Verb Tenses
句子的关键是它所描述的动作，由动词表示. Verb tense connects the kind of action (e.g. to run) or existence (e.g. 似乎与时间的关系(ran, run, will run，或seems, seems, will seem等.). 使用恰当和连贯的时态可以加强文章，使文章的思想更有凝聚力. 有关选择和使用动词时态的提示，请参阅这份讲义.
Choosing a tense
虽然没有绝对的规则规定在特定的文章中使用哪种时态, some general guidelines help determine when to use which tenses.
- 当世界包含在书的封面和封底之间时，使用现在时. 因为小说的情节或文章的论点永远不会改变, the author always writes, the characters always do, and the text always means something.
- 例子:“麦琪有时似乎很会撒娇:她会操纵身边男人的情绪, seemingly in rejection of the oppressive, patriarchal life they each represent." Even though Maggie manipulates these men at different times, we read the novel as she manipulates each character. 因为我们看到了这些事件的过程，所以现在时态是合适的.
- 例子:“作家萨尔曼·拉什迪通过萨里姆在小说中的叙述探索了分裂和身份的概念 Midnight’s Children.“人们很容易认为拉什迪探索了这些想法，但每次都有人打开 Midnight’s Children, Rushdie explores these themes yet again.
- 当历史事实对论文至关重要时，使用过去时. History happened in the past.
- Example: "Before this federal proposal, 22个州颁布了法律，要求未成年人寻求堕胎，要么通知父母自己的意图, 或者在堕胎前获得父母或法官的同意." The historical facts surrounding the federal proposal have all already happened; the tense should indicate that they are now in the past.
- 如果作业是反映你自己与这本书有关的经历，也可以用过去式. 例子:“研究我的家谱比阿诺的指南让我相信的要困难得多." The writer is not simply reviewing the guide. 相反，她是在反思自己写这本书的经历，这些经历发生在过去.
- 在讨论工作开始前发生的事情时也要使用过去式.
- 例子:“皮尔斯·因弗拉瑞斯死后，不知道什么原因，他让俄狄帕掌管他的财产." When The Crying of Lot 49 opens, Pierce has already died. 因为我们从来没有读到过他的死亡，所以它仍然是过去时.
- Use future tense when you must make predictions, as is often necessary in a lab report, a study, or a paper pondering the events after the last page of a story.
- 示例:“未来的实验将寻找两性的生殖道前腹部节的同种肌肉的运动活动." These experiments have not yet taken place, so the author makes it clear that when they occur, they will have certain goals.
Be consistent
比记住一篇特定文章的“正确”时态更重要的是记住始终如一地使用所选择的时态. 即使你不确定某个时态是否恰当, if you’re consistent, readers will be able to follow your train of thought.
- With one tense
在文学作品中，即使一个场景发生在另一个场景之后很久，也要用现在时态来讨论- Example (inconsistent): "The other men thought Yossarian was crazy because he no longer wanted to wear his uniform; Yossarian, however, is perhaps the sanest member of the group. Was Yossarian sane when the other men thought he was crazy?" The difference in tenses separates these two ideas, leaving a gap in time and therefore in information.
- Example (consistent): "The other men think Yossarian is crazy because he no longer wants to wear his uniform; Yossarian, however, is perhaps the sanest member of the group.这两个句子的现在时表明约塞连是理智的，而其他人则认为他疯了.
- With multiple tenses
有时一篇论文在讨论现在的主题时需要参考过去或未来的事件. 在这些情况下保持一致性的关键是回到一个时态作为参考点.- 例子(听不清):“书面和口头证据都支持这样一种观点，即美国殖民者和英国公民对自由和政府代表的重要性持有相似的观点.如果作者的意思是殖民时期的证据支持这些观点, this consistent past tense is fine. 然而，如果仍然有证据支持这些观点，动词时态应该表明这一点.
- 例子(清楚):“书面和口头证据都支持这样一种观点，即美洲殖民者和英国公民对自由和政府代表的重要性持有相似的看法." In this version, the colonists and citizens are still part of
历史(过去时)，但所讨论的证据与今天相关(现在时).
Check for consistency
- With passive voice: Inverting subject and verb can be confusing. When you notice passive voice in your own work, 仔细检查助动词的时态是否与你要使用的时态一致.
- Example: "Her application is/was being processed." The meaning of the sentence depends on the tense of “to be.”
- 引用文本时:你想要使用的引文可能与你的论文时态不同, 但是一定要用你写作时所用的时态来介绍引文.
- 例子:“这些物质收入并不是她真正想要的. 叙述者最后写道:“她的成功让她兴奋、兴奋，然后又感到无聊...the poor woman herself was yawning in spirit” (503)." Even though the quotation is in the past tense, 引出它的短语与前面的句子在时态上是一致的. This logic helps for the same reason that present tense is always used to discuss literary works; the narrator claims, just as this character desires.
- 当讨论文本之外的世界时:反思文本或讨论开始前发生的事件或结束后将发生的事件需要混合时态, which can be confusing. 仔细检查你是否在适当的时间范围内讨论了这些类别的事件.