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Verb Tense
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may_reyes
 28 Nov 2011, 17:55 #135826 Reply To Post
I don't have a degree in creative writing, so please bear with me.

Past tense. Present tense (with exception of the narrator telling something that happened in the past.) Pick and use one when narrating. Right?

I thought this rule is a must. But I've come across some books that for me are cocktails of tenses. And these are published books, mostly by American authors, and from well known publishers. Does it mean that the rule has changed?
PERRY
 28 Nov 2011, 21:52 #135839 Reply To Post
Pick one as your anchor tense - the tense in which the book is happening. Reveries, flashbacks, aspirations, predictions and plans will all introduce varying tenses:

He trips over a dead body. He had had that experience before. He probably would again. 'Time will tell,' he murmurs.

All perfectly feasible. The important thing is to examine the logic of the shift in tenses.

It's something that is usually natural and mistakes will jar when you leave the piece for a couple of days and then edit yourself as a first reader.

Good luck.
may_reyes
 29 Nov 2011, 11:21 #135873 Reply To Post
Quote: PERRY, Monday, 28 Nov 2011 21:52
Pick one as your anchor tense - the tense in which the book is happening. Reveries, flashbacks, aspirations, predictions and plans will all introduce varying tenses:

He trips over a dead body. He had had that experience before. He probably would again. 'Time will tell,' he murmurs.

All perfectly feasible. The important thing is to examine the logic of the shift in tenses.

It's something that is usually natural and mistakes will jar when you leave the piece for a couple of days and then edit yourself as a first reader.

Good luck.


I understand that the tense will shift during the dialogue, or in the case where the narrator is using present tense: if the perspective changes during the story.

Perhaps I should give an example to explain where I'm getting confused.

At least I was starting over in a place that I love. There's nowhere I'd rather be than Paris in June. The light is different from anywhere else. As if pulled straight out of a fairy tale, the wand-waving brilliance makes you feel like absolutely anything could happen to you at any moment and you wouldn't even be surprised. But this time was different. Paris was the same as it had always been, but I had changed.



This is from the novel I'm currently reading. I'm sorry if I'm being thick but I don't exactly get the logic of the shift, why the author used past then present tense then back to past. And I thought that was a no-no.
safiaadam
 29 Nov 2011, 18:26 #135893 Reply To Post
Hello May

I think in the extract which you quote, the present simple is used to describe Paris because, for the author, the statements are fact. It's a bit like saying, 'Paris is in France' or 'I love chocolate'. For this author, it's 'a place that I love' and 'the light is different' etc. In other words, these things are generally true, so the present simple is used.

The past tense is used when he/she is recalling a particular visit to Paris which happend some time ago and is now over, so a variety of past tenses is appropriate.

Continuing the chocolate theme, consider this:

I adore chocolate. Of course the Swiss make better chocolate than the Belgians. The last time I was in Geneva, I was sitting in a little cafe where they make award-winning chocolate cakes. No-one knows the secret ingredient. It had been some time since I had eaten, so I ordered a large portion and it was simply delicious. I'd love to go back there again one day. Will you come with me?

There's a mixture of verb tenses in that but it makes perfect sense, doesn't it? OK, it won't win me any literary honours, but I hope it helps clear up any confusion. English verbs are the worst part of learning the language for the majority of foreign students - at least that was the case in my teaching days.
Follow your bliss
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