Identifying Mistakes
He had ran an entire marathon in soccer cleats.
ran ----> run
I (have ran) around the park every day in the last year.
present perfect
The auxiliary (helping) verb that precedes the main verb to make it present perfect tense
What is have?
A tense to describe an action that occurs in the future.
Future tense
They have gone swimming all of last year.
have ----> had
I (am eating) breakfast right now.
present progressive
What is present tense?
A tense used to describe a habitual action that still occurs (be specific!)
What is simple present tense?
To this day, I had eaten scrambled eggs for breakfast every day.
had ----> have
I (checked) my emails while I (drank) my coffee.
simple past
Is it ever okay to use past tense when discussing literature?
Yes, when discussing events that happened in the story before the events in it. Also, it is acceptable to use it when talking about the author.
A tense to describe a habitual action that was performed in the past (be specific)
What is simple past tense?
Last week, I was running in the park, and suddenly a dog runs up to me.
runs ----> ran
I (will read) the newspaper while I (get) ready in the morning)
simple future
The auxiliary (helping) verb that precedes the main verb to make it past perfect tense
What is had?
Tense to describe something that started in the past that continues into the present
What is present perfect?
While mowing the lawn tomorrow, I want to eat breakfast.
You don't want to eat breakfast tomorrow, you want it right now.
My friend (had believed) everything I told him until I (revealed) that I (had lied).
Past perfect, simple past, past perfect
True/False: It is NEVER okay to switch tenses in the middle of a sentence.
False. Switching tenses is acceptable if it fits within the context of the sentence and doesn't make it confusing with regard to time frame.
Tense to describe something that started in the past and ended in another point in the past
What is past perfect tense?