- Joined
- Nov 10, 2007
- Messages
- 320
- Reaction score
- 92
I have seen some mention on the forums that you need to keep the same tense. Is this rule to keep people from writing sentences and paragraphs that don't make sense?
"Jill ran past the school and slows down."
Or are they saying that you shouldn't change tense at all in a story?
"Charlie Brown is a confused adult but don't judge him too quickly. His parents never spoke a word of English while he has never understood anything other than English."
As long as it makes sense, can't I change verb tense as many times as I feel nessesary?
It's just that I have a story where I introduce a character.
"So and so is a ________ and does _______ and has _____________."
I then tell a story about so and so.
"So and so used to ___________ and _______. Until one day he __________ed. From then on he _______________ed."
What's wrong with these changes in tense? If there is something wrong with this type of change then what are the rules? Is it an art?
"Jill ran past the school and slows down."
Or are they saying that you shouldn't change tense at all in a story?
"Charlie Brown is a confused adult but don't judge him too quickly. His parents never spoke a word of English while he has never understood anything other than English."
As long as it makes sense, can't I change verb tense as many times as I feel nessesary?
It's just that I have a story where I introduce a character.
"So and so is a ________ and does _______ and has _____________."
I then tell a story about so and so.
"So and so used to ___________ and _______. Until one day he __________ed. From then on he _______________ed."
What's wrong with these changes in tense? If there is something wrong with this type of change then what are the rules? Is it an art?