Alright everyone, it’s verb tenses time!
Don’t know what they are? Not a problem. Verb tenses in grammar indicates the time an action is done. In English, there are 12 verb tenses but when writing, the basic tenses you’d most likely work with are; the simple present and the simple past tense. Perhaps some works may dabble into future tense…though that’s the rare find.
It’s important to consider what tense you choose to tell your story in and then be consistent with it.
Right away, let’s analyze basic verb tenses in writing!
The present tense
Take a look at this;
“Heavy drops of rain fall relentlessly from dark clouds overhead. Bracing myself against the rain, I clutch the little umbrella in my hands until my knuckles whiten. Despite the umbrella, I am drenched, my clothes cling to my figure like a second skin and my hair falls limply atop my shoulder in dark locks. Still, I ignore all these and stride to the Opera house in fury, never mind the shivers that run down my spine.”
Fall, clutch, run, am, ignore, stride…illustrate the use of present tense in writing.
The present tense is immersive, in an ‘in-the-moment’ sort of manner. The reader feels drawn closer to the plot, characters, event etc. almost as if they are literally in the book with the characters. The story is told like it’s happening right now. In writing, this tense is beautiful and peculiar in its own way.
Events that take place in the story’s past or prior to the timeline of the story should be written in simple past tense while the story’s present is written in…well, simple present.
This is further explained with the illustration below;
“Cleo sets her duffel bag down on the nearest table with a resounding thud. She’s upset. It shows in the way her brows pinch in a frown and her lips thin in a firm line. Earlier this morning, she met up with Devante , her ex fiancé. Suffice to say, things didn’t go down well.”
Did you notice the use of third person POV in present tense?
However, some writers consider the present tense more fitting for short stories and other short works as it could be exhausting to read due to its rather immersive nature.
In my personal opinion, the use of present tense flows wonderfully well with a first person point of view. Still, it generally depends on the author and trope of work.
The past tense
The simple past tense is the more traditional way of story telling.
For instance, “Lydia went home drunk. She had walked all the way back home, or at least she thought she did.”
Most writers prefer the ease of this verb tense. It’s harder to go wrong in it compared to the simple present tense. In our everyday life, this verb tense is used when recalling events that happened. In fact, the simple present tense is so common that readers seldom take note of it—it feels almost invisible and the actions are portrayed as though they are happening at present.
Furthermore, when talking about events that take place in the story’s past or prior to the story’s timeline, the past perfect tense should be used. Let’s break that down with a short illustration;
“Claire stared at the little stick in her hands that would supposedly determine the fate of her relationship with her closest and only friend, Ranveer. Tears welled up her eyes.
She had felt sick a few weeks prior but had brushed it off as nothing. Then, Ranveer had urged her to see her doctor. She did so and now the little stick in her hands read “positive”, in all caps. Crashing at his place that night after the party shouldn’t have ever happened. Ranveer was going to be a father and she, a mother. Crap.”
You need not be overly bothered by what tense to choose to write in, it’s advisable to choose what you’re comfortable with and suits your genre. Each tense has its unique peculiarity.
My final advice concerning verb tenses would be —avoid jumping between tenses at all cost. A common mistake some writers do make is starting off using one verb tense and then switching to another midway. While this is understandable because more often than not, it subconsciously happens—talking from experience. This can be avoided by re-reading your work in search of any shift in tenses, something that looks like;
“She walked down the street and then, all of sudden, an armed man jumps on her, snatches her purse and then runs away. She screamed in fear.”
Hilarious.
Action point
Practice writing in a verb tense you haven’t yet written in. I’d definitely love to try writing in simple present tense! Comment down below.
Questions, comments and feedbacks are all welcomed in the comment section!
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