Page 854 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing
P. 854
Necessary Shift:
past present
Megan was a poor student in high school, but she is doing
well in college.
Because the sentence above refers to both the past (high
school) and the present (college), the verb tense shift is
necessary.
Unnecessary Shift:
past present present
When Ryan came into the room, he breaks into a big smile
and says, “Guess what?”
Since the action in this sentence is a single, continuous event,
there is no need for a shift to present tense. To correct an
unnecessary tense shift, decide which tense is appropriate, and
use that tense for all verbs in the sentence.
Corrected:
past past past
When Ryan came into the room, he broke into a big smile
and said, “Guess what?”
Unnecessary Shift:
