The three tenses in English are past, present, and future. We use past tense to write about the past. We use present tense to write about facts, opinions, or things that happen regularly. We use future tense to write about future events. There are other aspects of each of those tenses, but we will not study them in this lesson.

Once you have chosen a tense for a writing project, it is important to keep the same tense throughout the project. However, sometimes you will need to change the tense to best express yourself. Let’s learn some guidelines for using and changing tense in writing.

Tense Guideline 1: Keep the same tense if everything happens in the same time frame.

If everything you want to express occurs during the same time, you should keep your writing in that tense. For example, if you are telling about an event that happened in the past, keep your writing in past tense.

Let’s look at the example below:

Incorrect: On my sixteenth birthday, my parents gave me a big party. They invite all of my best friends.

In this example, the writer is referring to something that happened in the past. The writer correctly uses the past tense in the first sentence (gave). However, in the next sentence, the writer incorrectly uses present tense (invite). In this example, all events happened in the past, so all verbs should be in the past tense.

See the corrected example:

Correct: On my sixteenth birthday, my parents gave me a big party. They invited all of my best friends.

Tense Guideline 2: Change the tense to show a change in time from one event to another event.

Sometimes you will need to change the tense of your writing to explain an idea that involves different time frames.

See the example below:

Last year I learned how to bake bread. Now, I often bake bread for my friends.

In this example, the writer expresses a past event (learning to bake bread last year) and a current, regular event that happens in the present (making bread for friends). This change in tense is correct because it allows the writer to express two ideas that take place in different time frames.

Tense Guideline 3: When changing tenses, use signal words to show the change.

As you learned earlier, sometimes you need to change the tense of your writing to explain ideas that occur in different time frames. When you do this, use words that tell the reader that you are changing the time frame.

Let’s look at the example we used earlier. What signal words did the writer use to show the change in tense?

Last year I learned how to bake bread. Now, I often bake bread for my friends.

In this example, the writer uses the phrase last year to tell about something that happened in the past. In the next sentence, the writer uses the word now to express something that happens in the present.

See the chart below for some common signal word. These words can help your readers know which tense you will be using:

Practice Problems

1. True or False: When writing, change the tense if there is a change in time from one event to another event.

2. What is the correct verb to complete the sentence below? Am, or was?

Late last night I went to a dance; now I ___ tired.

3. What is the correct verb to complete the sentence below? Practice, or practiced?

Every day Luis and Tina ___ playing their instruments.

4. What is the correct verb to complete the sentence below? Slept, or will sleep?

Tomorrow I ___ all day.

5. What is the correct verb to complete the sentence below? Go, or went?

After we finished our homework, we ___ on a walk.

Need More Help?

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