Using the Correct Tenses

 
Scholarly articles are expected to follow certain protocols regarding word tenses. There are specific tenses that you should use in different sections of an article. In addition, tenses within sentences need to work together to explain time-based events correctly. In this module we will show you how to:

1. Use the correct word tense within sentences.

2. Use the correct word tense in different sections of your article.

3. Use tenses to indicate the passing of time.  

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1. Word Tense Review

Table 1: Word tenses

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2. Matching Tenses in a Sentence

 

Word tenses within a sentence either need to match, or be clearly related to separate events in time. An illogical shift occurs when you change from one tense to another for no apparent reason. See Table 1 for examples.

Table 2: Matching word tenses within a sentence

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3. Choosing the Correct Verb Tenses Throughout Your Research Paper

 

There are widely accepted standards when it comes to using various tenses in sections throughout your research paper. Use Table 3 to help you decide which tense to use in each section. Experts at the University of North Carolina Writing Center say that the most common tense in a scholarly article is the present tense.

Table 3: Word tenses in a research article

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4. Can/Could; Will/Would

 

The verbs can and will are present tense. These verbs are interesting because their different forms can be past and future tense, but also refer to the future from the perspective of the past. To explain this better we defer to Example 1.

Example 1: Forms of “can” and “will”

Present tense: 

You can see color because light reflects off of surfaces and is picked up by light receptors in the eye which are then transmitted to the brain.

You will see color because light reflects off of surfaces and is picked up by light receptors in the eye which are then transmitted to the brain.

Past tense: 

You could not see color because the light receptors in your eye were damaged.

You would not have seen color because the light receptors in your eye were damaged.

Future tense:

You could not see color even if we performed the surgery.

You would not see color even if we performed the surgery.

Future tense from past perspective: 

Yesterday, we did not believe that you could perform the surgery.

Yesterday, we did not believe that you would perform the surgery.


 

5. Reading Between the Tenses

 

The verbs that you use in a sentence can communicate more than their initial meaning. Table 3 provides some examples of how you can communicate more through word choice than you might think.

Table 4: Using different tenses to indicate passing of time

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Sources and Additional Resources:

  1. Purdue OWL: Tense basics
  2. Purdue OWL: Tense consistency
  3. Towson: Verb consistency
  4. UNC Writing Center: Verb Tenses
  5. Chicago Manual of Style (Look at past, present, and future tense under the “Properties of Verbs” category. Must have account or access through institution wifi.)

 

 

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