Tense shifts - Learning English

Tense shifts - Learning English

Tense Shifts: A tense shift occurs when a verb breaks the unity of the other tenses in the sentence. Be especially careful of shifting between past and present tenses with your verbs.

• When Frank saw Sally sitting on her picnic blanket, his jaw drops and his eyes get all wide.
• Correction: When Frank saw Sally sitting on her picnic blanket, his jaw dropped and his eyes got all wide.
• Upon seeing Frank stand nobly above his glorious sandcastle, Sally fainted and had fallen backwards onto the ground.
• Correction: Upon seeing Frank stand nobly above his sandcastle, she fainted and fell backwards onto the ground.

Practice with tense shifts