Lesson 22 of 46

Keeping tenses consistent

Stay in one time frame unless the time really changes.

The rules

1.If you start telling something in the past, keep the connected verbs in the past.
2.Change tense only when the time changes: "I lived in Delhi, and now I live in Berlin."
3.For an action that interrupts another, use the past continuous plus the simple past: "We were eating when he arrived."

Incorrect: ~~I went to the store and buy milk.~~

Correct: I went to the store and bought milk.

Both actions happened in the past.

Incorrect: ~~When he arrived, we are eating dinner.~~

Correct: When he arrived, we were eating dinner.

Match the time of "arrived".

Watch out: Read your paragraph and underline every verb. They should tell one time story.

1. She opened the email and ___ it carefully.

2. Which is correct?

3. We were watching TV when the phone ___.

Paste any text and see exactly what to fix, with the rule explained.