Grammar: The Consistency of Tenses

There are ways to use the tenses and ways to not use the tenses and the following is a brief illustration of when and how to use the tenses. It shows the importance of being consistent in the use of these tenses.

Don’t shift, or change, tenses when two or more events occur at the same time. EG INCORRECT: The dogs caught sight of the cat, and at the same time chase it. [The tense needlessly shifts from the past to the present.]

CORRECT: The dogs caught sight of the cat, and at the same time chased it. [Now it is clear that both events happened at nearly the same time.]

Do shift tenses to show that one event precedes or follows another. EG. INCORRECT: By the time the omelet was ready, I set the table. [The two past-tense verbs give the mistaken impression that both events-the omelet’s cooking and the setting of the table-happened at the same time.]

CORRECT: By the time the omelet was ready, I had set the table. [The shift from the past tense (was)  to the past perfect tense (had set) clearly shows that setting the table happened before the omelet was cooked.]

Keep a statement about a general truth in the present tense even if other verb are in the past tense. EG. “We learned that water expands when it freezes.”