Verb Forms

All writers need to pay attention to the verb tense within a sentence or a paragraph. A common mistake is to switch tenses within a story. You can write a good story in the present tense or the past tense. What is important is that you are consistent and stay in the same tense throughout your story. Look at the examples below:

I went to the park yesterday. The blossoms were in full bloom. The fragrance was magnificent . [Past tense]
I will go to the park tomorrow. I hope the blossoms will be in bloom. The fragrance will be magnificent. [Future tense]
I am in the park now. The blossoms are in bloom. The fragrance is magnificent. [Present tense]

Ann was a great professor. She always gave students interesting projects to work on. Everyone loved her. [Past tense]
Ann will be a great professor. She will give students interesting projects to work on. Everyone will love her. [Future tense]
Ann is a great professor. She gives students interesting projects to work on. Everyone loves her. [Present tense]

When you use dialogue, or when people talk in the story, it is usually in the present tense. This is unless the person is talking about something that happened in the past, or something that will happen in the future. Notice the verbs in the following example. The dialogue in quotes is in the present. The commentary from the story is in the past.

"Hey Joe. What are you doing tonight?" Chloe asked . "Oh, I'm staying home," Joe answered rather slowly.

In the next example, the question is in the future, the commentary is still in the past, and the answer is in the past. No matter what the conversation, the storyline continues in a consistent tense, in this case, it is the past.

"Alicia, are you going to Paris next week?" Sandy asked . "No, I went last week."

Verb Form Lessons

Formation of Present Verb Forms

Interactive Practice Exercises

Present Perfect Continous