What tenses to use?

Question

I'm having a problem when writing essays, when to use what tense. Should an essay be used all in one tense? What kind of tenses usually go together, like you should not have past and present in the same paragraph, etc.. Thanks

Answer 1

present i would think since you're writing it now

Answer 2

In the English language there are 12 tenses altogether(or even 18 if you count future in the past uses), but more than half of them are seldom used. I should say you shouldn't use only one tense in an essay because you might want to refer to something that happend or had been done in the past and to something that will happen or will be done in the future.
It is impossible to teach you about this thoroughly in the brief space and time that I have. I can briefly say that generally you need to know five of the tenses to be able to write a good essay:
1. simple present ; 2. simple past 3. simple future; 4. present continuous and present perfect tense. There is no such rule that you should not use the past and the present tenses in the same paragraph. What you meant must be, using the past and the present tenses in a sentence when you refer to the same event. But certainly not in the paragraph.

For example :

The invention of computer is (present) to me the greatest human accomplishment. It has helped(present perfect) us a lot in making life easier, convenient and pleasant. I do not know what will happen (simple future) in the future, but if we live longer, there will certainly be more and more discoveries and inventions that will make life even better then now. Communicating (present continuous) with others have been(present perfect) slow and difficult before the iinvention of this marvelous piece of engineering. Before the invention of computer and the internet it took(simple past) weeks to correspond between friends or relatives. But now we can do(simple present) it in just minutes.

I hope that has been a help to you. If you encounter any more problem, you can go to my profile and send me a message through that venue. All the best in your studies.

Answer 3

In most cases you need to stick with one tense throughout....usually present, unless there is a valid reason to switch.

Answer 4

Bend the rules, push the boundaries.

"I didn't used to like sprouts, but now I love them. Who knows what the future will bring? I certainly didn't in the past"

See what I mean. That would be a brilliant start to a story.