ERROR 8: INCONSISTENT VERB TENSE
Definition
Verb tense consistency requires that a writer maintain the same basic tense throughout a piece of writing unless there is a clear, logical reason to shift tenses. Unnecessary or illogical shifts in verb tense disrupt the reader’s understanding of when events occur, making the timeline of a narrative or argument confusing and difficult to follow.
There are legitimate reasons to shift tenses: when discussing events that occurred at different times, when writing a narrative that includes flashbacks, when quoting directly from a text, or when moving between historical fact and present analysis. These intentional shifts are not errors. The errors occur when a writer begins in one tense — say, the simple past — and then slips into the simple present or the present perfect within the same paragraph or even the same sentence without any logical reason for the change.
Tense shifts are particularly common in storytelling and academic writing. In narrative writing, the literary present tense convention (writing about fiction in the present tense: ‘Hamlet says,’ ‘the protagonist discovers’) is standard, and switching to past tense within that convention is an error. In academic writing, using past tense to describe a study’s methods but present tense to state its conclusions is generally acceptable and even expected — but random shifts are not.
Rules
RULE: Choose a primary tense for each piece of writing and maintain it consistently throughout unless a logical shift is required.
RULE: When writing about literary works, use the present tense (the ‘literary present’): ‘In his novel, Fitzgerald portrays the American Dream as…’
RULE: When describing a completed scientific study, use past tense for methods and results, but present tense for conclusions and ongoing truths.
RULE: When you must shift tenses, make the shift clear and logical. Use time markers (earlier, previously, now, in the future, at that point) to help orient the reader.
Examples
✗ She walked into the room and sees him sitting by the window.
✓ She walked into the room and saw him sitting by the window.
✗ The researcher collected the data and then analyzes it using three different methods.
✓ The researcher collected the data and then analyzed it using three different methods.
✗ In the novel, Atticus Finch defended Tom Robinson and showed great moral courage. He refuses to give up even when the town turned against him.
✓ In the novel, Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson and shows great moral courage. He refuses to give up even when the town turns against him. [Literary present throughout]
✗ The company launched the new product in March. Sales grew quickly. The marketing team is very pleased with the response.
✓ The company launched the new product in March. Sales grew quickly. The marketing team was very pleased with the response.
✗ He had just arrived when his phone rings and his boss is asking him to come back to the office.
✓ He had just arrived when his phone rang and his boss asked him to come back to the office.
✗ I was reading the report when I notice something wrong with the data.
✓ I was reading the report when I noticed something wrong with the data.
✗ The students completed the exam, and then they are allowed to leave.
✓ The students completed the exam, and then they were allowed to leave.
✗ The manager reviews the budget every month. Last month she had found a significant error.
✓ The manager reviews the budget every month. Last month she found a significant error.
✗ Scientists study the effects of climate change for decades. They documented rising temperatures worldwide.
✓ Scientists have studied the effects of climate change for decades. They have documented rising temperatures worldwide.
✗ She opened the letter, read it slowly, and starts to cry.
✓ She opened the letter, read it slowly, and started to cry.
Extended Dialogue
In this dialogue, college freshman Tyler is working with his writing center tutor, Gabrielle, on his first literary analysis essay.
Gabrielle: Tyler, your argument about ‘The Great Gatsby’ is really insightful. Let’s work on your verb tenses, because they jump around a lot.
Tyler: I thought I used past tense for everything since Fitzgerald wrote the book in the past.
Gabrielle: That’s a very common assumption. But there’s a convention in literary analysis called the ‘literary present.’ When we talk about what happens in a book — what characters do, what the author shows — we use present tense, even though the book was written long ago.
Tyler: Really? So I shouldn’t say ‘Gatsby loved Daisy’?
Gabrielle: In a literary analysis, you’d say ‘Gatsby loves Daisy’ — present tense — because every time a reader opens the book, Gatsby loves Daisy. The events of the story exist permanently in the present tense of the text.
Tyler: That’s strange but okay. So what did I do wrong?
Gabrielle: You mixed it up. You wrote: ‘Fitzgerald shows Gatsby’s obsession in the early chapters. In Chapter 5, Gatsby met Daisy again after five years. He was nervous and trembles.’ See the shift?
[Note: ‘Shows’ is present tense (literary present — correct). ‘Met’ is past (incorrect shift). ‘Was nervous’ is past (incorrect), and then ‘trembles’ is present again. The tenses are inconsistent throughout.]
Tyler: I switched from present to past to present again?
Gabrielle: Exactly. Once you commit to the literary present, stay in it: ‘Fitzgerald shows Gatsby’s obsession in the early chapters. In Chapter 5, Gatsby meets Daisy again after five years. He is nervous and trembles.’
Tyler: What if I’m talking about the historical context — like when Fitzgerald actually wrote the book?
Gabrielle: Then you shift to past tense intentionally and make it clear: ‘Fitzgerald wrote the novel in 1925, drawing on his own experiences in New York. In the novel itself, he presents Gatsby as…’ You’re distinguishing between Fitzgerald’s biography (past) and the novel’s content (present).
Tyler: That makes sense. Biographical facts get past tense; story events get present tense.
Gabrielle: Exactly right. The key with any tense issue is intentionality — are you shifting tenses on purpose and with a reason? Or are you just slipping?
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