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Barefootchuck Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

tense

Can a sentence have both present and past tense?
"She usually washes clothes from dawn till noon, but today she hired someone to do it."

Or having both tense in the same paragraph?
"Asuna doesn't know when to back down and often times succeeds in the end. Two days ago, she negotiated with the merchants to lend her family a farm without any collateral."
  

Top answer

barefootchuck Can a sentence have both present and past tense? Yes, and future, too. barefootchuck Or having both tense in the same paragraph?

— Mister Micawber

  • barefootchuck Can a sentence have both present and past tense?
  • Yes, and future, too.
  • barefootchuck Or having both tense in the same paragraph?
  • Yes, any combination is possible.
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3 Answers
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barefootchuckCan a sentence have both present and past tense?
Yes, and future, too.
barefootchuckOr having both tense in the same paragraph?
Yes, any combination is possible.
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Sorry to keep asking about this, but in respect to story writing, aren't most stories told in past tense? Is it still okay to shift tense like that?

Thanks,
Chuck
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barefootchuck in respect to story writing, aren't most stories told in past tense?
Short stories, yes, but not absolutely, and longer ones have room for all sorts of verb forms.
barefootchuckIs it still okay to shift tense like that?
The examples you presented are perfectly fine.
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