The Curse of the Tense

[mrsimple]

So, nowadays, I deal with an issue of using "past perfect" when I should be using "simple past" tenses, but I had issues before with present and past tenses, then I learned a few lessons from Trismegistus Shandy. I'm still learning, but sometimes it is difficult for me to remember absolutely everything I was told.

I've tried proofreading, but a lot of times I have to speak aloud for me to pick up something not sounding right. A lot of other times, I relied on another editing my works (mostly Shandy) and discovering where I strayed off the path.

What do you all do to consistently keep the correct tense in that narrative of yours? Are there other methods rather than the few I depend on?

 

[Vertrex]

Here's something that could help you understand the differences between those two:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/intermediate-grammar/past-perfect

Also, I don't see the problem in writing in past perfect. Judging from the article I linked, I also write in past perfect because it flows well for me, I guess.

 

[mrsimple]

Here's something that could help you understand the differences between those two:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/intermediate-grammar/past-perfect

Also, I don't see the problem in writing in past perfect. Judging from the article I linked, I also write in past perfect because it flows well for me, I guess.

Thank ya! :D *Click*

 

[Stormie]

So, nowadays, I deal with an issue of using "past perfect" when I should be using "simple past" tenses, but I had issues before with present and past tenses, then I learned a few lessons from Trismegistus Shandy. I'm still learning, but sometimes it is difficult for me to remember absolutely everything I was told.

I've tried proofreading, but a lot of times I have to speak aloud for me to pick up something not sounding right. A lot of other times, I relied on another editing my works (mostly Shandy) and discovering where I strayed off the path.

What do you all do to consistently keep the correct tense in that narrative of yours? Are there other methods rather than the few I depend on?

A lot of proofreading. Though I'm mostly used to tenses now, there would always been those typos or wrong subject verb agreements that went unnoticed. Sometimes, I ask others to proofread it, too. They could give comments at the same time.

Just get used to the rules and use grammar correction apps like grammarly for good measures. Oh and write more while being conscious of it. At some point, it will come natural to you.

 

[Raneday]

At some point, it will come natural to you.

Well practice makes perfect yanno

 

[Stormie]

Well practice makes perfect yanno

But practicing the wrong things will give bad habits...

In a way, you could say you perfected being imperfect, I guess.

 

[mrsimple]

Well practice makes perfect yanno.

Actually, that's why I have so many short stories. They were practice. :)

 

[Stormie]

Actually, that's why I have so many short stories. They were practice. :)

I only write short stories and poems. My attention span is too short for a novel.

 

[Raneday]

I only write short stories and poems. My attention span is too short for a novel.

I could only write poems >.<

 

[Stormie]

I could only write poems >.<

I could only write horrible short stories if that makes you feel better xD

 

[HappyVainGlory]

What do you all do to consistently keep the correct tense in that narrative of yours?

Like you said, I've found speaking out loud helps a lot in keeping tenses straight. A few can still slip through that way though, especially if you've been going at it for a while.

Back when I was having a lot of issues with tense, I actually wrote a program to show me sentence by sentence so I could check the tense of a sentence in isolation of the rest of the story. I'd like to think that helped a lot, but I'd also think it might have been a bit excessive.

Generally though, er... I guess to keep it straight these days, I just remember past perfect as talking about something that was completed in the past and simple past tense as something that just happened in the past? Like, past perfect has another layer of distance to the action than regular past tense does, if that makes sense?

 

[Arcturus]

I recommend reading a lot of published fiction. They have the best editors and most thorough editing. And once you start seeing the patterns of how tenses work together, it becomes much easier to write with correct tenses.

 

[Stormie]

I recommend reading a lot of published fiction. They have the best editors and most thorough editing. And once you start seeing the patterns of how tenses work together, it becomes much easier to write with correct tenses.

Yeah, this. Furthermore, published works do a good job on expanding vocabularies, showing character and plot depths. I usually read published novel after reading too much webnovels.

 

[Anon2.0]

I do something similar to you and read out what I’ve written.

 

[Econ]

You can also read the best-translated novels and have fun while learning. Before the push of money motivated translation, there were some very great translators who put very hard effort. There are still some great translators who you can learn from. I often visit some of my favorite works for reference when in doubt.

 

[S.D.Mills]

There's a lot of things I could say here, but it would be very long. I'll echo what a few others said. Read really good, industry published writing. A lot of it. Even if you are bored or don't "like" it. Reading the classics can be good, but also focusing on writers that writers read. For second language speakers, reading it out loud at a lazy pace can help a lot. My guess is most of the writers here write fantasy-esque work. I suggest reading both things near your personal preference and way outside it. Literary fiction with magical realism or no fantastical elements can be a huge boon to your ability to notice why saying things a certain way is better than another because the stage props aren't getting in the way. Literary fiction is often the most "naked" fiction. You don't get to hide behind your fake world.

Some personal preference examples of fiction works/writers I consider worth reading:

Fantasy / SciFi

• Joe Abercrombie
• Patrick Rothfuss
• Ursula K. LeGuin, specifically The Left Hand of Darkness (SciFi)
• Stephen R. Donaldson

Literary / Realist

• Raymond Chandler
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

 

[Arexio]

Here's something that could help you understand the differences between those two:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/intermediate-grammar/past-perfect

THIS:

NOTE
The most common mistake with the past perfect is to overuse it or to use it simply because we are talking about a time in the distant past.
For example we would not say

The Romans had spoken Latin​

but rather

The Romans spoke Latin​

because it simply describes a past event, and not an event before and relevant to another past event.
Remember that we only use the past perfect when we want to refer to a past that is earlier than another time in the narrative.

I always, always, always make this mistake in writing.

It's almost to the point where my writing sounds redundant. It's super annoying because I'm pretty sure I've internalized it WRONG into myself already.

Guess this means I'll just keep this link up as a constant reminder while writing lol.