Identify and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense
Key Notes:
- Verb tense tells when an action happens.
- Types of tenses:
- Past 🕰️ – Something that already happened (e.g., She played football yesterday.)
- Present 🌞 – Something happening now (e.g., He plays football every day.)
- Future 🚀 – Something that will happen (e.g., They will play football tomorrow.)
| What is an Inappropriate Shift in Verb Tense? |
- When a verb suddenly changes tense in a sentence or paragraph without reason.
- It makes writing confusing for the reader.
- Example:
- ❌ She walks to the market and bought apples.
- Problem: “walks” is present, “bought” is past – inconsistent.
- ✅ She walked to the market and bought apples.
- Correct: both verbs in past tense.
| Rules to Avoid Inappropriate Shifts |
- Keep the same tense in a sentence if the actions happen at the same time. 🔄
- He ran to the shop and bought milk. 🏃♂️🥛
- Shift tense only if there is a reason (past → future, or past → past perfect). 🕰️➡️🚀
- She finished her homework and will watch TV. ✅
- By the time he arrived, she had left. ✅
- Check verbs in connected sentences – a paragraph should have a consistent tense, unless the time changes. 🧐
| Common Mistakes to Watch For |
| Mistake | Example | Correction |
|---|
| Mixing past & present | He went to school and is playing football. | He went to school and played football. |
| Using future unnecessarily | I study yesterday for the test. | I studied yesterday for the test. |
| Forgetting past perfect | She ate the cake after he arrives. | She ate the cake after he had arrived. |
- Step 1: Identify all verbs in the sentence/paragraph. 👀
- Step 2: Decide the correct tense for the main action. 🎯
- Step 3: Adjust other verbs to match the tense, unless a shift is needed for clarity. 🔧
- Step 4: Read the sentence aloud – does it sound right? ✅
- ❌ I am eating dinner when my friend called.
✅ I was eating dinner when my friend called.
- ❌ She will finish her homework and went to play outside.
✅ She finished her homework and went to play outside.
- ❌ They walk to school every day and missed the bus yesterday.
✅ They walk to school every day and miss the bus sometimes.
Keep your verbs in the same “time zone”! ⌛➡️🌞➡️🚀
Past 🕰️ = ⏳ (old clock)
Present 🌞 = 🕒 (current time)
Future 🚀 = 🌌 (future space)
