How Can a Writer Edit for Shifts in Verb Tenses

Mutual Uses of Tenses in Academic Writing

Published on September 22, 2022 by Shane Bryson. Revised on Apr 16, 2020.

Tense communicates an upshot's location in time. The different tenses are identified past their associated verb forms.

There are three master tenses:past,present, andtime to come. In English language, each of these tenses can take iv main aspects:simple,perfect,continuous(too known asprogressive), andperfect continuous. The perfect aspect is formed using the verbto have, while the continuous aspect is formed using the verbto exist.

In bookish writing, the most commonly used tenses are thepresent uncomplicated, thepast unproblematic, and thepresent perfect.

Tenses in different sections of a dissertation

Tenses and their functions

The table beneath gives an overview of some of the basic functions of tenses and aspects. Tenses locate an result in time, while aspects communicate durations and relationships between events that happen at different times.

Tense	Function	Example
Present unproblematic	used for facts, generalizations, and truths that are non affected by the passage of time	"She writes a lot of papers for her classes."
Past simple	used for events completed in the by	"She wrote the papers for all of her classes last month."
Future simple	used for events to be completed in the futurity	"She volition write papers for her classes side by side semester."
Nowadays perfect	used to describe events that began in the past and are expected to continue, or to emphasize the relevance of past events to the present moment	"She has written papers for most of her classes, only she notwithstanding has some papers left to write."
Past perfect	used to describe events that happened prior to other events in the past	"She had written several papers for her classes before she switched universities."
Future perfect	used to describe events that volition be completed between now and a specific point in the future	"She will have written many papers for her classes by the finish of the semester."
Present continuous	used to depict currently ongoing (usually temporary) deportment	"She is writing a paper for her form."
Past continuous	used to draw ongoing by events, often in relation to the occurrence of another result	"She was writing a newspaper for her class when her pencil bankrupt."
Time to come continuous	used to depict future events that are expected to continue over a catamenia of time	"She volition be writing a lot of papers for her classes next year."
Present perfect continuous	used to describe events that started in the by and continue into the nowadays or were recently completed, emphasizing their relevance to the present moment	"Shehas been writing a newspaper all night, and now she needs to get some sleep."
Past perfect continuous	used to depict events that began, continued, and ended in the past, emphasizing their relevance to a past moment	"She had been writing a paper all night, and she needed to get some sleep."
Future perfect continuous	used to describe events that will continue up until a point in the futurity, emphasizing their expected elapsing	"She volition have been writing this newspaper for iii months when she hands it in."

When to utilise the present uncomplicated

The present elementary is the most unremarkably used tense in academic writing, then if in doubt, this should be your default choice of tense. There are 2 primary situations where yous always need to use the nowadays tense.

Describing facts, generalizations, and explanations

Facts that are e'er truthful do non need to be located in a specific time, and so they are stated in the present simple. You lot might country these types of facts when giving background information in your introduction.

The Eiffel toweris in Paris.
Lighttravels faster than sound.

Similarly, theories and generalizations based on facts are expressed in the present simple.

Average income differs past race and gender.
Older people express less business organization most the environment than younger people.

Explanations of terms, theories, and ideas should also be written in the nowadays unproblematic.

Photosynthesisrefers to the process by which plantscatechumen sunlight into chemical energy.
According to Piketty (2013), inequality grows over time in capitalist economies.

Describing the content of a text

Things that happen inside the space of a text should exist treated similarly to facts and generalizations.

This applies to fictional narratives in books, films, plays, etc. Use the present elementary to draw the events or actions that are your chief focus; other tenses can be used to marker different times inside the text itself.

In the first novel, Harry learns he is a magician and travels to Hogwarts for the showtime fourth dimension, finally escaping the constraints of the family that raised him.

The events in the outset part of the sentence are the writer'due south primary focus, and so they are described in the present tense. The second role uses the past tense to add extra information nearly something that happened prior to those events within the book.

When discussing and analyzing nonfiction, similarly, employ the present simple to depict what the author does within the pages of the text (argues, explains, demonstrates, etc).

In The History of Sexuality, Foucault asserts that sexual identity is a modern invention.
Paglia (1993) critiques Foucault'south theory.

This rule also applies when you are describing what you exercise in your own text. When summarizing the enquiry in your abstract, describing your objectives, or giving an overview of the dissertation structure in your introduction, the present unproblematic is the best pick of tense.

This researchaims to synthesize the two theories.
Affiliate 3 explains the methodology and discusses ethical issues.
The paperconcludes with recommendations for farther inquiry.

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When to use the past elementary

The by simple should be used to describe completed deportment and events, including steps in the research procedure and historical groundwork data.

Reporting enquiry steps

Whether you are referring to your own research or someone else'south, utilise the past simple to report specific steps in the research procedure that have been completed.

Olden (2017) recruited 17 participants for the study.
We transcribed and coded the interviews earlier analyzing the results.

The past simple is also the most advisable choice for reporting the results of your research.

All of the focus group participants agreed that the new versionwas an improvement.
Weestablish a positive correlation between the variables, only itwas not as strong equally wehypothesized.

Describing historical events

Background information about events that took place in the past should also be described in the past simple tense.

James Joycepioneered the modernist apply of stream of consciousness.
Donald Trump's ballot in 2016contradicted the predictions of commentators.

When to use the present perfect

The present perfect is used mainly to describe past research that took place over an unspecified fourth dimension period. You can also utilise it to create a connection between the findings of past inquiry and your own work.

Summarizing previous piece of work

When summarizing a whole body of research or describing the history of an ongoing debate, apply the present perfect.

Many researcherstake investigated the furnishings of poverty on health.
Studieshave shown a link between cancer and red meat consumption.
Identity politics has been a topic of heated contend since the 1960s.
The trouble of free willhas vexed philosophers for centuries.

Similarly, when mentioning enquiry that took place over an unspecified time period in the past (as opposed to a specific step or outcome of that enquiry), use the present perfect instead of the past tense.

Dark-green et al.have conducted all-encompassing research on the ecological effects of wolf reintroduction.

Emphasizing the nowadays relevance of previous work

When describing the outcomes of past research with verbs like fi nd,find or demonstrate, you can use either the past simple or the present perfect.

The nowadays perfect is a good choice to emphasize the continuing relevance of a piece of research and its consequences for your own work. Information technologyimplies that the current enquiry will build on, follow from, or answer to what previous researchers take done.

Smith (2015) has institute that younger drivers are involved in more traffic accidents than older drivers, simply more than research is required to make effective policy recommendations.
As Monbiot (2013)has shown, ecological change is closely linked to social and political processes.

Notation, however, that the facts and generalizations that emerge from past research are reported in the present elementary.

When to use other tenses

While the higher up are the about commonly used tenses in bookish writing, there are many cases where you'll utilise other tenses to brand distinctions between times.

Future unproblematic

The future simple is used for making predictions or stating intentions. You can use it in a research proposal to describe what you lot intend to exercise.

Information technology is also sometimes used for making predictions and stating hypotheses. Take care, though, to avoid making statements nearly the future that imply a high level of certainty. It'southward oftentimes a better selection to use other verbs similarawait,predict,andassume to make more cautious statements.

At that placewill exist a strong positive correlation.
Weawait to find a strong positive correlation.
H1predicts a strong positive correlation.

Similarly, when discussing the future implications of your research, rather than making statements with will, try to use other verbs or modal verbs that imply possibility (can,could,may,might).

These findingswill influence future approaches to the topic.
These findingscould influence futurity approaches to the topic.

Nowadays, past, and future continuous

The continuous aspect is not commonly used in academic writing. Information technology tends to convey an informal tone, and in most cases, the present simple or nowadays perfect is a ameliorate choice.

Some scholars are suggesting that mainstream economical paradigms are no longer adequate.
Some scholars suggestthat mainstream economic paradigms are no longer adequate.
Some scholars have suggestedthat mainstream economic paradigms are no longer acceptable.

Yet, in certain types of academic writing, such as literary and historical studies, the continuous attribute might be used in narrative descriptions or accounts of by events. It is often useful for positioning events in relation to one some other.

While Harry is traveling to Hogwarts for the first time, he meets many of the characters who will become central to the narrative.
The country was still recovering from the recession when Donald Trump was elected.

Past perfect

Similarly, the past perfect is not commonly used, except in disciplines that require making fine distinctions betwixt unlike points in the past or different points in a narrative'southward plot.

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