- Edited
Veronica8 How do I know I'm mixing my tenses around?
It's a common question that pops up a lot for writers. And most recently here
Sometimes, it's not easy to see. The common flags to look for are:
- Does your verb/adverb end in '-ed'? Then it's past.
- Does it end in '-ing' or '-s'? Then the tense is present.
An example of a mixed/shifted tense scene:
John is walking to the pub. He walked into the bar and is fighting with people. Bruce is yelling to stop the fight. He approached John and stopped him.
Can you spot what verbs are present and past? Yep. The verbs in red are present. Those in blue are past.
Of course, the English language is quirky where rules can be flexed to suit the context. But, seeing the most common flags will help improve on avoiding mix-tenses within a story. The rule for tense usage is absolute.
My advice to newbies. Learn to write your story in third person limited - past tense. This is the easiest to grasp for avoiding the pitfalls of mixing tenses.