyes of an editor. It seems we have a bad rep from some writers, but all we really want to do is help; help the writer with clarity and simple corrections. All this so that the reader is not confused or distracted.

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IMAGES

  1. 23 Contoh Soal Simple Past Tense Essay dan Jawabannya

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  2. Writing about the past simple or past perfect tense

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  3. What are Narrative Tenses? Definition and Examples

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  4. weekend recount using simple past tense and irregular past tense verbs. Using recount format

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  5. Writing in the past tense

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  6. Writing in the past tense

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VIDEO

  1. #RJS ENGLISH ESSAY #TENSE#TOPIC---PASSIVE OF FUTURE PERFECT

  2. 566,Past tense story, English reading paragraph/English reading practice @Englishreadingpractice

  3. Past continuous tense @RSR1984

  4. Simple past tense example sentences (part-1) || JSJ JESY ENGLISH GRAMMAR

  5. Past continuous tense example sentences (part-2) || JSJ JESY ENGLISH GRAMMAR

  6. Examples of PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

COMMENTS

  1. The Writing Center

    The Past Simple Tense Generally, past simple is used to refer to actions completed in the past. Some specific functions this tense has in academic writing include: The Present Perfect Tense Present perfect is usually used when referring to previous research, and since it is a present tense, it indicates that the findings are relevant today.

  2. Verb Tenses in Academic Writing

    There are three main verb tenses: past , present , and future. In English, each of these tenses can take four main aspects: simple , perfect , continuous (also known as progressive ), and perfect continuous. The perfect aspect is formed using the verb to have, while the continuous aspect is formed using the verb to be.

  3. Cheat Sheet: Verb Tenses in Academic Writing

    Prefer the present simple, past simple, and present perfect tenses in academic writing. Different sections of your paper will require different tenses. Only change the tense if the timing of the action changes. Use the progressive and perfect tenses only when it's important to stress the ongoing nature of an action or its relationship to ...

  4. Verb Tenses

    Past simple tense Past simple tense is used for two main functions in most academic fields. To introduce other people's research into your text when you are describing a specific study, usually carried out by named researcher. Notice how the verb tense changes as the function changes in this example.

  5. Simple Past Tense

    Revised on October 23, 2023. The simple past tense is a verb form used to refer to an action or series of actions that were completed in the past. The simple past tense of regular verbs is formed by adding "-ed" to the infinitive form of the verb (e.g., "cook" becomes "cooked").

  6. Introduction to Verb Tenses

    Only two tenses are conveyed through the verb alone: present ("sing") and past ("sang"). Most English tenses, as many as thirty of them, are marked by other words called auxiliaries. Understanding the six basic tenses allows writers to re-create much of the reality of time in their writing. Simple Present: They walk. Present Perfect: They ...

  7. Tenses

    Here is an example of using both the past and present tense in your writing: Example: Brown (2010) conducted a survey of 1000 students. The results of his survey suggest that all his students are geniuses. In this example the writer refers to a specific survey that Brown conducted (past tense) in 2010.

  8. Grammar Tips: Using the Past Tense

    We use the past perfect tense to describe something that happened before, up until, or since something else. It is formed by combining the word "had" with a past participle: Newton had studied many subjects by the time he graduated.

  9. Tense Use in Academic Writing: Past, Present and Future

    Past Tense: Alfred burned the cakes. Future Tense: Alfred will burn the cakes. In the first example, the present tense verb "burns" suggests that it's happening now. The past tense verb "burned", however, shows that it has already happened. And by adding the helping verb "will," we can instead suggest that the action is going to ...

  10. Tense Use in Essays: Past vs. Present

    Tense Use in Essays: Past vs. Present 2-minute read 16th April 2016 Tense Use in Essays: Past vs. Present It's mostly time travellers who worry about the more convoluted aspects of grammatical tense, but the issue of tense use in academic writing is, nonetheless, controversial.

  11. Verb Tense Consistency

    1. The instructor explains the diagram to students who asked questions during the lecture. Explains is present tense, referring to a current state; asked is past, but should be present ( ask ) because the students are currently continuing to ask questions during the lecture period.

  12. Ask Betty : Tenses

    The past tense is commonly used when writing a narrative or a story, as in: 6.1 Once upon a time, there was a peaceful kingdom in the heart of a jungle . . . Some writers use the present tense in telling stories, a technique called the "historical present" that creates an air of vividness and immediacy.

  13. What tense should be used when writing an essay?

    Quick answer: In general, when writing most essays, one should use present tense, using past tense if referring to events of the past or an author's ideas in an historical context.

  14. What Tense Should I Use in Writing?

    APA/Harvard: Per APA (and its non-American variant, Harvard), you should primarily use past tense, especially in literature reviews where you're talking about authors' past studies. It should be: "Johnson (2008) argued . . ." not "Johnson (2008) argues . . . ." Get a free sample proofread and edit for your document.

  15. Shifty Tenses

    For example, I may be writing an essay about my experiences on a recent trip to Virginia and want to say that I saw the Mason-Dixon line for the first time. I have several options. I can write my paper in the past tense, which is the style most people are used to reading in novels or short stories, as follows:

  16. Past, Present, and Future Tense in Essays: How to Switch

    Instead of using the present tense, they write essays in the past tense. But perhaps they do not know when to use a present, past, or future tense. You can use present, past, and future tense in your essay. But there is a catch. Before you write your essay, you must know which tense fits it.

  17. Go Ahead and Use Multiple Tenses in Your Writing

    The writer is now using the past tense to help us understand the narrator's feelings about events that took place years earlier. Rather than setting out to decide which tense applies for the entire essay, the writer determines instead which tense works best for the scene being rendered. That flexibility can be liberating.

  18. Writing Tenses: 5 Tips for Past, Present, Future

    The majority of novels are written using simple past tense and the third person: She ran her usual route to the store, but as she rounded the corner she came upon a disturbing sight. When you start drafting a novel or a scene, think about the merits of each tense. The present tense, for example, has the virtue of:

  19. Writing for Beginners, write stories about the past simple tense

    Past simple or simple past is one of the essentials in English language. You can tell a story or write a story using the past simple tense. Examples: I drove my dad's car yesterday. I washed my face last night So basically the simple past uses the past tense of the verb plus one of these: Yesterday Last year Last month Last night Last holiday

  20. Writing Narration In the Past Tense

    Writing Narration In the Past Tense By Seb Reilly Past tense is a way of delivering a story that has already occurred; the narrator, whether first, second, or third-person, is recounting a tale. It is the most popular tense for fiction as it follows the natural tendency of retelling a story.

  21. My last holiday

    Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English writing skills with our live online classes and personal tutoring courses. My last holiday was a two-day trip to Baguio in the Philippines. I had lived there before for five months. So I decided to go back for just a visit on my holiday.

  22. How To Maintain Good Tense Control In Your Writing

    Essay writing tense. The general rule is to use the present simple tense when writing an essay. You would only use past tenses if you needed to write a narrative essay, which is quite rare. In an essay, you are usually expressing facts, your understanding or beliefs, or your opinions. You can only express these aspects by using present tenses.

  23. 34 Easy to Understand Past Tense Writing Prompts

    Write a short poem on "the past". What did you do during your last vacation? Did you have fun? Were there any new experiences? Give as much detail as possible. What was your daily routine like a year ago? Do you know what a period film is? Have you ever watched any? What did you do before school today? Where you went and who you interacted with.