Present Tense or Past Tense?

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Moray_001
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Present Tense or Past Tense?

Post by Moray_001 »

Do you prefer to write in present tense or past tense?

Which is more convenient for you? And is it really difficult to stick to a particular tense when writing?
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jjmainor
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Post by jjmainor »

Past tense. It's not at all difficult to stick to it, but the past perfect and all that can feel a little weird. Sometimes it doesn't sound right putting all the "had"s and "have"s in front of the verb when it's correct.
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Jennifer Fernandez
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Post by Jennifer Fernandez »

I think past tense makes more sense to me. The use of present tense while telling a story is kind of weird, in my opinion. Why would you narrate a story while it's happening? Of course, in dialogs, it makes more sense to use the present tense.
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Moray_001
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Post by Moray_001 »

jjmainor wrote: 19 Aug 2018, 22:03 Past tense. It's not at all difficult to stick to it, but the past perfect and all that can feel a little weird. Sometimes it doesn't sound right putting all the "had"s and "have"s in front of the verb when it's correct.
I find it weird using two hads in a sentence right after each other. Is that even correct? E.g I’d had enough.
Moray_001
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Post by Moray_001 »

Jennifer Fernandez wrote: 19 Aug 2018, 22:04 I think past tense makes more sense to me. The use of present tense while telling a story is kind of weird, in my opinion. Why would you narrate a story while it's happening? Of course, in dialogs, it makes more sense to use the present tense.
I sometimes find myself mixing tenses without even realizing it. I also prefer to write in past tense.
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Post by Jennifer Fernandez »

Moray_001 wrote: 20 Aug 2018, 04:21
Jennifer Fernandez wrote: 19 Aug 2018, 22:04 I think past tense makes more sense to me. The use of present tense while telling a story is kind of weird, in my opinion. Why would you narrate a story while it's happening? Of course, in dialogs, it makes more sense to use the present tense.


I sometimes find myself mixing tenses without even realizing it. I also prefer to write in past tense.
For me English is a very difficult languages when it comes to tenses. There is no consistency with the verbs.
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. - H.P. Lovecraft :techie-studyinggray:
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Post by jjmainor »

Moray_001 wrote: 20 Aug 2018, 04:18
jjmainor wrote: 19 Aug 2018, 22:03 Past tense. It's not at all difficult to stick to it, but the past perfect and all that can feel a little weird. Sometimes it doesn't sound right putting all the "had"s and "have"s in front of the verb when it's correct.
I find it weird using two hads in a sentence right after each other. Is that even correct? E.g I’d had enough.
I had an example just come to mind:

"He had had a good time at the circus."

Then again, maybe it isn't right...
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