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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
This/That evening, he was distressed.
Hello, I am writing a chapter of a story set in the past. Sometimes I read books written in the past tense which contain expressions like 'today was a bad day for Mark'. So I was wondering if the same applies to the sentence I have written in the title, in which case the correct form to use would be 'This evening, he was distressed.'
Can anyone help me please?
Can anyone help me please?
Top answer
It depends on the point of view you wish to establish in that chapter. If you want to keep the story very objective, you can keep your word choices more remote ( That evening ). If you want the reader to be drawn into the story as if it were happening here and now, use the determiner that indicates something closer ( This evening ).
- It depends on the point of view you wish to establish in that chapter.
- If you want to keep the story very objective, you can keep your word choices more remote ( That evening ).
- If you want the reader to be drawn into the story as if it were happening here and now, use the determiner that indicates something closer ( This evening ).
- Both are correct.
- Just be consistent throughout your story.
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1 Answers
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It depends on the point of view you wish to establish in that chapter. If you want to keep the story very objective, you can keep your word choices more remote (That evening). If you want the reader to be drawn into the story as if it were happening here and now, use the determiner that indicates something closer (This evening). Both are correct. Just be consistent throughout you
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