Verb Tense

ENG302 : The Class : The Process : Final Preparation : Verb Tense
Verb Tense

Verb Tense

Generally speaking, the most important rule about verb tense is to keep it consistent. Unless the meaning of the sentence or paragraph demands a change in tense, keep the tense the same throughout.

When the engineers studied the proposal, they found out what they needed to know.

When the engineers study the proposal, they find out what they need to know.

However, the principle of consistency still leaves unanswered the question of which tense to select in the first place. Usually the rhetorical context deter-mines the choice of tense for a particular piece of writing; however, a few general rules can be stated.

1. Sentences referring to completed events or beliefs no longer held are put in the past tense.

During the experiment, the white mice ran the wrong way in the maze.

Early scientists did not understand the circulation of the blood.

Columbus believed the earth was flat.

2. Sentences referring to events still in progress or beliefs still held to be true are put in the present tense.

The sun rises in the east.

The data indicate that saccharin is a carcinogen.

The experiment is progressing on schedule.

3. References to written reports, whether your own or someone else’s are put in the present tense.

This report covers the period from 1919-1927.

Table 6 shows the results of last year's experiment.

According to Smithson's report last week, the greatest health risk is smoking.

Sometimes these guidelines become contradictory. For instance, if you refer to a completed experiment cited in another author's written report, rule 1 suggests the past tense, but rule 3 suggests the present. In such cases, no rule can substitute for intelligent consideration of the rhetorical context, and common sense. In the context of reporting experimental results, you would write:

According to Smithson's report, the smokers had more instances of lung cancer than the nonsmokers.

But in the context of giving the conclusion or overall findings of the experiment, you would write:

According to Smithson's report, the smokers have more instances of lung cancer than the nonsmokers.

Finally, in choosing verb tense, as in applying almost any grammatical rule, remember George Orwell's last rule for good writers: "Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous."

Even verb tense consistency, generally a good rule to follow, should be broken on occasion:

Now that I am thirty years old, my early experiments do not seem nearly as important as they did before.

E-mail Greg Larkin at Gregory.Larkin@nau.edu
or call (520) 523-4911

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