As a copy editor, one of the most common mistakes I come across is tense agreement errors. These errors are particularly important to fix because they can make your writing sound awkward or confusing to the reader. In this article, I will provide some tense agreement examples to help you avoid these errors in your own writing.
1. Subject-verb agreement
The most common tense agreement error is subject-verb agreement. When a subject and a verb are not in the same tense, the sentence sounds unnatural to the reader. For example:
Incorrect: The dog barked and then she jumps on the couch.
Correct: The dog barked and then she jumped on the couch.
In this example, the verb “jumps” is in the present tense, while the verb “barked” is in the past tense. To fix the error, we need to change “jumps” to “jumped,” so it matches the past tense of “barked.”
2. Consistency in tense
Another tense agreement error is inconsistency in tense. When you switch back and forth between tenses, it can be confusing for the reader and make your writing sound unprofessional. For example:
Incorrect: I walked into the room and the house smells like fresh baked cookies.
Correct: I walked into the room and the house smelled like fresh baked cookies.
In this example, the first verb “walked” is in the past tense, while the verb “smells” is in the present tense. To fix the error, we need to make sure both verbs are in the past tense, so we change “smells” to “smelled.”
3. Past Perfect Tense
The past perfect tense is used to describe an action that was completed before another action in the past. For example:
Incorrect: I had visited France before I visit Italy.
Correct: I had visited France before I visited Italy.
In this example, the verb “visit” is in the present tense, but it should be in the past tense to match the rest of the sentence. We also need to add “had” before “visited” to make it clear that the action was completed before another action in the past.
In conclusion, tense agreement errors can be easily fixed by paying attention to subject-verb agreement, consistency in tense, and past perfect tense. By avoiding these common errors, you can make your writing sound more professional and make it easier for your readers to understand.
