Use the present tense to describe fictional events that occur in the text: Simon (2000) observed that neutered cats spend less time stalking their prey.Flynn (1999) concluded that high school students are more likely to smoke cigarettes if they have a parent who smokes.This manuscript details the history of Shah Jahan, the Muslim ruler who commissioned the building of the Taj Mahal (Webb et al. The Padshahnama is an ancient manuscript owned by the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.We completed the interviews in January, 2001.Īt times you will use both present and past tense to show shifts between time relationships. Use present tense for those ideas/observations that are considered timeless and past tense for actions occurring in the past:.Hemingway drew on his experiences in World War I in constructing the character of Jake Barnes.Use the past tense to describe actions or states of being that occurred exclusively in the past: (n.b.: whether or not the author is still living is not relevant to selection of tense.) The historian Donna Harsch states that "Social Democrats tried to prevent the triumph of Nazism in order to save the republic and democracy" (3).The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 reflects the idealism of the Second World War.Use the present tense to cite an author or another source (except in science writing, where past tense is used see below). At the end of the chorus, the sopranos repeat the main theme.Marxist historians argue that class conflict shapes political affairs.The two Indus artifacts provide insight into ancient Hindu culture.Use the present tense to make generalizations about your topic or the views of scholars: In general, use the present tense to describe actions and states of being that are still true in the present use the past tense to describe actions or states of being that occurred exclusively in the past. Above all, choose the verb tense that most clearly expresses the idea you want to convey (clarity). Whenever possible, keep verbs in the same tense (consistency), and use either the simple present or the past tense (simplicity).
When deciding which verb tense to use, aim for consistency, simplicity, and clarity. Use of the correct verb tense allows you to express clearly the time relationships among your ideas.
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