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Many languages, in order to distinguish between the past, present and future, have something called "verb tenses". Trouble occurs when someone makes the common amateur writing mistake of unintentionally shifting to a different tense. Most commonly, this involves shifting between past and present tense, and seems to most often come up in describing actions after a piece of dialogue.
----
'''NOTE:''' On a site such as this one which is largely concerned with the discussion of fiction, it is important to note that '''events which take place in a fictional timeline should properly be phrased exclusively in the present tense, although events that take place in the real world in relation to them may be in the past or future tense as necessary.''' For example, "Yesterday I watched the episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' in which Picard is assimilated," or, "Next season on ''Series/GameOfThrones'' we will finally get to watch as Joffrey gets his comeuppance." ''See also:'' Administrivia/HowToWriteAnExample.
----
For example, when I finish writing it, and press the 'save' button, this sentence will be written on this screen in future tense. Ordinarily, however, as I am now doing, I would write this sentence in present tense. Just as while I had written the previous sentence in present tense, this sentence was written in past tense. Unless there is some special reason - a flashback or someone describing something that had happened, in which case past tense is used; or if someone is describing an expected future event, then future tense should be used - writing is usually done in present tense.
If a less experienced writer inserts a quote in past tense here, like "He trashed the place!", [[SelfDemonstratingArticle they tended to fall]] into the past tense afterward, copying the tense of the quote.
More often, the issue is flipped the other way; the characters are speaking in the present tense while the story is being told in the past tense, and the writer has trouble switching from the immediacy of the dialog to the narration perspective, so you got things like this:
--> He looked up. "The sky is falling!" he says.
The correct tense usage would be:
--> He looked up. "The sky is falling!" he said.
or
--> He looks up. "The sky is falling!" he says.
People tend to relate experienced events in the past tense (as one would expect), but relate events they are creating in the present tense (as they are creating them). This switch in tenses can sometimes be used to judge the veracity of witness statements. It also explains why authors might drop into the present tense when they are writing a piece of the story that they hadn't planned out to begin with.
Oddly enough, the above description fits Japanese prose writing pretty well; states of being are generally described in the present tense if they are in the "present" of the narrative. (Singular acts, such as dialogue, are generally reported in the past tense.) It also has no "tense agreement" rule for embedded sentences, so that dependent clauses need not take the same tense as that of the overall sentence: the sentence "She thought that he was in the kitchen" would have been more literally rendered as "She thought that he '''is''' in the kitchen". Of course, attempts to use the Japanese language in English-language FanFic usually results in a [[GratuitousJapanese completely different trope]]...
Also note that English is rather strict when it comes to the correct use of tenses; closely related languages like German and Dutch have somewhat more relaxed (some would say 'inconsistent') rules.
In English, as in many Indoeuropean languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shares similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wishes to convey possibility, desire, or something contrary to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly can look like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''... then I ''would be''", and so forth. The Subjunctive is most common in a First Person Narrative, when the character is reflecting, remembering, or giving an opinion. [[note]]Although, English - luckily enough - is rather loose with the use of the subjunctive (some would say [[RunningGag 'inconsistent']]) when compared to languages such as Spanish. For example, ''if I was going to'' is used as frequently as the grammatically-correct ''if I were going to''.[[/note]]
Confusion can also arise with the ''perfect'' tenses (which are not technically tenses of their own, but an ''aspect''). The past tense "He saw them in the kitchen" and the past-perfect "He had seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect serves as a "double past-tense", for talking about things that happened before the events being discussed, which are themselves in the past. For constructions that ought logically to use a triple-past-tense, English grammar shrugs and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'. The narration is in the past; from that point, she 'had thought' something previously; at that previous point, she thought he 'had done it' at some even earlier point. Tenseption.
Another common tense issue is the progressive aspect. "Doing X, he did Y" meant that he did X and Y at the same time, not that he did X ''followed by'' Y. For the latter, you would say "Having done X, he did Y" (if X and Y are related actions), or "He did X, then he did Y" (if they aren't). For example:
--> Grabbing his helmet, he walked to the motorcycle.
...is correct; he grabs the helmet while walking. However,
--> Opening the garage door, he raced into the street.
...is not; these two things don't happen at the same time. The right way to say it would be:
--> He opened the garage door and raced into the street.
This mistake is described in the Website/TurkeyCityLexicon under "Not Simultaneous".
Related to this trope is TimeTravelTenseTrouble, where tense confusion is caused by a conflict in the chronological order of history versus the order in which the character(s) or audience experienced it.
----
'''NOTE:''' On a site such as this one which is largely concerned with the discussion of fiction, it is important to note that '''events which take place in a fictional timeline should properly be phrased exclusively in the present tense, although events that take place in the real world in relation to them may be in the past or future tense as necessary.''' For example, "Yesterday I watched the episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' in which Picard is assimilated," or, "Next season on ''Series/GameOfThrones'' we will finally get to watch as Joffrey gets his comeuppance." ''See also:'' Administrivia/HowToWriteAnExample.
----
For example, when I finish writing it, and press the 'save' button, this sentence will be written on this screen in future tense. Ordinarily, however, as I am now doing, I would write this sentence in present tense. Just as while I had written the previous sentence in present tense, this sentence was written in past tense. Unless there is some special reason - a flashback or someone describing something that had happened, in which case past tense is used; or if someone is describing an expected future event, then future tense should be used - writing is usually done in present tense.
If a less experienced writer inserts a quote in past tense here, like "He trashed the place!", [[SelfDemonstratingArticle they tended to fall]] into the past tense afterward, copying the tense of the quote.
More often, the issue is flipped the other way; the characters are speaking in the present tense while the story is being told in the past tense, and the writer has trouble switching from the immediacy of the dialog to the narration perspective, so you got things like this:
--> He looked up. "The sky is falling!" he says.
The correct tense usage would be:
--> He looked up. "The sky is falling!" he said.
or
--> He looks up. "The sky is falling!" he says.
People tend to relate experienced events in the past tense (as one would expect), but relate events they are creating in the present tense (as they are creating them). This switch in tenses can sometimes be used to judge the veracity of witness statements. It also explains why authors might drop into the present tense when they are writing a piece of the story that they hadn't planned out to begin with.
Oddly enough, the above description fits Japanese prose writing pretty well; states of being are generally described in the present tense if they are in the "present" of the narrative. (Singular acts, such as dialogue, are generally reported in the past tense.) It also has no "tense agreement" rule for embedded sentences, so that dependent clauses need not take the same tense as that of the overall sentence: the sentence "She thought that he was in the kitchen" would have been more literally rendered as "She thought that he '''is''' in the kitchen". Of course, attempts to use the Japanese language in English-language FanFic usually results in a [[GratuitousJapanese completely different trope]]...
Also note that English is rather strict when it comes to the correct use of tenses; closely related languages like German and Dutch have somewhat more relaxed (some would say 'inconsistent') rules.
In English, as in many Indoeuropean languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shares similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wishes to convey possibility, desire, or something contrary to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly can look like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''... then I ''would be''", and so forth. The Subjunctive is most common in a First Person Narrative, when the character is reflecting, remembering, or giving an opinion. [[note]]Although, English - luckily enough - is rather loose with the use of the subjunctive (some would say [[RunningGag 'inconsistent']]) when compared to languages such as Spanish. For example, ''if I was going to'' is used as frequently as the grammatically-correct ''if I were going to''.[[/note]]
Confusion can also arise with the ''perfect'' tenses (which are not technically tenses of their own, but an ''aspect''). The past tense "He saw them in the kitchen" and the past-perfect "He had seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect serves as a "double past-tense", for talking about things that happened before the events being discussed, which are themselves in the past. For constructions that ought logically to use a triple-past-tense, English grammar shrugs and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'. The narration is in the past; from that point, she 'had thought' something previously; at that previous point, she thought he 'had done it' at some even earlier point. Tenseption.
Another common tense issue is the progressive aspect. "Doing X, he did Y" meant that he did X and Y at the same time, not that he did X ''followed by'' Y. For the latter, you would say "Having done X, he did Y" (if X and Y are related actions), or "He did X, then he did Y" (if they aren't). For example:
--> Grabbing his helmet, he walked to the motorcycle.
...is correct; he grabs the helmet while walking. However,
--> Opening the garage door, he raced into the street.
...is not; these two things don't happen at the same time. The right way to say it would be:
--> He opened the garage door and raced into the street.
This mistake is described in the Website/TurkeyCityLexicon under "Not Simultaneous".
Related to this trope is TimeTravelTenseTrouble, where tense confusion is caused by a conflict in the chronological order of history versus the order in which the character(s) or audience experienced it.
to:
Now, it might be tempting to use this page as a way to point and laugh at people with bad English. But that wouldn't just be mean and unfair; it would also be less ''useful''. Indeed, a big part of this page is to combat complacency from people whose English is normally really good.
If you look at Administrivia/HowToWriteAnExample, you'll find that most examples should be written in the present tense. This is because most of our examples refer to creative works. Since those works tell a story, the best way to describe them is to tell the story again. So it makes sense for everything to be in the present tense; it's a kind of narration. This is in contrast to the way a story is told in the work itself; if you're reading a book, you usually find things narrated in the ''past'' tense. But that's a byproduct of the LiteraryAgentHypothesis; the narrator in this case is someone ''inside'' the fictional universe, for whom everything has already happened. Using the present tense on TV Tropes allows us to narrate the story and make clear that we're ''outside'' the fictional universe and can experience everything whenever we want.
So, instead of
->In ''AliceAndBob'', Bob gave Alice a ForcefulKiss. Alice [[SlapSlapKiss slapped him]].
which would be what you might find in the work itself, you should write
->In ''AliceAndBob'', Bob gives Alice a ForcefulKiss. Alice slaps him.
This shows that we're not inserting ourselves into the work's universe.
Simple, right? Except nothing is ''quite'' that simple. There are a few things you need to keep in mind when figuring out which tense you should use on the wiki:
!!!'''Keep it consistent'''
This is the number-one problem we see with using tenses. If you start in the present, you ''stay'' in the present. If you start in the past, you ''stay'' in the past. Sometimes, though, users lose track of where they started and switch between the
->'''[[green:Right:]]''' Bob gives Alice a ForcefulKiss. Alice slaps him.\\
'''(Both sentences in present
--\\
'''[[green:Right:]]''' Bob gave Alice a ForcefulKiss. Alice slapped him.\\
'''(Both sentences in past tense. Correct, albeit tonally not what we're looking for.)'''\\
--\\
'''[[red:Wrong:]]''' Bob gives Alice a ForcefulKiss. Alice slapped him.\\
'''(Transitions from present to past.)'''\\
--\\
'''[[red:Wrong:]]''' Bob gave Alice a ForcefulKiss. Alice slaps him.\\
'''(Transitions from past to present.)'''
It's easy to see what to do here, because the sentences are relatively short. If you're writing something
!!!'''Write around dialogue'''
One thing that trips people up is when
->Alice asks Bob, "What do you think you're doing?"\\
--\\
Alice asked Bob, "WhatWereYouThinking"\\
--\\
Alice asked Bob, "What do you think you're doing?"\\
--\\
Alice asks Bob, "WhatWereYouThinking"\\
'''(Even though the quotation is in past
----
'''NOTE:''' On a site such as this one which is largely concerned
So far, so good. But the problem arises when you continue writing beyond then. If you switch tenses to accurately quote dialogue, you might forget to switch ''back''. This is one way you can lose track of the tense you're using. Compare:
->'''[[green:Right:]]''' Alice asks Bob, "What were you thinking?" Bob shrugs.\\
'''(The quotation is properly in past tense, but everything else is in present tense.)'''\\
--\\
'''[[green:Right:]]''' Alice asked Bob, "What do you think you're doing?" Bob shrugged.\\
'''(Same as above, but with the tenses reversed.)'''\\
--\\
'''[[red:Wrong:]]''' Alice asks Bob, "What were you thinking?" Bob shrugged.\\
'''(Transitions from present to past. But you can see how easy it is to make this mistake; the quotation is in past tense. You naturally want to ''keep'' writing in past tense. But you switched from present to past, and you have to remember to switch back.)'''\\
--\\
'''[[red:Wrong:]]''' Alice asked Bob, "What do you think you're doing?" Bob shrugs.\\
'''(Same as above, but with the tenses reversed.)'''
Then we get to ''indirect'' quotations. Now that we're not quoting directly, you still have to make things match. However, it's not technically ''wrong'' to switch tenses when quoting indirectly. You just need to make sure you've got the sequence of events right. Compare:
->'''[[green:Right:]]''' Alice asks Bob what he thinks he's doing.\\
'''(Same implication as with a direct quotation.)'''\\
--\\
'''[[green:Right:]]''' Alice asks Bob what he was thinking.\\
'''(Same implication as with a direct quotation, even though the tenses change. It's important that Bob is done thinking by the time Alice asks him about it.)'''\\
--\\
'''Ambiguous:''' Alice asked Bob what he thinks he's doing.\\
'''(Technically correct, but not pretty. This implies that Alice asked Bob what he was thinking at some point in the past, ''and'' Bob is still thinking in the present.)'''
Indirect speech is important to
->Alice asks Bob what he was thinking. Bob shrugs.\\
--\\
Alice asks Bob why he did that. Bob shrugs.\\
--\\
Alice asks Bob where he learned to kiss like that. Bob shrugs again.\\
--\\
Alice asks Bob who taught him to kiss like that. Bob refuses to tell.\\
--\\
Alice asks Bob whether someone dropped him on
----
For example, when I finish writing it, and press the 'save' button, this sentence will be written on this screen in future tense. Ordinarily, however,
They all start in present tense,
!!!'''Distinguish tense from aspect'''
Tense is about time -- present (Bob ''gives'' Alice a kiss), past
The ''perfect'' aspect has its own present, past, and future:
->'''Present:''' Bob ''has given'' Alice a kiss.\\
'''(Right now, the action is complete.)'''\\
--\\
'''Past:''' Bob ''had given'' Alice a kiss.\\
'''(In the past, there was a time when the action was already complete. This is
--\\
'''Future:''' Bob ''will have given'' Alice a kiss.\\
'''(At some point in the future, the action will be complete, even if
Some people get confused and think the present
If a less experienced writer inserts a quote
->'''[[green:Right:]]''' Bob turns to ask Alice something, but she has [[StealthHiBye already left the room]].\\
'''(Both are in the present tense. The second sentence is in the perfect aspect, because Alice left the room in the past. But we're looking at the state of affairs right now; the room is empty ''now'', because of something Alice did in the past.)'''\\
--\\
'''[[green:Right:]]''' Bob turned to ask Alice something, but she had already left the room.\\
'''(Both are in the past
--\\
'''[[red:Wrong:]]''' Bob turned to ask Alice something, but she has already left the room.\\
'''(Transitions from past to present. The second sentence tells us that the room is empty ''now'', but Bob isn't turning to ask her something now. He did that in the past, and we don't know if the room was empty yet when he did.)'''\\
--\\
'''[[red:Wrong:]]''' Bob turns to ask Alice something, but she had already left the room.\\
'''(Transitions from present to past. Why does the room being empty in the past matter when we're looking at Bob turning to ask Alice something ''now''?)'''
There's also the ''progressive'' aspect, which again has a present (Bob ''is giving'' Alice a kiss), past (Bob ''was giving'' Alice a kiss), and future (Bob ''will be giving'' Alice a kiss). Generally speaking, though, you'd only really use it for indirect stuff, like "Alice asks Bob what he thinks he ''is doing''." You wouldn't write a trope example to read, "Bob ''is giving'' Alice a kiss" -- not unless we cut away in the middle of the
More often,
Some languages don't even use proper tense; they simply just add on perfect or progressive aspect. Japanese is a good example, and this is part of the
--> He looked up. "The sky is falling!" he says.
The correct tense usage would be:
--> He looked up. "The sky is falling!" he said.
or
--> He looks up. "The sky is falling!" he says.
People tend to relate experienced events in the past tense (as one would expect), but relate events they are creating in
Oddly enough, the above description fits Japanese prose writing pretty well; states of being are generally described in the present tense if they are in the "present" of the narrative. (Singular acts, such as dialogue, are generally reported in the past tense.) It also has no "tense agreement" rule for embedded sentences, so that dependent clauses need not take
!!!'''Distinguish tense from mood'''
There's also such a thing as
Also note that English is rather strict when it comes to the correct use of tenses; closely related languages like German and Dutch have somewhat more relaxed (some would say 'inconsistent') rules.
In English, as in many Indoeuropean languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal
Confusion can also arise with the ''perfect'' tenses (which are not technically tenses of their own, but an ''aspect'').
!!!'''Treat even non-fiction like an AlternateUniverse'''
You might be thinking that if a
->'''[[green:Right:]]''' In ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}'', the ship [[ForegoneConclusion sinks at the end]].\\
'''(Just how we would put it on the trope page. Administrivia/SpoilersOff, even!)'''\\
--\\
'''Meh:''' In ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}'', the ship sank at the end.\\
'''(Technically correct, but not the best way to write the example. Present tense is preferred, because we're talking about
--\\
'''[[green:Right:]]''' The ''UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic'' sank in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912.\\
'''(Now we're not talking about any work; we're talking about RealLife. This happened
--\\
'''[[red:Wrong:]]''' The ''UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic'' sinks in the Atlantic Ocean in 1912.\\
'''(This makes no sense, because 1912 is quite clearly in the past.
Another common
Now, we can ''overlay'' RealLife on the production process of a fictional work, allowing you to describe certain things in the past or future tense
--> Grabbing his helmet, he walked
->'''Meh:''' Bob kissed Alice in last week's episode.\\
'''(Correct, but problematic for two reasons. First, you can still watch last week's episode now, and it works better to use the present tense. Second, Administrivia/ExamplesAreNotRecent. By sticking to the
...
--> Opening
--\\
'''Better:''' Last week, audiences saw Bob kiss Alice.\\
'''(Still has the
...
--\\
'''Even better:''' The episode in which Bob first kisses Alice aired in UsefulNotes/TheNineties.\\
'''(The InUniverse event -- Bob kissing Alice -- is
--> He opened the garage door and raced into the street.
This mistake
Related to this trope is TimeTravelTenseTrouble, where tense confusion is caused by a conflict in the chronological order of history versus the order
--\\
'''Meh:''' The episode in which Alice reciprocates Bob's feelings will air next month.\\
'''(Although these are both correct in terms of tense, this is Administrivia/SpeculativeTroping. We don't actually have the
!!!'''Treat causality based on the work itself.'''
If you're dealing with TimeTravel, you'll deal with TimeTravelTenseTrouble. On the wiki, we resolve this by simply using what the work gives us, regardless of what the timeline within the work would see. Now, this doesn't mean that you would use the future tense to refer to something that happens in a {{Flashback}}, but the narrative itself will follow one character or another and use them as a reference point for everything else. Consider:
->'''[[green:Right:]]''' In ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', when Marty first hops into the [=DeLorean=], he doesn't know he will encounter his parents in the past.\\
'''(Even though, to an "outside" observer in the film's universe, Marty encounters his parents ''before'' he first hops into the [=DeLorean=], the film is told from Marty's perspective, and from his perspective, he hops into the time machine first.)'''\\
--\\
'''[[red:Wrong:]]''' In ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', when Marty first hops into the [=DeLorean=], he doesn't know he encountered his parents in the past.\\
'''(This sends the wrong implication. It implies that Marty, even by his own perspective, met his parents in the past but doesn't remember it for whatever reason. Even if there's a StableTimeLoop, and Marty [[YouAlreadyChangedThePast already changed the past]] -- which is ''not'' the case for this particular film -- it makes more sense to write Marty's encounter in the future tense, because this is how the audience
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Changed line(s) 9,10 (click to see context) from:
For example, when I finish writing it, and press the 'save' button, this sentence will be written on this screen in future tense. Ordinarily, however, as I am now doing I would write this sentence in present tense. Just as while I had written the previous sentence in present tense, this sentence was written in past tense. Unless there is some special reason - a flashback or someone describing something that had happened, in which case past tense is used; or if someone is describing an expected future event, then future tense should be used - writing is usually done in present tense.
to:
For example, when I finish writing it, and press the 'save' button, this sentence will be written on this screen in future tense. Ordinarily, however, as I am now doing doing, I would write this sentence in present tense. Just as while I had written the previous sentence in present tense, this sentence was written in past tense. Unless there is some special reason - a flashback or someone describing something that had happened, in which case past tense is used; or if someone is describing an expected future event, then future tense should be used - writing is usually done in present tense.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 9,10 (click to see context) from:
For example, this sentence is written in present tense. If a less experienced writer inserts a quote in past tense here, like "He trashed the place!", [[SelfDemonstratingArticle they tended to fall]] into the past tense afterward, copying the tense of the quote.
to:
For example, when I finish writing it, and press the 'save' button, this sentence is will be written on this screen in future tense. Ordinarily, however, as I am now doing I would write this sentence in present tense. Just as while I had written the previous sentence in present tense, this sentence was written in past tense. Unless there is some special reason - a flashback or someone describing something that had happened, in which case past tense is used; or if someone is describing an expected future event, then future tense should be used - writing is usually done in present tense.
If a less experienced writer inserts a quote in past tense here, like "He trashed the place!", [[SelfDemonstratingArticle they tended to fall]] into the past tense afterward, copying the tense of the quote.
If a less experienced writer inserts a quote in past tense here, like "He trashed the place!", [[SelfDemonstratingArticle they tended to fall]] into the past tense afterward, copying the tense of the quote.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
This is a Useful Notes page, not a trope.
Changed line(s) 1,2 (click to see context) from:
Many languages, in order to distinguish between the past, present and future, have something called "verb tenses". This trope happens when someone makes the common amateur writing mistake of unintentionally shifting to a different tense. Most commonly, this involves shifting between past and present tense, and seems to most often come up in describing actions after a piece of dialogue.
to:
Many languages, in order to distinguish between the past, present and future, have something called "verb tenses". This trope happens Trouble occurs when someone makes the common amateur writing mistake of unintentionally shifting to a different tense. Most commonly, this involves shifting between past and present tense, and seems to most often come up in describing actions after a piece of dialogue.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 27,28 (click to see context) from:
In English, and in many romance languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shares similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wishes to convey possibility, desire, or something contrary to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly can look like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''... then I ''would be''", and so forth. The Subjunctive is most common in a First Person Narrative, when the character is reflecting, remembering, or giving an opinion. [[note]]Although, English - luckily enough - is rather loose with the use of the subjunctive (some would say [[RunningGag 'inconsistent']]) when compared to languages such as Spanish. For example, ''if I was going to'' is used as frequently as the grammatically-correct ''if I were going to''.[[/note]]
to:
In English, and as in many romance Indoeuropean languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shares similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wishes to convey possibility, desire, or something contrary to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly can look like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''... then I ''would be''", and so forth. The Subjunctive is most common in a First Person Narrative, when the character is reflecting, remembering, or giving an opinion. [[note]]Although, English - luckily enough - is rather loose with the use of the subjunctive (some would say [[RunningGag 'inconsistent']]) when compared to languages such as Spanish. For example, ''if I was going to'' is used as frequently as the grammatically-correct ''if I were going to''.[[/note]]
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Changed line(s) 5,6 (click to see context) from:
'''NOTE:''' On a site such as this one which is largely concerned with the discussion of fiction, it is important to note that '''events which take place in a fictional timeline should properly be phrased exclusively in the present tense, although events that take place in the real world in relation to them may be in the past or future tense as necessary.''' For example, "Yesterday I watched the episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' in which Picard is assimilated," or, "Next season on ''Series/GameOfThrones'' we will finally get to watch as Joffrey gets his comeuppance."
to:
'''NOTE:''' On a site such as this one which is largely concerned with the discussion of fiction, it is important to note that '''events which take place in a fictional timeline should properly be phrased exclusively in the present tense, although events that take place in the real world in relation to them may be in the past or future tense as necessary.''' For example, "Yesterday I watched the episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' in which Picard is assimilated," or, "Next season on ''Series/GameOfThrones'' we will finally get to watch as Joffrey gets his comeuppance."
" ''See also:'' Administrivia/HowToWriteAnExample.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
namespace move turkey city lexicon
Changed line(s) 43,44 (click to see context) from:
This mistake is described in the Webpage/TurkeyCityLexicon under "Not Simultaneous".
to:
This mistake is described in the Webpage/TurkeyCityLexicon Website/TurkeyCityLexicon under "Not Simultaneous".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
namespace move turkey city lexicon
Changed line(s) 43,44 (click to see context) from:
This mistake is described in the TurkeyCityLexicon under "Not Simultaneous".
to:
This mistake is described in the TurkeyCityLexicon Webpage/TurkeyCityLexicon under "Not Simultaneous".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
On a site such as this one which is largely concerned with the discussion of fiction, it is important to note that '''events which take place in a fictional timeline should properly be phrased exclusively in the present tense, although events that take place in the real world in relation to them may be in the past or future tense as necessary.''' For example, "Yesterday I watched the episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' in which Picard is assimilated," or, "Next season on ''Series/GameOfThrones'' we will finally get to watch as Joffrey gets his comeuppance."
to:
----
'''NOTE:''' On a site such as this one which is largely concerned with the discussion of fiction, it is important to note that '''events which take place in a fictional timeline should properly be phrased exclusively in the present tense, although events that take place in the real world in relation to them may be in the past or future tense as necessary.''' For example, "Yesterday I watched the episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' in which Picard is assimilated," or, "Next season on ''Series/GameOfThrones'' we will finally get to watch as Joffrey gets his comeuppance."
"
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'''NOTE:''' On a site such as this one which is largely concerned with the discussion of fiction, it is important to note that '''events which take place in a fictional timeline should properly be phrased exclusively in the present tense, although events that take place in the real world in relation to them may be in the past or future tense as necessary.''' For example, "Yesterday I watched the episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' in which Picard is assimilated," or, "Next season on ''Series/GameOfThrones'' we will finally get to watch as Joffrey gets his comeuppance.
----
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Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
'''On a site such as this one which is largely concerned with the discussion of fiction, it is important to note that events which take place in a fictional timeline should properly be phrased exclusively in the present tense, although events that take place in the real world in relation to them may be in the past or future tense as necessary. For example, "Yesterday I watched the episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' in which Picard is assimilated," or, "Next season on ''Series/GameOfThrones'' we will finally get to watch as Joffrey gets his comeuppance."'''
to:
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'''On a site such as this one which is largely concerned with the discussion of fiction, it is important to note that events which take place in a fictional timeline should properly be phrased exclusively in the present tense, although events that take place in the real world in relation to them may be in the past or future tense as necessary. For example, "Yesterday I watched the episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' in which Picard is assimilated," or, "Next season on ''Series/GameOfThrones'' we will finally get to watch as Joffrey gets his comeuppance."'''
Deleted line(s) 21,22 (click to see context) :
On a site such as this one which is largely concerned with the discussion of fiction, it is important to note that events which take place in a fictional timeline should properly be phrased exclusively in the present tense, although events that take place in the real world in relation to them may be in the past or future tense as necessary. For example, "Yesterday I watched the episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' in which Picard is assimilated," or, "Next season on ''Series/GameOfThrones'' we will finally get to watch as Joffrey gets his comeuppance."
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Changed line(s) 25,26 (click to see context) from:
Confusion can also arise with the ''perfect'' tenses (which are not technically tenses of their own, but an ''aspect''). The past tense "He saw them in the kitchen" and the past-perfect "He had seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect serves as a "double past-tense", for talking about things that happened before the events being discussed, which are themselves in the past. For constructions that ought logically to use a triple-past-tense, English grammar shrugs and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'.[[note]]The narration is in the past; from that point, she 'had thought' something previously; at that previous point, she thought he 'had done it' at some even earlier point. Tenseption.
to:
Confusion can also arise with the ''perfect'' tenses (which are not technically tenses of their own, but an ''aspect''). The past tense "He saw them in the kitchen" and the past-perfect "He had seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect serves as a "double past-tense", for talking about things that happened before the events being discussed, which are themselves in the past. For constructions that ought logically to use a triple-past-tense, English grammar shrugs and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'.[[note]]The The narration is in the past; from that point, she 'had thought' something previously; at that previous point, she thought he 'had done it' at some even earlier point. Tenseption.
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Changed line(s) 19,20 (click to see context) from:
Also note that English is rather strict when it comes to the correct use of tenses; closely related languages like German and Dutch have somewhat more relaxed (some would say 'inconsistent') rules.
to:
Also note that English is rather strict when it comes to the correct use of tenses; closely related languages like German and Dutch have somewhat more relaxed (some would say 'inconsistent') rules.
rules.
On a site such as this one which is largely concerned with the discussion of fiction, it is important to note that events which take place in a fictional timeline should properly be phrased exclusively in the present tense, although events that take place in the real world in relation to them may be in the past or future tense as necessary. For example, "Yesterday I watched the episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' in which Picard is assimilated," or, "Next season on ''Series/GameOfThrones'' we will finally get to watch as Joffrey gets his comeuppance."
On a site such as this one which is largely concerned with the discussion of fiction, it is important to note that events which take place in a fictional timeline should properly be phrased exclusively in the present tense, although events that take place in the real world in relation to them may be in the past or future tense as necessary. For example, "Yesterday I watched the episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' in which Picard is assimilated," or, "Next season on ''Series/GameOfThrones'' we will finally get to watch as Joffrey gets his comeuppance."
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Changed line(s) 39 (click to see context) from:
Related to this trope is TimeTravelTenseTrouble, where tense confusion is caused by a conflict in the chronological order of history versus the order in which the character(s) or audience experienced it.
to:
Related to this trope is TimeTravelTenseTrouble, where tense confusion is caused by a conflict in the chronological order of history versus the order in which the character(s) or audience experienced it.it.
----
----
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Changed line(s) 21,22 (click to see context) from:
In English, and in many romance languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shares similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wishes to convey possibility, desire, or something contrary to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly can look like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''... then I ''would be''", and so forth. The Subjunctive is most common in a First Person Narrative, when the character is reflecting, remembering, or giving an opinion. [[note]]Although, English - luckily enough - is rather loose with the use of the subjunctive (some would say [[RunningGag 'inconsistent']]) when compared to languages such as Spanish. For example, ''if I was going to'' is used as frequently as the grammatically-correct ''if I were going to''[[/note]]
to:
In English, and in many romance languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shares similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wishes to convey possibility, desire, or something contrary to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly can look like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''... then I ''would be''", and so forth. The Subjunctive is most common in a First Person Narrative, when the character is reflecting, remembering, or giving an opinion. [[note]]Although, English - luckily enough - is rather loose with the use of the subjunctive (some would say [[RunningGag 'inconsistent']]) when compared to languages such as Spanish. For example, ''if I was going to'' is used as frequently as the grammatically-correct ''if I were going to''[[/note]]
to''.[[/note]]
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Changed line(s) 21,24 (click to see context) from:
In English, and in many romance languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shares similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wishes to convey possibility, desire, or something contrary to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly can look like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''... then I ''would be''", and so forth. The Subjunctive is most common in a First Person Narrative, when the character is reflecting, remembering, or giving an opinion.
Confusion can also arise with the ''perfect'' tenses (which are not technically tenses of their own, but an ''aspect''). The past tense "He saw them in the kitchen" and the past-perfect "He had seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect serves as a "double past-tense", for talking about things that happened before the events being discussed, which are themselves in the past. For constructions that ought logically to use a triple-past-tense, English grammar shrugs and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'.[[note]]The narration is in the past; from that point, she 'had thought' something previously; at that previous point, she thought he 'had done it' at some even earlier point. Tenseption.[[/note]]
Confusion can also arise with the ''perfect'' tenses (which are not technically tenses of their own, but an ''aspect''). The past tense "He saw them in the kitchen" and the past-perfect "He had seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect serves as a "double past-tense", for talking about things that happened before the events being discussed, which are themselves in the past. For constructions that ought logically to use a triple-past-tense, English grammar shrugs and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'.[[note]]The narration is in the past; from that point, she 'had thought' something previously; at that previous point, she thought he 'had done it' at some even earlier point. Tenseption.[[/note]]
to:
In English, and in many romance languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shares similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wishes to convey possibility, desire, or something contrary to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly can look like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''... then I ''would be''", and so forth. The Subjunctive is most common in a First Person Narrative, when the character is reflecting, remembering, or giving an opinion. \n\n [[note]]Although, English - luckily enough - is rather loose with the use of the subjunctive (some would say [[RunningGag 'inconsistent']]) when compared to languages such as Spanish. For example, ''if I was going to'' is used as frequently as the grammatically-correct ''if I were going to''[[/note]]
Confusion can also arise with the ''perfect'' tenses (which are not technically tenses of their own, but an ''aspect''). The past tense "He saw them in the kitchen" and the past-perfect "He had seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect serves as a "double past-tense", for talking about things that happened before the events being discussed, which are themselves in the past. For constructions that ought logically to use a triple-past-tense, English grammar shrugs and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'.[[note]]The narration is in the past; from that point, she 'had thought' something previously; at that previous point, she thought he 'had done it' at some even earlier point.Tenseption.[[/note]]
Tenseption.
Confusion can also arise with the ''perfect'' tenses (which are not technically tenses of their own, but an ''aspect''). The past tense "He saw them in the kitchen" and the past-perfect "He had seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect serves as a "double past-tense", for talking about things that happened before the events being discussed, which are themselves in the past. For constructions that ought logically to use a triple-past-tense, English grammar shrugs and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'.[[note]]The narration is in the past; from that point, she 'had thought' something previously; at that previous point, she thought he 'had done it' at some even earlier point.
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Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
For example, this sentence is written in present tense. If a less experienced writer inserts a quote in past tense here, like "He trashed the place!", they tended to fall into the past tense afterward, copying the tense of the quote.
to:
For example, this sentence is written in present tense. If a less experienced writer inserts a quote in past tense here, like "He trashed the place!", [[SelfDemonstratingArticle they tended to fall fall]] into the past tense afterward, copying the tense of the quote.
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wick cleaning of Exactly What It Says On The Tin
Changed line(s) 37,38 (click to see context) from:
This mistake is described in the TurkeyCityLexicon under [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Not Simultaneous"]].
to:
This mistake is described in the TurkeyCityLexicon under [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Not Simultaneous"]].
Simultaneous".
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Updated hottip to note markup.
Changed line(s) 23,24 (click to see context) from:
Confusion can also arise with the ''perfect'' tenses (which are not technically tenses of their own, but an ''aspect''). The past tense "He saw them in the kitchen" and the past-perfect "He had seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect serves as a "double past-tense", for talking about things that happened before the events being discussed, which are themselves in the past. For constructions that ought logically to use a triple-past-tense, English grammar shrugs and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'.[[hottip:*:The narration is in the past; from that point, she 'had thought' something previously; at that previous point, she thought he 'had done it' at some even earlier point. Tenseption.]]
to:
Confusion can also arise with the ''perfect'' tenses (which are not technically tenses of their own, but an ''aspect''). The past tense "He saw them in the kitchen" and the past-perfect "He had seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect serves as a "double past-tense", for talking about things that happened before the events being discussed, which are themselves in the past. For constructions that ought logically to use a triple-past-tense, English grammar shrugs and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'.[[hottip:*:The [[note]]The narration is in the past; from that point, she 'had thought' something previously; at that previous point, she thought he 'had done it' at some even earlier point. Tenseption.]]
[[/note]]
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copyedit
Changed line(s) 23,24 (click to see context) from:
Confusion can also arise with the ''perfect'' tenses (which are technically tenses of their own, but an ''aspect''). The past tense "He saw them in the kitchen" and the past-perfect "He had seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect serves as a "double past-tense", for talking about things that happened before the events being discussed, which are themselves in the past. For constructions that ought logically to use a triple-past-tense, English grammar shrugs and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'.[[hottip:*:The narration is in the past; from that point, she 'had thought' something previously; at that previous point, she thought he 'had done it' at some even earlier point. Tenseption.]]
to:
Confusion can also arise with the ''perfect'' tenses (which are not technically tenses of their own, but an ''aspect''). The past tense "He saw them in the kitchen" and the past-perfect "He had seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect serves as a "double past-tense", for talking about things that happened before the events being discussed, which are themselves in the past. For constructions that ought logically to use a triple-past-tense, English grammar shrugs and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'.[[hottip:*:The narration is in the past; from that point, she 'had thought' something previously; at that previous point, she thought he 'had done it' at some even earlier point. Tenseption.]]
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Also note that English is rather strict when it comes to the correct use of tenses; closely related languages like German and Dutch have somewhat more relaxed (some would say 'inconsistent') rules.
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Changed line(s) 19,20 (click to see context) from:
In English, and in many romance languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shares similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wishes to convey possibility, desire, or something contrary to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly can look like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''... then I ''would be''", and so forth. They are most common in a First Person Narrative, when the character is reflecting on something.
to:
In English, and in many romance languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shares similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wishes to convey possibility, desire, or something contrary to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly can look like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''... then I ''would be''", and so forth. They are The Subjunctive is most common in a First Person Narrative, when the character is reflecting on something.
reflecting, remembering, or giving an opinion.
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None
Changed line(s) 19,20 (click to see context) from:
In English, and in many romance languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shares similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wishes to convey possibility, desire, or something contrary to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly can look like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''... then I ''would be''", and so forth.
to:
In English, and in many romance languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shares similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wishes to convey possibility, desire, or something contrary to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly can look like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''... then I ''would be''", and so forth.
forth. They are most common in a First Person Narrative, when the character is reflecting on something.
Changed line(s) 37,38 (click to see context) from:
Related to this trope is TimeTravelTenseTrouble, where tense confusion is caused by a conflict in the chronological order of history versus the order in which the character(s) or audience experienced it.
to:
Related to this trope is TimeTravelTenseTrouble, where tense confusion is caused by a conflict in the chronological order of history versus the order in which the character(s) or audience experienced it.
it.
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Changed line(s) 31,32 (click to see context) from:
...is not; these two things don't happen at the same time.
to:
...is not; these two things don't happen at the same time.
time. The right way to say it would be:
--> He opened the garage door and raced into the street.
--> He opened the garage door and raced into the street.
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Changed line(s) 23 (click to see context) from:
Another common tense issue is the progressive aspect. "Doing X, he did Y" meant that he did X and Y at the same time, not that he did X ''followed by'' Y. For the latter, you would say "Having done X, he did Y" (if X and Y are related actions), or "He did X, then he did Y" (if they aren't). For example,
to:
Another common tense issue is the progressive aspect. "Doing X, he did Y" meant that he did X and Y at the same time, not that he did X ''followed by'' Y. For the latter, you would say "Having done X, he did Y" (if X and Y are related actions), or "He did X, then he did Y" (if they aren't). For example,example:
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Self demonstrating articles are occasionally clever and/or cute. This one is just hard to read. And it has a \"for example\", too, so the self-demonstration is not necessary.
Changed line(s) 1,8 (click to see context) from:
Many languages, in order to distinguish between the past, present and future, have something called "tense". [[SelfDemonstratingArticle This trope happened when someone makes the ''other'' common mistake of amateur writing: unintentional tense shifts.]]
Just like how a lot of people were [[RougeAnglesOfSatin unable to ether spell]] [[YouKeepUsingThatWord or use words propitiatorily]], so, too, do a lot of people have trouble maintaining tense. Usually, it involved shifting between past and present tense (there isn't a whole lot of [[FateAndProphecyTropes future tense]] in fiction) and seems to most often come up in {{dialogue}}.
For example, this sentence is written in present tense. If a less experienced writer inserts a quote in past tense here, like "He trashed the place!", they tended to fall into the past tense of the quote.
More often, the issue was that characters are speaking in the present tense while the story was being told in the past tense, and the writer has trouble switching from the immediacy of the dialog to the narration perspective, so you got things like this:
Just like how a lot of people were [[RougeAnglesOfSatin unable to ether spell]] [[YouKeepUsingThatWord or use words propitiatorily]], so, too, do a lot of people have trouble maintaining tense. Usually, it involved shifting between past and present tense (there isn't a whole lot of [[FateAndProphecyTropes future tense]] in fiction) and seems to most often come up in {{dialogue}}.
For example, this sentence is written in present tense. If a less experienced writer inserts a quote in past tense here, like "He trashed the place!", they tended to fall into the past tense of the quote.
More often, the issue was that characters are speaking in the present tense while the story was being told in the past tense, and the writer has trouble switching from the immediacy of the dialog to the narration perspective, so you got things like this:
to:
Many languages, in order to distinguish between the past, present and future, have something called "tense". [[SelfDemonstratingArticle "verb tenses". This trope happened happens when someone makes the ''other'' common amateur writing mistake of amateur writing: unintentional tense shifts.]]
Just like how a lot of people were [[RougeAnglesOfSatin unableunintentionally shifting to ether spell]] [[YouKeepUsingThatWord or use words propitiatorily]], so, too, do a lot of people have trouble maintaining tense. Usually, it involved different tense. Most commonly, this involves shifting between past and present tense (there isn't a whole lot of [[FateAndProphecyTropes future tense]] in fiction) tense, and seems to most often come up in {{dialogue}}.
describing actions after a piece of dialogue.
For example, this sentence is written in present tense. If a less experienced writer inserts a quote in past tense here, like "He trashed the place!", they tended to fall into the past tense afterward, copying the tense of the quote.
More often, the issuewas that is flipped the other way; the characters are speaking in the present tense while the story was is being told in the past tense, and the writer has trouble switching from the immediacy of the dialog to the narration perspective, so you got things like this:
Just like how a lot of people were [[RougeAnglesOfSatin unable
For example, this sentence is written in present tense. If a less experienced writer inserts a quote in past tense here, like "He trashed the place!", they tended to fall into the past tense afterward, copying the tense of the quote.
More often, the issue
Changed line(s) 17,28 (click to see context) from:
People tended to relate experienced events in the past tense (as one would have expected) but relate events they are creating in the present tense (as they are creating them). This switch in tenses was used to judge the veracity of witness statements. It also explains why authors might drop into the present tense when they got to writing the bit of the story that they aren't planning out to begin with.
Oddly enough, the above description fit Japanese prose writing pretty well, as states of being are generally described in the present tense if they were in the "present" of the narrative. (Singular acts, such as dialogue, are generally reported in the past tense.) It also had no "tense agreement" rule for embedded sentences, so that dependent clauses need not take the same tense as that of the overall sentence: the sentence "She thought that he was in the kitchen" would have been more literally rendered as "She thought that he '''is''' in the kitchen". Of course, attempts to use the Japanese language in English-language FanFic usually resulted in a [[GratuitousJapanese completely different trope]]...
In English and many romance languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shared similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wished to convey possibility, desire, or something counter to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly looked like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''...then I'd ''be''", and so forth.
Confusion also arose with the perfect tense, technically called an ''aspect''. "He saw them in the kitchen" and "He has seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect served as a double past, but for constructions that ought logically to use a treble past, English grammar shrugged and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'.
Another common tense issue is the progressive aspect. "Doing X, he did Y" meant that he did X and Y at the same time, not that he did X followed by Y. For the latter, you would say "Having done X, he did Y" if X and Y were related actions, or "He did X, then he did Y" if they aren't. This is described in the TurkeyCityLexicon under [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Not Simultaneous"]].
Related to this trope is TimeTravelTenseTrouble, where a conflict in the chronological order of history versus the order in which the character(s) or audience experienced it created confusion.
Oddly enough, the above description fit Japanese prose writing pretty well, as states of being are generally described in the present tense if they were in the "present" of the narrative. (Singular acts, such as dialogue, are generally reported in the past tense.) It also had no "tense agreement" rule for embedded sentences, so that dependent clauses need not take the same tense as that of the overall sentence: the sentence "She thought that he was in the kitchen" would have been more literally rendered as "She thought that he '''is''' in the kitchen". Of course, attempts to use the Japanese language in English-language FanFic usually resulted in a [[GratuitousJapanese completely different trope]]...
In English and many romance languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shared similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wished to convey possibility, desire, or something counter to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly looked like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''...then I'd ''be''", and so forth.
Confusion also arose with the perfect tense, technically called an ''aspect''. "He saw them in the kitchen" and "He has seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect served as a double past, but for constructions that ought logically to use a treble past, English grammar shrugged and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'.
Another common tense issue is the progressive aspect. "Doing X, he did Y" meant that he did X and Y at the same time, not that he did X followed by Y. For the latter, you would say "Having done X, he did Y" if X and Y were related actions, or "He did X, then he did Y" if they aren't. This is described in the TurkeyCityLexicon under [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Not Simultaneous"]].
Related to this trope is TimeTravelTenseTrouble, where a conflict in the chronological order of history versus the order in which the character(s) or audience experienced it created confusion.
to:
People tended tend to relate experienced events in the past tense (as one would have expected) expect), but relate events they are creating in the present tense (as they are creating them). This switch in tenses was can sometimes be used to judge the veracity of witness statements. It also explains why authors might drop into the present tense when they got to are writing the bit a piece of the story that they aren't planning hadn't planned out to begin with.
Oddly enough, the above descriptionfit fits Japanese prose writing pretty well, as well; states of being are generally described in the present tense if they were are in the "present" of the narrative. (Singular acts, such as dialogue, are generally reported in the past tense.) It also had has no "tense agreement" rule for embedded sentences, so that dependent clauses need not take the same tense as that of the overall sentence: the sentence "She thought that he was in the kitchen" would have been more literally rendered as "She thought that he '''is''' in the kitchen". Of course, attempts to use the Japanese language in English-language FanFic usually resulted results in a [[GratuitousJapanese completely different trope]]...
InEnglish English, and in many romance languages, an additional confounding factor is the notion of verbal ''mood'', which unfortunately shared shares similar patterns of conjugation as verbal ''tense''. Most writing in English is in the ''Declarative'' mood, and follows the normal rules for tense conjugation. However, if a person wished wishes to convey possibility, desire, or something counter contrary to fact, they might use the ''Subjunctive'' mood, which if used properly looked can look like hideously incorrect usage of the normal declarative mood. Constructions in the subjunctive mood sound like "if I ''were''... then I'd ''be''", I ''would be''", and so forth.
Confusion can alsoarose arise with the perfect tense, ''perfect'' tenses (which are technically called tenses of their own, but an ''aspect''. ''aspect''). The past tense "He saw them in the kitchen" and the past-perfect "He has had seen them in the kitchen" mean subtly different things. The past perfect served serves as a double past, but "double past-tense", for talking about things that happened before the events being discussed, which are themselves in the past. For constructions that ought logically to use a treble past, triple-past-tense, English grammar shrugged shrugs and breaks its own rules: 'She thinks he did it', and 'She thought he had done it' but 'She had thought he had done it'.
it'.[[hottip:*:The narration is in the past; from that point, she 'had thought' something previously; at that previous point, she thought he 'had done it' at some even earlier point. Tenseption.]]
Another common tense issue is the progressive aspect. "Doing X, he did Y" meant that he did X and Y at the same time, not that he did Xfollowed by ''followed by'' Y. For the latter, you would say "Having done X, he did Y" if (if X and Y were are related actions, actions), or "He did X, then he did Y" if (if they aren't. aren't). For example,
--> Grabbing his helmet, he walked to the motorcycle.
...is correct; he grabs the helmet while walking. However,
--> Opening the garage door, he raced into the street.
...is not; these two things don't happen at the same time.
This mistake is described in the TurkeyCityLexicon under [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Not Simultaneous"]].
Related to this trope is TimeTravelTenseTrouble, where tense confusion is caused by a conflict in the chronological order of history versus the order in which the character(s) or audience experiencedit created confusion.
it.
Oddly enough, the above description
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Confusion can also
Another common tense issue is the progressive aspect. "Doing X, he did Y" meant that he did X and Y at the same time, not that he did X
--> Grabbing his helmet, he walked to the motorcycle.
...is correct; he grabs the helmet while walking. However,
--> Opening the garage door, he raced into the street.
...is not; these two things don't happen at the same time.
This mistake is described in the TurkeyCityLexicon under [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Not Simultaneous"]].
Related to this trope is TimeTravelTenseTrouble, where tense confusion is caused by a conflict in the chronological order of history versus the order in which the character(s) or audience experienced
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WALS *definitely* doesn\'t support omitting a word when editing. ;-)
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Many, in order to distinguish between the past, present and future, have something called "tense". [[SelfDemonstratingArticle This trope happened when someone makes the ''other'' common mistake of amateur writing: unintentional tense shifts.]]
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