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Knightofsports Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

(inside content)

So after Bar 1 we went to Bar 2 and as we were sitting there,( this guy comes up to me and asks me if I want to go on stage and arm wrestle with this other guy for a round of drinks.) At first I didn't want to because I was really tired from all the walking but I gave in and went on anyway.

Is it okay to shift to the present here? Notice how after the parenthesis I went back to the past tense again. Is this okay? Or should I continue on with the present tense if possible...

Thank you!
  

Top answer

Knightofsports Is this okay? Yes.

— RandomGuy

  • Knightofsports Is this okay?
  • Yes.
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6 Answers
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KnightofsportsIs this okay?
Yes.
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The Simple Present can be used this way to tell a story. Intermingling it with other tenses like this is not unusual in casual, spoken English.
Don't use the parentheses.

Clive
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CliveThe Simple Present can be used this way to tell a story. Intermingling it with other tenses like this is not unusual in casual, spoken English.Don't use the parentheses.Clive
( this guy comes up to me and asks me if I want to go on stage and arm wrestle with this other guy for a round of drinks.)

What if instead of that I use:

This guy c
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Simple Past is fine.

Perhaps the writer/speaker wanted to make his English more colourful and/or colloquial.

Or perhaps his English is just not good. Using a lot of Simple Present tense like this is sometimes an indicator of poor education.

Clive
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CliveQuote
Really? Shifting to the present tense is actually harder to do for me.. Sticking to one tense(past tense for example) comes natural to me.

I hear people shift all the time so I'm just trying to get a better understanding of the usage. Thanks!
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KnightofsportsI know both are acceptable but whats the point of changing tenses if they mean the same thing either way.
The information content is the same, but the feeling isn't the same. Switching to the present like that makes your story more vivid and exciting. With the present you set the mood so that the listener is more likely to feel that he is reall
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