Problem with tenses

[NewB]

I am not sure if this is the right place to post this. Please move the thread if I'm wrong.

I have a problem with tenses. I see myself switching from past to present and sometimes to future! When I read back, I usually catch the mistakes, but I miss some. Can someone recommend a writing exercise to get rid of this problem?

Any suggestions, welcome.

Thanks,
Sanyuja

[SindbadtheSailor]

Hi!

There are a lot of books on tenses. Also, you may study the speech pattern in a novel or any book.

Sindbad

[alleycat]

There's a number of tutorials on the net. One of them that I've seen is very good; I'm sorry, I can't remember offhand which one it was. Google for them and see which ones look helpful to you.

ac

[trumancoyote]

Just write more, and be more aware when you're doing it :)

[Julie Worth]

I switch to the future a lot, but that's just where I'll be.

[NewB]

Alleycat, can you please dig up and see if you can find it again? :o

SindbadtheSailor, can you recommend one specific book?

trumancoyote, thats what I am doing right now. But, this tenses problem is not leaving me.

Julie Worth, for me its past, present and future! :(

I did a google before posting this question. All the sites that I found gave me grammar lessons on tenses. I know the grammar details. What I want is some exercise which will test and improve my tenses.

May be I am not doing what is called 'creative googling.' I will try again.

Thanks everyone for replying.

[SindbadtheSailor]

Hi Sanyuja! :hi:

Yes, I searched for a good book on tenses:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0952280868/202-3378328-8662211

It's Teaching Tenses by Rosemary Aitken. The reviews are commendable with one person saying:

"This book is a comprehensive analysis of the English tenses. Each tense is carefully outlined with examples and uses. There is also a section about learner difficulties for each of them. Tables and timelines are included throughout."

Good luck.

Sindbad.

[alleycat]

Alleycat, can you please dig up and see if you can find it again? :o

I did a google before posting this question. All the sites that I found gave me grammar lessons on tenses. I know the grammar details. What I want is some exercise which will test and improve my tenses.

May be I am not doing what is called 'creative googling.' I will try again.

Thanks everyone for replying.

I couldn't remember the exact turtorial I mentioned, but when I 'googled' for "writing verb tense tutorials" I found a variety of resourses. Here's just a couple:

http://odl.vwv.at/english/odlres/res8/Grammar/grammar.htm#tenses (http://odl.vwv.at/english/odlres/res8/Grammar/grammar.htm#tenses)

http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm (http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm) (this one has a quiz)

Also, one of my favorite books on grammar is Essential English Grammar by Philip Gucker (paperback), which does have short exercises on all aspects of grammar. I think the cost of the book is something like $6.00. I like the book because it's complete, concise and relatively easy to understand. It's a handy reference to have around.

Good luck.

ac

[NewB]

Thanks a lot Sindbad and alleycat.

I looked at the links, alleycat. I think they will be useful. I will have a look at the book you mentioned.

Sindbad, thanks for that. I think I will have a look at it too.

- S