Verb Tense Consistency (1)

Verb Tense
Consistency
• Tense consistency means that the timing of each expression in
writing stays the same.
• This can make the timing of events clearer to a reader and help to
maintain a constant tone.
What Are Verb Tenses?
• sets of verb forms that are used to convey the time

• at which an action occurs—past, present, or future.
• categories of verb tense include
• simple tense,
• perfect tense,
• progressive tense,
• and perfect progressive tense;
• we then refer to these tenses as present, past, or future.
Verb Tense consistency
• A verb's tense communicates when an action is
happening.
• A verb is one of two basic parts of a sentence.
• The other part, the subject, is who or what the
sentence is about.
• In contrast, the verb is the action.
• Usually, it's an action that the subject is doing.
• Verbs have several tenses that writers use to describe
events occurring in the past, present, and future.
• When writing sentences, paragraphs, and essays, it's
important to use verbs in the same tense throughout,
unless some actions really occurred at different points
in time.
• When a writer keeps verbs in the same tense in their writing,
that is called verb tense consistency.
• Verb tense consistency helps the reader understand when
actions are occurring in a story and stay focused on the main
points in an essay.
• When writers do not maintain verb tense consistency, their
readers get confused about when actions are happening,
become distracted by changes in tense, and lose focus on the
main points in an essay.
What is the Importance of
Tense Consistency?
• Tense consistency sets the timeline of your writing.
• Tense consistency makes your writing flow more logically.
• Tense consistency adds clarity to your writing.

• Inconsistency: She grabbed the stapler and throws it at the cockroach
on the wall.
• This sentence uses both the verb grabbed in the past simple tense
and the verb throws in the present simple tense.
• To make this more consistent, we could either change grabbed to its
present-tense form or change throws to its past-tense form.
• Correction: She grabs the stapler and throws it at the cockroach on
the wall.
• Correction: She grabbed the stapler and threw it at the cockroach on
the wall.
Practice
Choose the verb tense from the ones in parenthesis
that is consistent with the other verb(s) in the
sentence.
• After she leaves work, Marissa (goes / went) to the gym every night.
• I hope Jillian (will like / would like) her graduation gift.
• The driver insisted that he (does not / did not) see the stop sign.
• As soon as Jordan (steps / stepped) into the shower, his cell phone
rang.
• Mary’s electric bill would decrease dramatically if she (turned / turns)
off the AC before leaving for work.
• Rahul works during the week and (attends / is attending) ESL classes
on the weekends.
• If you (wish / wished) to learn more about the school, you should
attend the open house this Saturday.
• Emily (read / reads) a chapter of her favorite book before she went to
bed.
• James was disappointed that the client rejected the proposal because
he (had worked / works) very hard on it.
• The optometrist recommended special computer glasses to the
patient who (is experiencing / was experiencing) eye strain at work.
• After she leaves work, Marissa goes to the gym every night.
• I hope Jillian will like her graduation gift.
• The driver insisted that he did not see the stop sign.
• As soon as Jordan stepped into the shower, his cell phone
• Mary’s electric bill would decrease dramatically if she turned off the AC before leaving for work.
• Rahul works during the week and attends ESL classes on the weekends.
• If you wish to learn more about the school, you should attend the open house this Saturday.
• Emily read a chapter of her favorite book before she went to bed.
• James was disappointed that the client rejected the proposal because he had worked very hard
on it.
• The optometrist recommended special computer glasses to the patient who was experiencing
eye strain at work.
Thank
you !!

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Verb Tense

• sets of verb forms that are used to convey the time

• Tense consistency makes your writing flow more logically.

• Tense consistency adds clarity to your writing.

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