Have you ever wondered what verb tense works best in various pieces of writing? Worse yet, have you ever read a piece that constantly flipped verb tenses? Did you find it hard to follow?
Past tense is the one most often used by authors, as it is the easiest to use for narrative control. The person narrating the story, whether it is fiction or nonfiction, can better explain events that have already happened in order to give the reader a clear picture of what is happening and why. You might also think of it as the backstory, or historical context for nonfiction.
Present tense is sometimes used as the main tense by authors of young adult novels and thrillers, and suspense stories. It is much more difficult to stay in present tense, but if you can do it, your readers will love being engaged in the present rather than focusing on the backstory. It also creates a more fast-paced story, which is also helpful if you are interested in writing short fiction pieces.
Generally, authors tend to use one verb tense throughout their work, but there are times when it is appropriate to switch between verb tenses. The key is to establish a primary tense based on what you feel works best for the story and adjust occasionally to different tenses to indicate changes in the timeline.
Reasons for switching tenses within a story:
1. Distinguishing Timeline
You may have a need to talk about events that happened prior to what is currently happening in your story. In this case, you will need to use the past perfect tense.
Examples:
- She stood on the bridge looking down at the water, thinking about the time she had fallen out of the canoe.
- Tom sat on the couch looking above the mantle at the picture frame his grandmother had given him when he had gotten married the first time.
2. Dialogue
When your character is speaking in a different tense than the story is set in, it is easy to get confused and use the wrong tense at the end of the dialogue.
Here is an example:
- I give my mother a sideways glance. “It wasn’t my fault!” I argued.
The dialogue is written in past tense, so it is easy to see how you might accidently think “argued” is the correct tense. It should instead be written as follows:
- I give my mother a sideways glance. “It wasn’t my fault!” I argue.
Here is an example that is more likely to occur:
- I walked into her classroom and stood in front of my students. “We need to go over this chapter again,” I say as I sit down at my desk.
In this case, the first sentence is written in past tense, but the dialogue changes tense. The correct way to write it would be:
- I walked into her classroom and stood in front of my students. “We need to go over this chapter again,” I said as I sat down at my desk.
3. Changing Perspective
If your story is told from the perspective of different characters, you may use different tenses. A creative way to do this is to have one of the characters tell the story from a different time era. You can even include chapters in which information is conveyed that your protagonist is unaware of. Fantasy and sci-fi works are excellent examples of using this strategy.
4. Turning Points
If your story is written in past tense, switching to present tense lets the reader feel the immediacy or urgency of the event. This makes more of an impact by allowing the reader to experience the events in real time.
If you decide that you need to change tenses for any reason, be sure to make it clear to the reader as to why you are doing so. You might do this by beginning a new paragraph or chapter, for example. If you are inconsistent or not clear, the reader will become confused. As always, you want a reader that keeps reading and comes back for more.
To avoid the pitfalls mentioned above, read your story out loud or have someone else read it out loud to you. Just like any other part of writing, practice makes perfect—well, that and editing numerous times.
Heather Malone writes children’s books that focus mainly on Montessori education, special education, and nonfiction. She also dabbles in fiction. Her nonfiction book, Montessori from A to Z, was published in 2023, and her blog on homeschooling students with disabilities using the Montessori method can be viewed at spedmontessorisolutions.com. Her passion is education, which is evidenced by spending over twenty-five years in the field before leaving the classroom to now provide technical assistance to school districts. She lives with her husband and son in Ohio and enjoys traveling to new places in her free time.
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