One recurring question about English grammar is whether a shift in tense is allowable within a sentence or, for that matter, within the same paragraph or passage. This question is typical: “I have read a book on English language usage that says that verb tenses should not be shifted from one tense to another within a sentence. Is this really so? I have been coming across a lot of sentence constructions with mixed tenses.”
It’s very tempting to say, “Yes, it’s best to use the same tense to express two or more simultaneously occurring actions,” but that would actually be begging the question and may just further muddle the issue. The truth is that contrary to what many pupils, students, and some teachers are made to believe, it’s the most natural thing in the world to shift tenses within a sentence—if necessary.
Take this sentence: “
I am very fond of green mangoes, so
I bought six dozens this morning, and
I will be buying more on Saturday during my trip to Bulacan.” The sentence has a total of three tenses—the simple present in the first clause, which shifts to the simple past in the second, which in turn shifts to the simple present in the third clause—and we can clearly see that it has remained logical and grammar-perfect.
The hoary single-tense rule is nothing but a most unfortunate misunderstanding of basic English grammar, causing so much confusion, anxiety, and insecurity among its learners. I even suspect that this wrong rule is why many people find it terribly difficult to achieve good spoken and written English. It had fettered their minds and tongues to move only in one time dimension at a time, thus robbing their English of naturalness and spontaneity.
The only situation—I repeat, the only situation—in which a shift in tense is a big no-no is when the actions being described take place within the same time frame. This is the case in most compound sentences and in sentences with a compound predicate. A tense shift in them will make the statement illogical, as in the following sentence: “
The tragic Kim in the Broadway musical ‘Miss Saigon’
falls in love with the American GI Chris and
he committed suicide in the end.”
We need to consistently use either the present or the past tense here. Consistent present tense: “
The tragic Kim in the Broadway musical ‘Miss Saigon’
falls in love with the American GI Chris and
he commits suicide in the end.” Consistent past tense: “
The tragic Kim in the Broadway musical ‘Miss Saigon’
fell in love with the American GI Chris and
he committed suicide in the end.”
Another example: “
Some newly-weds have planned to spend their honeymoon in scenic Banaue and
are deciding to proceed to Baguio City via the winding roads to Sagada.” The shift from present perfect to simple present progressive is incorrect and illogical here. Consistent present perfect: “
Some newly-weds have planned to spend their honeymoon in scenic Banaue and
have decided to proceed to Baguio City via the winding roads of Sagada.”
We can clearly see now that a shift in tense, instead of being banned, should in fact be encouraged to effectively show a logical sequence of actions through time or the relationship of the actions with one another. The perfect tenses, in fact, are classic forms of usage that make tense shifts mandatory. Take a look: “
Cynthia had rehearsed her haunting ballad perhaps a hundred times before
she sang it to critical raves at the National Song Festival.” (The past perfect shifts to simple past.) Another: “
By the time Alberto wakes up,
his brother Eduardo will have reached school.” (The simple present shifts to future perfect.)
This should put to rest any lingering doubts about allowing tense to shift in the same sentence. Let tenses shift when it’s called for, but just be sure the sentence doesn’t become illogical in the process.
Read this essay and listen to its voice recording in
The Manila Times:
Proper and improper use of tense shifts(Next:
The art of avoiding voice shifts) August 17, 2023
Visit Jose Carillo’s English Forum, http://josecarilloforum.com. You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter and e-mail me at j8carillo@yahoo.com.
