Verbal tenses in Literature and Storytelling

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Past, Present and Future Tense 
 
a) PRESENT AND PAST TENSES 
Literary works, paintings, films, and other artistic creations are assumed to 
exist in an eternal present. Therefore, when you write about writers or artists 
as they express themselves in their work, use the present tense. 
The tense of the verb in a sentence reflects the time at which the action is set. 
In historical studies that is, by definition, in the past. The vast majority of 
verbs used in history papers are past-tense (e.g. came, saw, conquered). When 
the topic is literature, however, it's a different matter. The action which takes 
place in works of fiction exists in a timeless world. So, in describing characters 
or recapitulating the plots found in literature, it's best to use the present 
tense. 
The Basic Rule: You should use the past tense when discussing historical 
events, and you should use the literary present when discussing fictional 
events. 
 
1. When commenting on what a writer says, use the PRESENT TENSE. 
Example: Dunn begins his work with a view into the lives and motivations of the 
very first settlers. 
Example: Through this anecdote, Richter illustrates common misconceptions 
about native religion and shows why missionary attempts were less than 
successful. 
 
2. When describing an author’s work, however, use the PAST TENSE. 
Example: In 1966, Driss Chraïbi published La Civilisation, ma Mère! 
 
3. When you are writing about a certain historical event (even the creation 
of a literary or artistic work), use the PAST TENSE. 
By stating the facts of history rather coolly in the past tense you appear calm 
and collected, which, in turn, makes your judgment seem more sober and 
reasoned. You don't look excited or excitable, and that's a good thing for a 
historian who's trying to convince others to see the past a certain way. 
Arguments in this arena work better when they appear to come from cool 
heads. 
Examples: 
Henry Fielding wrote in the eighteenth century. 
Picasso produced a series of sculptures. 
 
4. When discussing events in a book or story, always use the PRESENT 
TENSE, unless there is a shift in the time frame within the world of the text. 
Example: Evelyn then rips into the carefully wrapped package and finds the 
greatest gift she has ever received. 
Her eyes fill with tears as she gazes at the jewel, but Philip does not know that 
these tears are the results of more than surprised joy. Evelyn is suffering from 
guilt as she compares this present to the shoddy gift that she bought* for her 
beau. 
* “Bought” is in past tense because the buying of the present occurred before 
the described set of events. 
 
5. Sometimes a sentence must employ BOTH PRESENT AND PAST TENSE. 
 
 
Including present-tense verbs in historical, academic prose can also lead to 
trouble when, as is inevitable, you must at some point revert to past-tense 
verbs. Here's what it sounds like when you mix present and past tenses: 
Example: 
Almost every year of his reign Charlemagne is forced to go and vanquish the 
Saxons again and has to re-Christianize them on the spot. It was a serious 
problem and he never completely resolved it. 
The contrast between the present-tense forms ("is forced," "has to re-
Christianize") and past-tense forms ("was," "resolved") is something short of 
graceful. Moreover, to vacillate between these can be disconcerting to your 
readers. I mean, are we supposed to imagine we are right there alongside 
Charlemagne suffering his troubles, or viewing him from a safe historical 
distance and reflecting calmly upon his tribulations with the Saxons? 
If your paper is part of a historical study and you must by definition spend the 
majority of your time in the past tense, it's best just to stay there as much as 
possible. Whatever you do, try not to flip back and forth between past and 
present verb forms. 
STYLE TIP: If you need to shift tense more than three times in a single 
sentence, consider breaking up the sentence into a couple of shorter sentences 
to maintain reading ease. 
 
b) FUTURE TENSE 
Future tense is effective when you're describing plans. If you want the planner to 
sound more decisive, use "I-statements" like Greg did at the start. People who claim 
responsibility for their plans aren't afraid to carry them out or see what happens. 
 
Michael will open the basement door. Two glowing red eyes are going to look up at 
him out of the darkness. He'll jump. He'll fall down the stairs. Becka, his Siamese 
cat, is going to meow plaintively and wash his face. Her pale blue eyes will still glow 
red in the reflected light from upstairs. 
 
"I locked his cat in the basement! Michael will open the basement door. Two glowing 
red eyes are going to look up at him out of the darkness. He'll jump. He'll fall down 
the stairs. Becka, his Siamese cat, is going to meow and wash his face. Her pale blue 
eyes'll still glow red in the light from upstairs. I'm going to laugh so hard when he 
screams at that goofy cat of his. They'll both be scared out of their wits." Greg 
laughed, rubbing his hands. "I bet he thinks it's the Devil kissing him." 
 
CHOOSING THE CORRECT VERB TENSE AND FORM IN CONTEXT 
Different contexts require different verb tenses and different verb forms. When you 
write, think about where you are in time. Look for key words. For example, “Last 
month,” in the opening sentence, is in the past, so you’ll want to use the past tense. 
Read this paragraph. Notice the underlined verbs. They will be explained below. 
 
Dear Diary, 
Last month, I applied (1) to graduate school. I had been thinking (2) about doing this 
for a long time, and I finally did it. Before I sent in my application, I had called (3) 
the school because I wanted to talk (4) to the head of the department about the 
program I was interested in. She was working (5) hard on her department’s budget 
when I called, but she said she could talk (6) to me for a few minutes. Half an hour 
later, we were still talking (7)! Today is (8) Thursday. I am sitting (9) at my desk 
 
 
trying to concentrate on my writing. Worrying (10) about my application will make 
(11) me crazy. I must think about something else. What’s that? The doorbell has just 
rung (12). Maybe it’s the mailman . . . Later: I’m in! I made it! I was accepted! (13) 
Graduate school, here I come! I have been dreaming (14) about this for a long time. 
I’ll be in school for another two years. By the time I get (15) my MS, I will have been 
(16) in school for 17 years altogether, and I will have been studying (17) biology for 
six years. That’s a long time, but I think it will be time well spent. 
1. Simple past. This is an action completed at a specific time in the past. "Last 
month" is the key word. 
2. Past perfect continuous. This action began in the past, went on for a while, and 
ended in the past. 
3. Past perfect. Use this for an action in the past that was completed before another 
action, also in the past. Here, I had called the school before I sent in the application. 
“Before” is the keyword. 
4. Infinitive. This frequently comes after verbs expressing desire or intent: I wanted 
to talk, I hoped to hear, I expected to go. 
5. Past continuous. This action began in the past and continued for a while. Use this 
tense if the continuing action was interrupted – here, by the call. 
6. Modal and verb. Could is a modal, which changes the meaning of the verb. Modals 
are followed by the base form of the verb, which in this sentence is "talk." 
7. Past continuous. Again, an action continues for a while; here there’s no 
interruption. 
8. Simple present. “Today” is the keyword; it implies the present. 
9. Present continuous. Use this, not the present tense, to describe an action going 
on right now. 
10. Gerund. This is an –ing verb form that is being used as the subject of the 
sentence.Although it is a verb form, it is doing the job of a noun. 
11. Future. This describes something that has not happened yet but will happen at 
some point. 
12. Present perfect. This implies that the action happened in the very recent past – 
here, a few seconds ago. The key word is “just,” which means that the action was 
recent. 
13. Passive voice. This is not a verb tense. You can use the passive voice in the past, 
present or future. Use it when you mean that something was done to someone or 
something, rather than that the person or thing did something. 
14. Present perfect continuous. This action began in the past, continued for a while 
in the past, and is still going on now. I’m still dreaming about going to graduate 
school; I’m not there yet. 
15. Simple present. Even though the key phrase “By the time” has a future 
meaning, we use the simple present because will is never used in future time 
clauses. 
16. Future perfect. Here the author is imagining himself in the future, looking back 
into the past. At the moment, he has been in school for 15 years. Two years from 
now, his time in school will add up to 17 years. 
17. Future perfect continuous. He is seeing himself in the future, looking back at 
the past. This tense implies that, two years from now, he will not stop studying. The 
action will continue. Compare # 16. The future perfect implies that in two years, he 
will complete 17 years of formal education. The action will end.