You now know the simple, progressive and perfect tenses. When you write a paragraph, choose a main tense, usually the past for a story, and stay in it. Change tense only when the time really changes.
Key idea
Stay in one tense unless the time really changes.
Why it works
A change of tense is a signal that time has moved. If the time didn’t move, the signal misleads: the reader wonders whether the puppy wagged its tail now or back then.
Worked example: An accidental shift
We hiked to the top, and then we eat lunch.
- Hiked sets the story in the past.
- Eat slips into the present, though the lunch happened then too.
Answer: We hiked to the top, and then we ate lunch.
Worked example: A real change of time
Last year I lived in Ohio, but now I live in Texas.
- Last year is past; now is present.
- The time really changes, so the tense changes too.
Answer: Correct as written.
One convention to know: when you write about a book or a story, use the present tense, called the literary present: “In the fable, the fox flatters the crow.” The story is always there on the page, happening each time it is read.
Common mistake
Sliding from past to present in the middle of a story, often when it gets exciting: “The lights went out, and suddenly someone grabs my arm.” Read your draft and underline each verb. If the time didn’t change, the tense shouldn’t either.