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AVOIDING UNNECESSARY SHIFTS IN TENSE

AVOIDING UNNECESSARY SHIFTS IN TENSE. TENSE. The tense of a verb is simply an indication of when the action described is taking place. Three Main Tenses: 1. Past 2. Present 3. Future. RULE: STICK WITH ONE TENSE WHEN DESCRIBING ACTIONS RELATED TO A SINGLE EVENT. Example:

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AVOIDING UNNECESSARY SHIFTS IN TENSE

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  1. AVOIDING UNNECESSARY SHIFTS IN TENSE

  2. TENSE • The tense of a verb is simply an indication of when the action described is taking place. • Three Main Tenses: 1. Past 2. Present 3. Future

  3. RULE: STICK WITH ONE TENSE WHEN DESCRIBING ACTIONS RELATED TO A SINGLE EVENT • Example: • Sammy hit the ball and ran. He scored a run, and his team won. (PAST) • Sammy hits the ball and runs. He scores a run, and his team wins. (PRESENT)

  4. MODEL • WRONG—Sammy clobbered the ball, and it sails over the centerfield bleachers. Sammy drove in three runs in that game, and the next day he has knocked in three more. • RIGHT—Sammy _________ the ball, and it ______ over the centerfield bleachers. Sammy _______in three runs in that game, and the next day he _______in three more.

  5. CORRECT THE TENSE SHIFTS IN THESE SENTENCES. • We played for three hours after Alicia sings. • You will return to school when you felt better. • They are washing the dishes when the dishwasher broke down. • As the airplane approached the landing, we will be playing checkers. • You draw well at the competition this year! • She stares at the man in the gray suit when he approached her.

  6. THE RULE OF GENERAL TRUTH • You can shift from the past tense to the present tense in the same sentence if the second part of your sentence represents a GENERAL TRUTH. • Examples: In English we learned (past) that many people do not know (present) the basic parts of speech. During the Enlightenment, everyone believed (past) that the earth revolves (present) around the sun.

  7. PRACTICE EXERCISES • Pick the correct form of the verb in parenthesis in each of the following sentences. • 1. Anthony broke the track record and (rushes / rushed) home to tell his family • 2. When Vanessa began her new job as a computer programmer, she (is / was) eager to succeed. • 3. Because I will have no time to cook next week, yesterday I (cook / cooked) a week's worth of dinners. • 4. Thousands of Americans visit the Caribbean islands each winter. Most (go / went) to escape winter snow and ice.

  8. 5. Elio made the dean's list for the third time last semester, although he (took / takes) more courses than he had the semester before. • 6. Working while they attend college is a challenge for many students, but they (managed / manage) by keeping to a tight schedule. • 7. Akane turned off the television, told the children to sit down at the table, and (served / serve) dinner. • 8. As women in America fought for the right to vote, some men, and even some women, (believe / believed) that this change would spell disaster for family life. • 9. Many parents supervise their children's television viewing and (chose / choose) suitable programs for them. • 10. Yussuf studied political science in his native Egypt, but now he (studied / studies) computer science in the United States.

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