Tenses

Mistakes in using verb tenses are common in second language student’s academic writing. In order to help students avoid making these mistakes, it is important to consider the function and use of various tenses.

  1. Present simple tense is especially useful when the writer wants to talk about something that is true or factual. It is also used to generalise from past research or make conclusions based on observations, e.g.,
    She writes papers for her academic writing classes.
  2. Present progressive or present continuous tense is often used to emphasize the continuing nature of an event, which is usually a temporary one, e.g.,
    She is writing a paper for her academic writing class.
  3. Past simple tense is used for events completed in the past, e.g.,
    She wrote papers for her academic writing classes a few years ago.
  4. Past progressive or past continuous tense is used to emphasize the setting of other events in the past, e.g.,
    She was writing a paper for her academic writing class when her pencil broke.
  5. Present perfect tense is used to emphasize an event whose consequences are still relevant in the present, e.g.,
    She has written a number of papers for her academic writing classes since 2010.
  6. Present perfect progressive or present perfect continuous tense is used to emphasize the continuing nature of events that ended recently and are still relevant, e.g.,
    She has been writing papers for her academic writing classes over the last four years.
  7. Past perfect tense is used to emphasize an event whose consequences were still relevant at an implied or stated time in the past, e.g.,
    She had written a number of papers for her academic writing classes just before she went to study abroad.
  8. Past perfect progressive or past perfect continuous tense is used to emphasize the continuing nature of events that ended just before an implied or stated past time and that were still relevant at that time, e.g.,
    She had been writing papers for her academic writing classes for a number of years before she went to study abroad.
  9. Future simple tense is used for events to be completed in the future, e.g.,
    She will write papers for her academic writing classes next year.
  10. Future progressive or future continuous tense is used to emphasize the setting of other events expected to take place in the future, e.g.,
    She will be writing a paper for her academic writing class when her family arrive.
  11. Future perfect tense is used to emphasize an event whose consequences will still be relevant at an implied or stated time in the future, e.g.,
    She will have written a number of papers for her academic writing classes when she graduates.
  12. Future perfect progressive or future perfect continuous tense is used to emphasize the continuing nature of events that will end just before an implied or stated time in the future and that will still be relevant to the that time, e.g.,
    She will have been writing her papers for her academic writing classes all night long by the time she finishes them.
    **Important** Use tenses consistently unless there is a good reason for a change.

 

For more information on the use of verb tenses, please refer to the following sources: