The tenses tag has no wiki summary.
1
vote
4answers
337 views
Which tense should I use when writing a post about a journey?
What tense could I use when I write about a journey? Suppose if I write about a train journey and describe the countryside, would using a present tense create a deeper impact to the reader? I could ...
1
vote
2answers
67 views
Tenses I should use in a translated-novel
I have been translating a novel that is originally written in my native language into English. Considering that the book's plot is the author's experience of a life that has happened in the past, I've ...
3
votes
5answers
723 views
Which tense to use when writing a diary?
For writing diary content every day, which English tense is appropriate to use?
Things have all happened already. I usually write late at night (end of the day) or the next day.
Should I use ...
3
votes
3answers
92 views
Proper use of the “historical present tense”
I am thinking of employing the historical present tense in a first-person narrative (to achieve a greater level of immediacy). The problem is that I am telling the story in a non-linear manner, i.e. ...
7
votes
3answers
107 views
Switching from past to present tense?
I'm thinking of writing a novel where my character narrates flashbacks through the hardest times of his life written in past tense, leading up to the present tense. I was considering switching to ...
0
votes
1answer
190 views
Problems with past tenses in formal paper on a novel with MLA Format
I have been writing high school English paper on a novel in MLA format. Is there any rule about using past participle or past imperfect? Throughout the essay there have been many places that can be ...
2
votes
2answers
292 views
Should a long flashback be written in first or third person?
In my novel there will be a chapter-length flashback as one character relates a story from his past. The rest of the novel is written in limited third-person, seeing into one person's mind at a time.
...
4
votes
1answer
188 views
What tense to use in an academic paper when speaking about correspondence?
What is the correct tense to use in an academic paper when speaking about correspondence? Say one of my source materials is a letter written by someone named William, in which he says he went to the ...
3
votes
2answers
268 views
Use of present-tense for memory-related shenanigans in a past-tense story
I'm writing a story in past tense, in first person. The character is discussing the vagaries of his memory of events in the further past. "I remembered" seems to have the wrong connotation here - he ...
3
votes
2answers
995 views
Should a flashback be in past tense or past perfect?
Assuming the story itself is in past tense, normally when I go further into the past I'd use past perfect:
He had first met her at the grocery store, six months prior.
However, which is more ...
5
votes
2answers
513 views
Tense of Literary Essay
When writing a literary essay in English what tense should be used:
Past as in:
Gatsby’s parties were ostentatious and exquisite
Or present as in:
Gatsby’s parties are ostentatious and ...
7
votes
3answers
2k views
Use of past vs. present tense in works of fiction
I have recently picked up several works of fiction and begun to read them. I have found that some are written using past tense while others use the present tense.
What is the significance of using ...
4
votes
2answers
718 views
Pros ans cons of writing a plot based on the present and past tense (character's point of view)?
I'm not sure if I should write my first book in the present or past tense.
The book is about a doctor in a clinic who is analysing his patients.
e.g.
I said, VS I say.
I thought for a while ...
7
votes
3answers
628 views
Third-person objective in action scene
I'm telling a story in third-person objective, the first part being basically an objective description of events around a certain character. I got to a brief action scene, and it fell flat. What the ...
