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Writing in Present Tense: The Secret to This Popular Writing Style

Writing a novel or short story in the present tense can be exciting. It feels like everything is happening as you write the words. This is similar to what happens when you read a story written in the present tense. 

But just because it's exciting and immediate doesn't mean it's right for every story. Once you understand the benefits and drawbacks of writing in the present tense, you can determine whether it's the right tense choice for your story. 

• What defines the present tense in fiction.
• How to write in the present tense (with examples). 
• Pros and cons of present tense writing.

Table of contents

• What is the Present Tense in Fiction?
• The Simple Present Tense
• The Present Progressive Tense
• The Present Perfect Tense
• The Present Perfect Progressive Tense
• Present Tense Books to Read
• Benefits of Present Tense Writing
• Drawbacks of Present Tense Writing
• Check Your Genre
• Consider Characters and Timeline
• Changing Tenses
• Still Not Sure? Try Both!
• Writing in Present Tense: Conclusion

The present tense is a type of grammatical tense used to explain events as though they're happening right now. While this is generally not the way people tell each other stories, it has become increasingly popular in fiction in recent years. 

Here's an example of the present tense:

I'm waiting for the bus when I notice the man. Something about his body language bothers me. I have seen him before, but I can't remember where. Now I straighten as he approaches , as if making myself look bigger will force him to think twice if he means me harm. This is silly because I stand just a hair above five feet tall on my best day. The man passes me on the sidewalk, leaving me feeling a mixture of relief and self-recrimination. I've been prone to anxiety for years, but this is ridiculous.

There's a lot to talk about in that passage, but we'll get to it all as we go through this post. For now, just note the use of the present tense verbs, which are bolded above. Some are action verbs, while others (like “is”) are state-of-being verbs. 

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Understanding the Present Tense: The Four Tenses

Even if you aren't technically familiar with the present verb tense, chances are you know it when you see it. If you're like many writers, you have an instinctive understanding of both major tenses used in fiction writing: the present and the past. This simply comes from all the reading you've done over your life. 

While this is a good place to start, it pays to develop a deeper understanding. After all, this is the best way (along with practice) to master the craft of writing. So let's get into it without delay!

There are four verb tenses in the present tense that every writer should be familiar with . These are simple present, present perfect, present progressive, and present perfect progressive. The two you'll be using most while writing present tense fiction are the simple present tense and the present progressive tense, so we'll start with those. 

This is the simplest and most immediate form of the present tense. It's used to describe actions taking place now. This can be for single actions or habitual ones. Most of the passage above is written in simple present, but here are some specific examples:

Something about his body language bothers me. 

Now I straighten as he approaches . . . 

This is silly because I stand just a hair above five feet tall on my best day. The man passes me on the sidewalk. . .

All the action described above is happening in the story's present — your timeline anchor when writing in the present tense.  

Now let's look at the next most common form of the present tense used in fiction. 

Sometimes called present continuous, this verb tense is used to describe action that is ongoing in the present tense. There are two examples of present progressive in the passage above:

I'm waiting for the bus . . . 

. . . leaving me feeling a mixture of relief and self-recrimination.

The character is still waiting for the bus when she notices the man. It's an ongoing action. Same with the feeling she has after the man passes and she realizes she's not in danger. 

Present perfect is used to describe actions that have already been completed before the story's “now.” It can also describe habitual past actions. Here's the only example from the passage:

I have seen him before, but I can't remember where.

The character has seen him before, in the past, making this an action started and completed in the past.  

Sometimes called present perfect continuous, this tense is used to describe actions that were started in the past but continue in the literary present. Here's the only example from the passage:

I've been prone to anxiety for years, but this is ridiculous.

You can usually tell present perfect progressive by the use of “have” and “been” together. In this case, she started suffering from anxiety in the past (years ago) and is still suffering in the present. It's a continuous action.

As I’m sure you already know, it’s beneficial to read books written in the present tense if you hope to write one yourself. There are a number of present-tense books you can read from various eras. Here are some of the most notable:

• Bleak House by Charles Dickens
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Rabbit, Run by John Updike
• Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets by Chelsea Ichaso

As mentioned above, the primary reason many authors use the present tense is for the sense of immediacy. It gives the story a cinematic feel that is hard to replicate when writing in the past tense. 

It also happens that the present tense can provide for a more intimate relationship with the narrator and/or the POV character . This can be ideal if your plot uses an unreliable narrator to pack a twist at the end. 

Finally, from a writing point of view , some authors find it simpler to write a present-tense story than a past-tense story. In the past tense, you have access to all twelve tenses in the English language. In the present tense, you really only use four, with an occasional past perfect tense thrown in during a flashback. This can make things simpler during the writing and editing process. 

The factors that make present tense writing great for some stories serve to make it less than ideal for others. The present tense can lend a story that takes place over a short period a sense of immediacy. But it can make stories with longer timelines seem awkward or strained. After all, it's hard to jump around in time smoothly while writing in present tense. 

The factors that can make present-tense writing ideal for stories with one or two point-of-view characters also limit its usefulness in stories with larger casts. Not only is it harder to delve naturally into a secondary character's background or motivations, but it can give the reader whiplash when you jump around from character to character in this kind of writing. 

Finally, a considerable drawback of present-tense writing is that many readers don't like it. While it is slowly getting more popular, especially in YA novels, it's still not the preferred style of many readers. This is why it's crucially important to pay attention to the genre before opting for this tense. 

Tips for Writing in the Present Tense

Now that we've covered the four primary tenses you'll use when writing a present tense novel, let's dive into some tips to help you decide whether present tense is ideal for your story. 

If you plan to become a professional writer, then you'll likely want to write to market. By paying attention to what readers of your genre like, you can write something that will have wide reader appeal. This is a great way to give your book the best chance of success . 

So before you decide on present or past tense, take a look at your genre and see what tense most other authors (especially ones you like) are using. Let this influence your decision.

Conversely, if you’re writing just for the pleasure of it, you won’t need to worry about wide reader appeal. There’s certainly nothing wrong with concentrating fully on writing the book you want to write. 

While it's entirely possible to jump around from character to character and across time in a present-tense narrative, it's not easy to do well. Since this writing tense feels so immediate, it can be jarring to jump ahead a week or a day—even an hour. 

This is why present-tense novels tend to stick with a small number of POV characters (often only one) and take place over a relatively short period of time. So if you have a wide cast of characters all in different places or times, then consider carefully writing in the present tense.  

We covered the four primary tenses you'll use when writing a story in the present tense. When you move from one of these tenses to another, it's called a tense shift. This is not the same as a tense change. 

When you change to a different tense—like from present to past—there needs to be a clear reason for it. If you're shifting briefly to simple past to relay a past event before coming back to the present moment, this is okay. It's just not a good idea to alternate between these two tenses for significant chunks of the book. 

For example, think carefully before doing something like writing certain chapters in the present tense while writing others in past. It's possible to craft a great story doing this, but it's certainly not the norm and it's not easy. 

If, after reading this far, you're still not sure whether to use past or present tense, consider writing a couple of chapters of your story in both . Once you're done, step away from them for a few days or a week (or a month!), and then come back and read them with fresh eyes. This should help you determine which tense is right for your story.  

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Writing in the present tense takes some getting used to. After all, this is not the natural way we tell stories. But that doesn't mean you should discount it altogether. It's a tool to keep your writer's toolbox. And once you understand it well, you can take it out and use it with ease when you need it. 

To get used to writing in the present tense, consider short stories . Not only does the present tense work well for short fiction , but it's a great way to practice. This can help you pay attention to the benefits and drawbacks of the present tense before tackling a full-length novel. 

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Writing Studio

How (and why) do i write in literary present tense.

In an effort to make our handouts more accessible, we have begun converting our PDF handouts to web pages. Download this page as a PDF:  How (and why) do I write in literary present tense? Return to Writing Studio Handouts

Literary works, paintings, films, and other artistic creations are assumed to exist in an eternal present. Therefore, when you write about writers or artists as they express themselves in their work, use the present tense.

Past or Present Tense? A Basic Guideline

You should use the past tense when discussing historical events, and you should use the literary present when discussing fictional events.

Context matters , though, so take a look through the more granular guidelines below and keep in mind that expectations and conventions around the tense we use to write about textual sources we are engaging or analyzing may differ between disciplines (for instance, in a history class you might be told to write about texts using past tense that you would be expected to discuss in the ‘literary present’ in an English class.).

Taking a Closer Look: Context-Based Guidelines

1. when commenting on what a writer says, use the present tense..

• Example: “Dunn begins his work with a view into the lives and motivations of the very first settlers.”
• Example: “Through this anecdote, Richter illustrates common misconceptions about native religion and shows why missionary attempts were less than successful.”

2. When describing an author’s work, however, use the past tense.

• Example: “In 1966, Driss Chraïbi published La Civilisation, ma Mère! “

3. When you are writing about a certain historical event (even the creation of a literary or artistic work), use the past tense.

• Example: “Henry Fielding wrote in the eighteenth century.”
• Example: “Picasso produced a series of sculptures.”

4. When discussing events in a literary work (novel, story, play, or poem) always use the present tense, unless there is a shift in the time frame within the world of the text.

• Example: “Evelyn then rips into the carefully wrapped package and finds the greatest gift she has ever received. Her eyes fill with tears as she gazes at the jewel, but Philip does not know that these tears are the results of more than surprised joy. Evelyn is suffering from guilt as she compares this present to the shoddy gift that she bought* for her beau.”

*“ Bought ” is in past tense because the buying of the present occurred before the described set of events.

• Example: “In Michelangelo’s painting, Christ judges the world.”
• Example: “Johnson’s characters journey to Cairo.”
• Example: “Plato argues without much conviction.”
• Example: “Paul writes about the hardships he has endured.”

5. Sometimes a sentence must employ both present and past tense.

• Example: “The first part of the poem, which she completed in 1804, describes the effects of isolation from society.”
• Example: “Aeschylus’ drama is concerned with what happens to Orestes after he has killed his mother.”

Final Tips and Reminders

Remember: it is important to stay consistent..

Moving between verb tenses can be confusing for your reader. Examine your changes of tense very carefully and make sure there is a logical reason for them.

Style Tip: Keeping Sentence-Level Tense Shifts Manageable

If you need to shift tense more than three times in a single sentence, consider breaking up the sentence into a couple of shorter sentences to maintain reading ease.

Last revised: 8/10/2007 | Adapted for web delivery: 07/2021

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Verb Tenses

What this handout is about.

The present simple, past simple, and present perfect verb tenses account for approximately 80% of verb tense use in academic writing. This handout will help you understand how to use these three verb tenses in your own academic writing.

Click here for a color-coded illustration of changing verb tenses in academic writing.

Present simple tense

The present simple tense is used:

In your introduction, the present simple tense describes what we already know about the topic. In the conclusion, it says what we now know about the topic and what further research is still needed.

“The data suggest…” “The research shows…”

“The dinoflagellate’s TFVCs require an unidentified substance in fresh fish excreta” (Penrose and Katz, 330).

“There is evidence that…”

“So I’m walking through the park yesterday, and I hear all of this loud music and yelling. Turns out, there’s a free concert!” “Shakespeare captures human nature so accurately.”

Past simple tense

Past simple tense is used for two main functions in most academic fields.

“…customers obviously want to be treated at least as well on fishing vessels as they are by other recreation businesses. [General claim using simple present] De Young (1987) found the quality of service to be more important than catching fish in attracting repeat customers. [Specific claim from a previous study using simple past] (Marine Science)

We conducted a secondary data analysis… (Public Health) Descriptional statistical tests and t-student test were used for statistical analysis. (Medicine) The control group of students took the course previously… (Education)

Present perfect tense

The present perfect acts as a “bridge” tense by connecting some past event or state to the present moment. It implies that whatever is being referred to in the past is still true and relevant today.

“There have been several investigations into…” “Educators have always been interested in student learning.”

Some studies have shown that girls have significantly higher fears than boys after trauma (Pfefferbaum et al., 1999; Pine &; Cohen, 2002; Shaw, 2003). Other studies have found no gender differences (Rahav and Ronen, 1994). (Psychology)

Special notes

Can i change tenses.

Yes. English is a language that uses many verb tenses at the same time. The key is choosing the verb tense that is appropriate for what you’re trying to convey.

What’s the difference between present simple and past simple for reporting research results?

• Past simple limits your claims to the results of your own study. E.g., “Our study found that teenagers were moody.” (In this study, teenagers were moody.)
• Present simple elevates your claim to a generalization. E.g., “Our study found that teenagers are moody.” (Teenagers are always moody.)

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Biber, Douglas. 1999. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English . New York: Longman.

Hawes, Thomas, and Sarah Thomas. 1997. “Tense Choices in Citations.” Research into the Teaching of English 31 (3): 393-414.

Hinkel, Eli. 2004. Teaching Academic ESL Writing: Practical Techniques in Vocabulary and Grammar . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Penrose, Ann, and Steven Katz. 2004. Writing in the Sciences: Exploring the Conventions of Scientific Discourse , 2nd ed. New York: Longman.

Swales, John, and Christine B. Feak. 2004. Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Tasks and Skills , 2nd ed. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Writing in the present tense: The good and the bad

Latest posts.

What are the pros and cons of writing a story or novel in present tense?

Before you start writing your novel or short story, you need to decide what tense to write it in.

There is no right or wrong but the choice you make will determine your approach.

Will your story recount events that have already taken place ( Lucy waited by the door ) or will it be set in an ongoing present ( Lucy waits by the door ) ? You can see just from those two brief examples that each option will offer different possibilities in terms of writing style and narrative approach.

You have two tense choices when it comes to writing fiction: past and present.

Using the past tense in fiction is time-honoured and for many, the default choice, but writing in the present tense is a stylistic choice that is increasingly used in modern fiction.

The present tense is used more in contemporary literary fiction, in short stories and in writing that plays or experiments with form – and also in a lot of middle grade and young adult books. Past tense is the default setting for most genre fiction.

As the simple past tense is traditionally used for storytelling, it presents fewer challenges to the reader, who doesn’t notice the tense that is being used and is immediately immersed in the world of the story. Past tense foregrounds the story, rather than the prose it’s written in. Present tense tends to be a deliberate stylistic choice used by a writer to create a conscious effect. You are signalling the reader’s attention to when your story takes place. This tense choice can be particularly effective when you want a reader to understand the world of your story as it unfolds through the eyes of a first-person narrator.

Benefits of writing in present tense

✓ it’s cinematic.

The present-tense is ideal for writing an impressionistic narrative that is playing out in an immediate timescale. Screenplays are written in first person because they express ongoing narrative and a close perspective, and both of these can be used to great effect in fiction. If you’re writing a story and want it to feel as if it’s set in real time, the present tense is a good choice

✓ It’s immediate

You can make readers relate to what’s going on in your fictional world and be involved in it by showing what happens – events, feelings, ideas – in the moment they occur. When each impression or scene you write takes place in the absolute moment, it means that the reader is right in there, experiencing the events of your story as they unfold. This can create a sense of intimacy or dramatic impact.

✓ It can feel more authentic

Because present tense allows for closer narration, it can create the sense of a unique character perspective. A present tense narrative can convey emotions, thoughts and impressions in the moment. Many writers who use the present tense feel that it’s a natural tense to write to reflect the world we live in now, where the voice of the individual is prioritised and what and how we write is influenced by TV, film and online culture.

✓ It’s vivid

Writing in the present tense means the information you present hasn’t got the perspective of being reported later. It’s written in the moment, without an effect of being filtered or processed or reported (though we know it has, because you’re a writer and it hasn’t happened by accident). What the reader has to focus on is the image you create, as it occurs, which makes for dynamic impressions.

✓ It’s good for delivering a deep first-person point of view

If you want to deliver the mindset of a first-person character, the immediacy of writing in the present tense means that your reader is right in there with your narrator, seeing what they see and experiencing the world of the story through their eyes. Rather than being an omniscient narrator, the writer shares the character’s focus. If you are writing an unreliable narrator using the present tense is an excellent way of delivering a narrative perspective at odds with the ‘true’ version of events in your story.

Drawbacks of writing in present tense

χ some readers don’t like it.

For every writer who feels the past tense is a bit ‘old school’ there is a reader who prefers a narrative that sticks with the convention of using the simple past tense. Present tense stories may feel natural for young readers but adult readers with a lifetime of reading work written in past tense may find present tense jarring – and it may be hard for them to get beyond the tense choice and into the world of your story. Literary fiction readers will be more open to experiments in form but for readers of genre fiction who want to be immediately immersed in the story, present tense may detract from their reading pleasure.

χ It can feel contrived

There is nothing more likely to put off readers than a writing voice that feels like a self-conscious pose. If writing in the present tense doesn’t feel like a natural fit for your story, it will read awkwardly and draw your reader’s attention to your attempt at technique rather than the story you’re writing. If you’re unsure about whether to use first person, try writing two versions of a short story, or a few pages of a longer work – one in present tense and one in past tense – to see which approach suits your story best and feels most comfortable for you as a writer.

χ It makes it harder to use time shifts

Writing in the past tense makes it possible for you to set your story at any point in time you choose, and move around between time periods. Writing in the present tense limits you to the present: being committed to the present tense also means being locked into it, and having less freedom than a past-tense writer to manipulate time to your story’s advantage. A past-tense writer can move around freely in time (and use all the available tenses to do so); a present-tense writer is restricted. Again, it depends what suits your story.

χ  It can make the focus too detailed

Although the present tense is very good for conveying a first-person narrator or a close third-person narrator, it also means that the writer wanting to appear naturalistic may overwhelm the reader with details of what that narrator sees, thinks, feels and experiences. It may be tempting for your narrator to describe everything they see, but do readers need to know what they thought about what they had for breakfast? Too much focus on the ongoing internal life of the narrator can detract from the story that is being told. If you use present tense, make sure all the information your character conveys is relevant. The character may be the story, but present-tense narrative still needs to be a story.

χ It’s harder to write

The writer who choses present tense for their story limits their narrative options in terms of available tenses – writers using the past tense have up to 12 tenses they can use; present-tense writers have four. It’s more difficult to maintain a present-tense voice without flipping between tenses. It limits you if you want to write stories with complex time-schemes, or create layered characters other than a first-person/close third person lead. If you want to create and build suspense, present tense will only allow you to convey the kind of tension that arises from not knowing what is going to happen next.

The choice of whether or not to use present tense for your story depends what you want to write – it doesn’t suit everything. It’s a good choice if you want to write a story that feels immediate, or one with a close single focus on the narrator’s viewpoint. It’s less useful if you want to create a story that moves around in time. It draws attention to itself, so if you do use it, you have to use it well or readers will notice the flaws rather than your story. Read some present tense novels to get a feel for how it works and how you might apply it in your own writing. Try The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins; The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, Rabbit, Run by John Updike, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.

So now you're all fired up, what better time to start writing your present tense story than... right now! Get some ideas for how to start your story here . It's particularly suited to crime and thriller short stories ... Enter now!

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Present Narrative Tense: Tell Your Story in the Present

English tenses are difficult to navigate, because both mood and meaning are acutely sensitive to verb forms. This article shows the basics of how to use the present narrative tense of your manuscript.

When writing a research article, my three guidelines on tenses are:

• Use the present narrative tense. The simple present makes statements intended to be true regardless of time and without any stance. The present perfect relates a past situation/action to the present situation/result. As the narrative tense, the present accommodates the past tense and all modal verb usage seamlessly.
• Use the past tense only when referring to a specific past that’s either: wrong/no longer relevant, or of actual historical interest (e.g., when writing a review article).
• Use modal verbs only when the situation requires a specific stance. In academic prose, this usually means (cap)ability ( can ) or future time ( will ), rather than degree of (un)certainty, permission, necessity, or obligation ( may , might , could , should , must , etc.).

The frequency distribution of the present-tense (70 %), past-tense (20 %), and modal verbs (10 %) in the academic-prose register of the English corpus supports this approach (right-most bar in chart).

Confusion will set in as soon as you start switching between the present and the past for the wrong reason. Adding passive voice to the mix will make things even worse. When this happens, my advice is:

• (re)write in the active voice,
• change all tenses to the present, and
• touch up with past or modal verbs where necessary.

Makeover of a Famous Article Excerpt

Note: following I use single ( double ) underline to highlight active ( passive ) verbs . I use blue , yellow , green , and grey to highlight present tense , past tense , modal , and non-finite verbs , respectively, where useful.

Consider the following example (Saiki, 1988):

①A thermostable DNA polymerase was used in an in vitro DNA amplification procedure, the polymerase chain reaction. The enzyme, isolated from Thermus aquaticus, ②greatly simplifies the procedure and, ③by enabling the amplification reaction to be performed at higher temperatures, ④significantly improves the specificity, yield, sensitivity, and length of products that can be amplified. ⑤Single-copy genomic sequences were amplified by a factor of more than 10 million with very high specificity, and ⑥DNA segments up to 2000 base pairs were readily amplified . In addition, ⑦the method was used to amplify and detect a target DNA molecule present only once in a sample of 105 cells.

The abstract begins with idea ① using the past tense, suggesting the narrative tense of the abstract. This forces the reader to refocus to the present in ②, and then back to the past in ⑤.

Idea ③ uses the nonfinite verb “enabling,” reducing the significance of the enzyme’s role in the experiment.

These problems are all related to the use of the passive voice, which was intended to avoid personal pronouns. Note that all passive-voice sentences are in the past, while the active-voice sentences are in the present. Why the authors chose to switch tenses is unclear at this point.

Rewriting Using the Active Voice

①We (have) used a thermostable polymerase enzyme to improve the known polymerase chain reaction in vitro DNA amplification. ③The new enzyme enables higher temperature amplification, which ② simplifies the overall procedure and ④ enhances the specificity, yield, sensitivity and length of the target product. ⑤We (have) achieved single-copy genomic sequence amplification of ⑥up to 2000 base pairs by a factor of more than 10 million with very high specificity. ⑦We (have) demonstrated this by detecting the presence of a single target DNA molecule in a sample of 105 cells.

This rewrite reveals the authors used the past tense to relate their past actions to the current results (as in “we have achieved”). The “(have)s” show that the past tenses can be written in the present perfect instead, to convey the same time information in the present narrative tense. The (have)s also demonstrate how the present perfect is easily confused with the simple past. The verb in ③ is changed to the simple present and rewritten as the first verb of the sentence to highlight the role of the enzyme as the key technical advance of this work.

Touch Up with Present Narrative Tense

The time information conveyed above by the simple past/present perfect is redundant. Here I switch all verbs to the simple present. Note that I choose to highlight the new method’s capability using the modal “can amplify,” but the simple present “amplifies” also works. This last point is a matter of preference.

①We use a thermostable polymerase enzyme to improve the known polymerase chain reaction in vitro DNA amplification. ③The new enzyme enables higher temperature amplification, which ② simplifies the overall procedure and ④ enhances the specificity, yield, sensitivity and length of the target product. ⑤Our new method can amplify single-copy genomic sequences of ⑥up to 2000 base pairs by a factor of more than 10 million with very high specificity. ⑦We demonstrate this by detecting the presence of a single target DNA molecule in a sample of 105 cells.

Takeaways from the Rewrites

Being consistent is key. Switching for no reason between past and present (original version), or even between present perfect and simple present (first rewrite) is distracting—like a camera zooming in and out of the subject while you’re trying to see what the subject is. Consistent use of the simple present (final touch up) lets the reader take in the whole picture. 

The past narrative tense has a stance. Let’s try switching the narrative tense of our final touch up from the present to the past:

①We used a thermostable polymerase enzyme to improve the known polymerase chain reaction in vitro DNA amplification. ③The new enzyme enabled higher temperature amplification, which ② simplified the overall procedure and ④ enhanced the specificity, yield, sensitivity and length of the target product. ⑤Our new method could amplify single-copy genomic sequences of ⑥up to 2000 base pairs by a factor of more than 10 million with very high specificity. ⑦We demonstrated this by detecting the presence of a single target DNA molecule in a sample of 105 cells.

The new tense states the exact same truths as the final touch up, but exclusively in some past. This stance makes the abstract sound more like a Conclusions section. Even I didn’t expect this effect before writing it out.

Passive voice makes everything more difficult including verb-tense usage. Just write in the active voice. It will save you time and grief.

Conclusions

Academic prose requires strict tense usage. Write everything in the present then adjust the stance accordingly. Adding time information with the past is usually redundant.

Works Consulted

Biber D., Johansson S., Leech G., Conrad S. and Finegan E. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. London: Longman, 1999, p. 456.

Saiki R.K., Gelfand D.H., Stoffel S., Scharf S.J., Higuchi R., Horn G.T., Mullis K.B. and Erlich H.A. Primer-directed enzymatic amplification of DNA with a thermostable DNA polymerase . Science 239 (1988), 487-91.

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Writing tenses: 5 tips for past, present, future

Understanding how to use writing tenses is challenging. How do you mix past, present and future tense without making the reader giddy? What is the difference between ‘simple’ and ‘perfect’ tense? Read this simple guide for answers to these questions and more:

• Post author By Jordan
• 28 Comments on Writing tenses: 5 tips for past, present, future

What are the main writing tenses?

In English, we have so-called ‘simple’ and ‘perfect’ tenses in the past, present and future. The simple tense merely conveys action in the time narrated. For example:

Past (simple) tense: Sarah ran to the store. Present (simple) tense: Sarah runs to the store. Future (simple) tense: Sarah will run to the store

Perfect tense uses the different forms of the auxiliary verb ‘has’ plus the main verb to show actions that have taken place already (or will/may still take place). Here’s the above example sentence in each tense, in perfect form:

Past perfect: Sarah had run to the store. Present perfect: Sarah has run to the store. Future perfect: Sarah will have run to the store.

In the past perfect, Sarah’s run is an earlier event in a narrative past:

Sarah had run to the store many times uneventfully so she wasn’t at all prepared for what she saw that morning.

You could use the future perfect tense to show that Sarah’s plans will not impact on another event even further in the future. For example:

Sarah will have run to the store by the time you get here so we won’t be late.

(You could also say ‘Sarah will be back from the store by the time you get here so we won’t be late.’ This is a simpler option using the future tense with the infinitive ‘to be’.) Here are some tips for using the tenses in a novel:

1. Decide which writing tenses would work best for your story

The majority of novels are written using simple past tense and the third person:

She ran her usual route to the store, but as she rounded the corner she came upon a disturbing sight.

When you start drafting a novel or a scene, think about the merits of each tense. The present tense, for example, has the virtue of:

• Immediacy: The action unfolds in the same narrative moment as the reader experiences it (there is no temporal distance: Each action happens now)
• Simplicity: It’s undeniably easier to write ‘She runs her usual route to the store’ then to juggle all sorts of remote times using auxiliary verbs

Sometimes authors are especially creative in combining tense and POV. In Italo Calvino’s postmodern classic , If on a winter’s night a traveler ( 1979), the entire story is told in the present tense, in the second person. This has the effect of a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ novel. To rewrite Sarah’s story in the same tense and POV:

You run your usual route to the store, but as you round the corner you come upon a disturbing sight.

This tense choice is smart for Calvino’s novel since it increases the puzzling nature of the story. In If on a winter’s night a traveler , you, the reader, are a character who buys Calvino’s novel If on a winter’s night a traveler , only to discover that there are pages missing. When you attempt to return it, you get sent on a wild goose chase after the book you want.

Tense itself can enliven an element of your story’s narration. In a thriller novel, for example, you can write tense scenes in first person, present tense for a sense of danger unfolding now . Tweet This

A muffled shot. He sits up in bed, tensed and listening. Can’t hear much other than the wind scraping branches along the gutter.

2. Avoid losing clarity when mixing tenses

Because stories show us chains and sequences of events, often we need to jump back and forth between earlier and present scenes and times. This is especially true in novels where characters’ memories form a crucial part of the narrative.

It’s confusing when an author changes tense in the middle of a scene. The fragmented break in continuity makes it hard to place actions in relation to each other. For example:

Sarah runs her usual route to the store. As she turned the corner, she came upon a disturbing scene.

This is wrong because the verbs do not consistently use the same tense , even though it is clear (from context) that Sarah’s run is a continuous action in a single scene.

Ursula K. Le Guin offers excellent advice on mixing past and present in her writing manual, Steering the Craft :

It is highly probable that if you go back and forth between past and present tense, if you switch the tense of your narrative frequently and without some kind of signal (a line break, a dingbat,a new chapter) your reader will get all mixed up as to what happened before what and what’s happening after which and when we are, or were, at the moment. Ursula K. Le Guin, Steering the Craft

In short, make sure there are clear breaks between sections set in different tenses and that actions in the same timeline don’t create confusion by using different tenses for the same scene’s continuous events.

These 10 exercises for practicing tenses provide a fun way to focus on mastering the basics.

Get a professional edit for perfect tense

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3: Mix the tenses for colour and variety

Le Guin raises a good point about writing tenses. Le Guin describes the downside of telling a story almost exclusively in present tense:

It all rather sounds alike…it’s bland, predictable, risk-free. All too often, it’s McProse. The wealth and complexity of our verb forms is part of the color of the language. Using only one tense is like having a whole set of oil paints and using only pink. Le Guin, Steering the Craft

Instead mix different tenses where appropriate, but signal changes between time settings:

For example:

That morning, she had run her usual route to the store. As she turned the corner, she had come upon a disturbing scene. Apart from the glass and metal sprayed across the road like some outgoing tide’s deposit, there were what looked like two stretchers, mostly eclipsed from view by a swarm of emergency workers. Now, safely home, she decided to lie down, all the while trying to get that scene out of her mind.

Mixing the tenses can help to show the cause and effect of interlocking events. The use of the past perfect to describe the scene of an accident in the example above is effective because the past perfect shows what is already complete. It gives it an irrevocable quality, the quality of a haunting, living-on-in-memory event. Finished, but not finished in the character’s mind’s eye.

4. Practice showing shadowy past or present actions using verb forms

In addition to simple and perfect tenses, there are different ‘moods’ that show verbs as hypothetical or possible actions. In addition to the indicative mood (‘she runs to the store’) there is also the subjunctive mood (‘If she runs to the store’) and the potential mood (‘she may run to the store’).

The different moods are useful because they can show possibilities and scenarios that might have happened, or might still happen, under different circumstances. Here are examples for correct uses for each of the tenses (in active voice):

Subjunctive mood:

Present tense: If she runs to the store… Past tense: If she ran to the store… Future tense: If she should run to the store… Present perfect tense: If she has run to the store… Past perfect tense: If she had run to the store… Future perfect tense: If she should have run to the store….

Think of this mood as setting up a possibility. For example: ‘If she runs to the store, she better be quick because we’re leaving in 5.’

The potential mood helps us show shadowy, more hypothetical, uncertain scenarios:

Present tense: She may run to the store. Present perfect tense: She may have run to the store. Past perfect: She might have run to the store.

In each of these examples, the action is a possibility and the mood (using the various forms of ‘may’) shows this.

These verb moods in conjunction with tense are useful. They help us describe situations in which a narrator or character does not have full knowledge of events, or is wondering how events might pan out. They help to build suspense in the build-up to finishing a book .

5. Practice rewriting paragraphs in different tenses

It’s often easiest to get the hang of tense by doing. Pick a paragraph by an author and rewrite in each of the tenses. Here, for example, is a paragraph from David Sedaris’ essay, ‘Buddy, Can you Spare a Tie?’:

The only expensive thing I actually wear is a navy blue cashmere sweater. It cost four hundred dollars and looks like it was wrestled from the mouth of a tiger. “What a shame,” the dry cleaner said the first time I brought it in. The sweater had been folded into a loaf-sized bundle, and she stroked it, the way you might a freshly dead rabbit. David Sedaris, ‘Buddy, Can you Spare a Tie?’ , When You Are Engulfed in Flames

Rewritten in past simple tense:

The only expensive thing I actually wore was a navy blue cashmere sweater. It cost four hundred dollars and looked like it was wrestled from the mouth of a tiger. “What a shame,” the dry cleaner said the first time I brought it in. The sweater was folded into a loaf-sized bundle, and she stroked it, the way you might a freshly dead rabbit.’

Here is the same passage in past perfect:

The only expensive thing I had actually worn was a navy blue cashmere sweater. It had cost four hundred dollars and had looked like it had been wrestled from the mouth of a tiger. “What a shame,” the dry cleaner had said, the first time I brought it in. The sweater had been folded into a loaf-sized bundle, and she had stroked it, the way you might a freshly dead rabbit.

The effect is of a character describing the defining experiences before another event (before buying an even more expensive item of clothing, for example). For example, you could write ‘Before I bought that lavish suit…’ before the paragraph.

To perfect writing tenses, make your own exercises and practice rewriting extracts from your story in each tense to see the changing effect this has on your narrative.

Do you need feedback on your use of tense in a story? Get novel help from our writing community or your own, experienced writing coach.

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• Tags how to write tense , tense and narration , writing tenses

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

28 replies on “Writing tenses: 5 tips for past, present, future”

A fine explanation of tenses. A subject often ignored, having been overlooked except by students of language. In short, changes in tense are great aids to tension.

Thanks, Bob! It’s true that it’s not discussed as commonly as certain other topics such as characterization.

Reading such articles clear all the confusion. Thanks!

I have question though, I am writing in past tense, all the events are happening in past tense. But, say, my protagonist is in a situation where she has to decide something and she is anticipating something, in short, it’s future for her, how do we go about that.

She was still sitting on the same bench, as she didn’t want to leave the light. She was sure that ………………………………………………………………….

What I want to write here is, she knew that she will not find any cab at this hour. a. She was sure that she will not find any cab at this hour. b. She was sure that she was not going to any cab at this hour. c. She was sure that she couldn’t get a cab at this hour.

In my current scene, I am trying to show the thought process of the protagonist and I have encountered 2 or 3 places where I have come across this situation. Am I doing something wrong? Should I not come across such situation at all if I am writing in past tense?

I understand reading helps, but at this moment, my mind is blank and I am not able to recollect anything that I (must) have read.

Please suggest.

Hi Jayendra,

Thanks for your question and the feedback. Number a. would be incorrect because ‘will’ is in the simple future tense (it would be correct in ‘She is sure she will not find any cab at this hour’). B would be correct with a few small tweaks: ‘She was sure she wasn’t going to find any cab at such a late hour’ (or ‘…any cab so late at night.’) Incidentally, ‘this’ implies present, continuous time so it is a little jarring in past tense (hence the alternatives above). c. Similarly, this option would be better as ‘She was sure she wouldn’t find a cab at such a late hour.’ ‘Would not’ is the right past tense form here, in present tense it would be ‘will not’. It implies future action in relation to the present time of the narration.

I hope that helps!

Hey Bridget, thanks for your reply. It feels silly now. If I was able to come up with “could”, why couldn’t I think of “would”! 🙂

Thank you for this article. Tense has been driving me insane as it feels like there are hundreds of exceptions when it comes to usage of “simple present verbs” in past tense narratives. It makes me want to disregard the entire subject and rely on an editor to catch any mistakes that I don’t naturally leave out.

For example. When you said, “Past perfect: Sarah had run to the store.” “Run” is a present (simple) tense verb, which would make you think that it can’t be used at all in a past tense narrative, but it clearly can if you phrase it correctly. This holds true with literally dozens of other verbs, adverbs, and other “tense” related words. I’m finding my work being hampered by this as I literally stumble over myself thinking I buggered up a word in my narrative, only to later find out it was a perfectly acceptable usage. I’m really at the breaking point over this, and I’m close to just disregarding it all together and relying on pure instinct and proofreading, then review by an editor at a later date. Then of course, there’s the whole deal with acceptable tense shifting…

Am I incorrect for thinking this way? Will this kind of mindset bar me from any chance of ever getting published or even being given an offer by an agent? Is there room in this world for easily confusable writers? I don’t know, and I can’t imagine how confusing this must be for foreign speakers, either. As I’ve been speaking english all my life and writing as a hobby for nearly a decade.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I actually do have an actual question. How do you use simple present tense usages of “being” when writing in second person past tense? Because the phrase, “You are…(whatever character’s name) comes up quite a bit. However, there’s no way to get around the fact that you have to use “are,” in the past tense continuous, and I can’t find any info on if that is correct or not.

I have a question. Would it be incorrect if my story is in first person point of view and narrated in the past tense, but the internal monologue of my narrator is in the present tense?

Ex. “Don’t you ever go anywhere else, Red?” My name isn’t Red. I can’t remember where that nickname came from. “I go to school.” I said. I could feel him rolling his eyes at me. I think he’s done that before. “Come with me today.” I looked at him then, a little puzzled. It was a bad idea and yet I said: “Okay.”

It sounds right in my head but I feel like the tenses are too all over the place to be correct. The narrator has memory problems so I want what he’s thinking to be read but I’m just not sure if this is correct. I’m more comfortable with past tense writing but should I switch to present tense?

I have the same question!

Hi Hannah, this comment slipped by, my sincere apologies for that.

Regarding your question, the tense switching does jolt the reader out of the story. If you’re more comfortable with past tense, I’d suggest putting the internal monologue in past, too. For example:

“I go to school,” I said. I could feel him rolling his eyes at me. He’d done that before.’ Similarly, for ‘I can’t remember where that nickname came form’, you could simplify it to make past tense less clunky as: ‘Where did that nickname come from?’

I hope your story is much further along now!

I’m a translator struggling with getting the past perfect correct in the story I’m working on. I find your article very helpful. Thank you 🙂

I have one question:

That morning, she had run her usual route to the store. As she turned the corner, she had come upon a disturbing scene. Apart from the glass and metal sprayed across the road like some outgoing tide’s deposit, there were what looked like two stretchers, mostly eclipsed from view by a swarm of emergency workers.

The above example sentences describe an event that had happened in the past from the narrator’s perspective, and that’s why the past perfect is used. Okay, no problem. But why isn’t everything in the past perfect? Why is it okay to leave some parts in simple past?

“As she turned the corner” instead of “As she had turned the corner” “there were what looked like two stretchers” instead of “there had been what looked two stretchers”

This is the exact issue I’m having in my story. When I put every single verb in the past perfect, the sentences sound very heavy, especially when the section describing the past event is long. But I’m not sure which parts are okay to leave in simple past.

Thank you for the feedback and for your question. You struck the exact reason there – stylistically, to put every single verb in past perfect does read clunkier and isn’t necessary. As long as there is a past-perfect verb establishing the time-frame of events, the rest of the events that are still contextually happening in the earlier time period don’t necessarily need past perfect. For example:

‘It happened last week. I had stopped by the vet shop to get my dog’s flea tablet [past perfect – prior action is established]. I was standing at the counter waiting to pay when I saw the new vet through the back entrance.’ If you wrote ‘I had been standing at the counter waiting to pay when I had seen the new vet…’ each instance of past perfect situates the action in a time period before the ‘main action’. Whereas the scene the narrator is describing is the main event unfolding after a prior action (stopping at the vet shop) situated before this encounter by past perfect tense.

There’s a useful article explaining past perfect further here: http://www.englishlessonsbrighton.co.uk/use-past-perfect-build-narratives/

Thank you so much for your quick response, Jordan! Your explanation and the link you shared are very helpful 😀

It’s a pleasure 🙂 Glad I could help! Good luck with your story.

Hi Jordan. I have a question regarding exceptions. Are there any? I’m busy writing a short and it currently starts out as “I live on the top floor of a two storey apartment complex.” I then proceed to recollect in past tense. The entire story takes place over the course of 1 night and ends with the protagonist still living there. I think – as I’m typing this out – I should probably change it to past tense right? The rest of story is written in past tense. I should treat the entire event as a recollection rather than get caught up in the fact that the protagonist is still currently living there. It just felt like I was setting it up as a “Once upon a time I lived on the top floor…” which is not really my intention. It’s part of series so “I” will still be living there. It just seemed like a nice opener using present tense. Any ideas on how I can achieve the same effect?

Thank you for sharing this interesting question. I can’t see any reason why you couldn’t begin and end on present. As long as the cuts between present and past are clear/signaled to your reader it should be fine. For example:

‘I live on the top floor of a two-storey apartment complex. You’ll know why I’ve shared this detail soon, as it connects to what I’m about to tell you about a strange event that happened two weeks ago.

I was….’

If you bookend a section in present tense this way, with a clear transition between the tenses using narration, it should be fine. The main thing with tenses is not to hop between tenses within the same narrative time-frame (for example ‘I am running down a dark street. I heard footsteps behind me.’ Here, there’s nothing to signal the passage between present and past and it’s confusing.

I hope this helps!

Hey! I’m a self-taught proofreader, not a writer myself (haven’t a creative bone in my body, sadly), and I’m having a great deal of difficulty learning present tense. Up until now, all the stories I’ve proofread have been in past tense, so I’m trying to teach myself how to correct tense errors.

However, many of the websites I’ve come across aren’t tutorials, they’re essays about why not to use present tense in fiction! Well, that’s up to the author to decide! The issue I’m having is mostly with knowing when to allow usage of past tense to go and when to correct it.

For instance, in this sentence: “Thrown by the jump in numbers, most viewers click back in the video just to double-check that Danny had indeed jumped from #3 to #6, before shrugging and continuing to watch.” I’m thinking that “had” needs to be “has”, but I’m not 100% sure. I like to be mostly sure before suggesting a change. Thanks. 🙂

Hi Tracy! Here the past perfect tense (‘had’) is acceptable because it describes an action completed before the present narrative time-frame (e.g. ‘I’m walking to the store now which had been closed this morning’ would be correct if the narrator were walking in the afternoon). If you wrote ‘I’m walking to the store now which has been closed this morning’ this would imply that it is still morning in the time of narration, due to ‘has’ here being in the present perfect tense (describing a past action or condition (‘being closed’) stretching into the present time).

‘Has’ in your example would read a little strangely as it could imply that Danny ‘has’ (in the present, continuing moment) jumped from #3 to #6.

I would say, since the video has already been recorded, that ‘had’ makes sense because Danny’s error (jumping from #3 to #6) ‘had’ been made at the time of recording, and had been viewed prior to the viewer’s realization. So both moments are squarely in the past rather than stretching into the present.

Does that make sense? 🙂 Tense will get you!

It absolutely does, thank you! I’m going to have to go back and reread certain things now, but I definitely understand this. So things that happened prior to the time frame in the story can be past tense, even in a present tense story! Thank you again, so very much, I’m trying so hard to learn this, but I just find it difficult. xD Your explanation certainly simplified it for me, though! ^_^

This post also sums up the differences very well: https://www.dailywritingtips.com/has-vs-had/

So, in short, can I use different tenses in my work of a story writing? In direct speech inverted commas are needed.Isn’t it?

MIXING PAST AND PRESENT TENSES

The following paragraph has a mixture of past and present tense. I believe it to be grammatically wrong but, to my mind, it doesn’t jar when I read it back and it gives the reader a sense of immediacy. My question is: Is it an absolute no-no or is there a degree of artist license here?

Archie flicked on the chainsaw’s master switch and pumped the primer a few times. Resting the saw on the ground he gave the cord a good hard yank. It clacked through its gears but didn’t catch. The second pull bit and snapped back stinging his fingers as it recoiled. “Son of a….” he yelped. The third pull sprung the chainsaw into life with a metallic shrill sending out a cloud of blue smoke that wafted across the laundry. Archie let it idle in a high pitched grumble and then tested it with a few pumps of the throttle that sent the chain shinning around the blade. “Seems okay” he yelled over the noise before killing the master switch. “I guess the real test will be half way through a tree.

Thank you for sharing that, there’s a great descriptive density to it and a clear sense of scene.

I’m curious as to why you think it mixes tenses? To my eyes, it’s all in past tense. You do have a participle phrase or two (e.g. ‘Resting the saw on the ground’) that provide a present/unfolding action, but these are used correctly within past tense for the overall narration (you do use it correctly to show one action that is ongoing during another – the finite verb ‘he gave…’ after that participle phrase still keeps the tense within past as expected).

It would be mixed if you had finite verbs in different tenses for events occurring in the same time-frame, e.g. ‘He rests the saw on the ground and gave the cord a good hard yank.’ This would be jarring because there would appear to be two different time-frames for actions unfolding within the same scene, thanks to present verb ‘rests’ and past verb ‘gave’. I hope this helps!

Great article, many thanks!

Brief question – when writing in the past tense, can you still use present tense for general statements? For example:

I woke up as usual at 5:47 station time when air supply unit number five, that occupied the majority of the level below our quarters, sprang into action, producing a constant humming that would last for the next eight hours. It is never completely quiet on a space station, there are always sounds, vibrations and audible movements, and you learn to live with it. It never bothered me, it was the only life I knew.

Hi Stephan, it’s a pleasure. I’m glad you found it helpful.

Thank you for sharing your question. That does scan fine. In the first instance, there is a participle phrase which creates the sense of a presently unfolding action within the past time-frame (‘producing a constant humming…’). This is correct usage.

Then the flip to present informs the reader of a general, ongoing state of affairs which is where we would use present tense. It depends on the site in time from which the narrator is speaking. If they are no longer living in the quarters when narrating this, then perhaps ‘It was never completely quiet on the space station…’ would make more sense (past tense for recounting conditions no longer being experienced). But if they are still based at the station, then present tense narration for a general state of affairs in their environment fits, as presumably it still isn’t ever completely quiet when they’re narrating this.

I hope this helps! Thanks for the great question.

Thank you for this article. I found it helpful. Both of my main characters at one point recall their dreams. Since they are recalling them, I would write them in past tense correct?

Hi Chelsea, it’s a pleasure! Not necessarily. I find authors often use present tense for this (especially if the main narration is in past tense). It would look something like:

But then I remembered the dream I had…

I’m standing in a wide, open field. I hear someone calling from the other side …

Present tense does create a sense of the unfolding moment that suits the sense of reenacting an interesting event, so personally I would lean towards that. I hope this helps. Just remember whichever tense you’re using to have a narrative link that clarifies that the narration is now crossing over into the dream description (in my example above, it’s the words ‘But then I remembered the dream I had).

Thank you for reading our blog!

Wow, This was fantastic

Hi Danny, thank you for reading our blog and for your feedback!

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Past vs. Present Tense: Choose the RIGHT Tense for Your Novel

by Joe Bunting | 75 comments

Want to Become a Published Author? In 100 Day Book, you’ll finish your book guaranteed. Learn more and sign up here.

One of the first decisions you have to make when you're writing a novel or short story is which tense to use. There are only two viable options: past vs. present tense.*

Which tense should you choose for your novel?

*Future tense is certainly technically possible, but it's used so rarely in fiction we're going to skip it here.

What's the Difference Between Present and Past Tense?

In fiction, a story written in past tense is about events that happened in the past. For example:

From the safety of his pickup truck, John watched as his beloved house burned to the ground. With a blank face, he drove away.

Present tense, on the other hand, sets the narration directly into the moment of the events:

From the safety of his pickup truck, John watches as his beloved house burns to the ground. With a blank face, he drives away.

This is a short example, but what do you think? How are they different? Which version do you prefer?

Choose Between Past and Present Tense BEFORE You Start Writing Your Novel

New writers are notorious for switching back and forth between past and present tense within their books. It's one of the most common mistakes people make when they are writing fiction for the first time.

On top of that, I often talk to writers who are halfway finished with their first drafts, or even all the way finished, and are now questioning which tense they should be using.

Unfortunately, the more you've written of your novel, the harder it is to change tenses, and if you do end up deciding to change tenses, it can take many hours of hard work to correct the shift.

That's why it's so important to choose between past and present tense before you start writing your novel.

With that in mind, make sure to save this guide, so you can have it as a resource when you begin your next novel.

Both Past Tense and Present Tense Are Fine

When making your tense choice, past tense is by far the most common tense, whether you're writing a fictional novel or a nonfiction newspaper article. If you can't decide which tense you should use in your novel, you should probably write it in past tense.

There are many reasons past tense is the standard for novels. One main reason is simply that it's the convention. Reading stories in past tense is so normal that reading present tense narratives can feel jarring and annoying to many readers. Some readers, in fact, won't read past the few pages if your book is in present tense.

That being said, from a technical perspective, present tense is perfectly acceptable. There's nothing wrong with it, even if it does annoy some readers. It has been used in fiction for hundreds of years, and there's no reason you can't use it if you want to.

Keep in mind, there are drawbacks though.

The Hunger Games and Other Examples of Present Tense Novels

I was talking with a writer friend today who used to have strong feelings against present tense. If she saw the author using it in the first paragraph of a novel, she would often put the book back on the bookstore shelf.

Then, she read The Hunger Games , one of the most popular recent examples of a present tense novel (along with All the Light We Cannot See ), and when she realized well into the book that the novel was in present tense, all those negative opinions about it were turned on their heads.

Many of the biggest present-tense opponents (like Philip Pullman ) use caveats like this. Some of them even blame The Hunger Games for later, less well-written present tense novels. “ Hunger Games was fine,” they say, “but now every other novel is in present tense.”

However, the reality is that it has a long tradition. Here are a several notable examples of present tense novels:

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Rabbit, Run by John Updike

Rabbit, Run is sometimes praised for being the first book to be written entirely in present tense. But while it may have been the first prominent American novel in present tense, it was hardly the first in the world.

Ulysses by James Joyce

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Like several of Chuck's novels, Fight Club , published in 1999, is written in present tense .

Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney

Bright Lights, Big City is notable both for being written in present tense and second-person . While it's not necessarily something you should use as an example in your own writing, it is an interesting case.

Other Notable Novels

Here are several other notable present tense novels

• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• Bird Box: A Novel by Josh Malerman (I'm reading this right now, and it's great!)
• The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (the basis for the BBC TV Series)
• Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
• Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

There are dozens of other notable and bestselling novels written in present tense. However, comic books are another example of popular present-tense writing, which use dialogue bubbles and descriptions almost universally in present tense.

5 Advantages of Present Tense

Present tense, like past tense, has its benefits and drawbacks. Here are five reasons why you might choose to use it in your writing:

1. Present Tense Feels Like a Movie

One reason authors have used present tense more often in the last century is that it feels most film-like.

Perhaps writers think they can get their book adapted into a movie easier if they use present tense, or perhaps they just want to mimic the action and suspense found in film, but whether film is the inspiration or the goal, its increasing use owes much to film.

John Updike himself credits film for his use of present tense, as he said in his interview with the Paris Review :

Rabbit, Run was subtitled originally, ‘A Movie.' The present tense was in part meant to be an equivalent of the cinematic mode of narration…. This doesn’t mean, though, that I really wanted to write for the movies. It meant I wanted to make a movie. I could come closer by writing it in my own book than by attempting to get through to Hollywood.

Christopher Bram, author of Father of Frankenstein , says much the same , “I realized I was using it because it’s the tense of screenplays.”

2. Present Tense Intensifies the Emotions

Present tense gives the reader a feeling like, “We are all in this together.” Since the reader knows only as much as the narrator does, it can draw the reader more deeply into the suspense of the story, heightening the emotion.

3. Present Tense Works Well With Deep Point of View

Deep point of view, or deep POV, is a style of narrative popular right now in which the third person point of view is deeply embedded into the consciousness of the character.

Deep POV is like first person narrative, and has a similar level of closeness, but it's written in third person. By some counts, deep POV accounts for fifty percent of adult novels and seventy percent of YA novels.

Present tense pairs especially well with a deep point of view because both serve to bring the narrative closer to the reader.

4. Present Tense Works Best In Short-Time-Frame Stories With Constant Action

Present tense works well in stories told in a very short time frame—twenty-four hours, for example—because everything is told in real time, and it's difficult to make too many transitions and jumps in time.

5. Present Tense Lends Itself Well To Unreliable Narrators

Since the narrative is so close to the action in present tense stories, it lends well to unreliable narrators. An unreliable narrator is a narrator who tells a story incorrectly or leaves out key details. It's a fun technique because the reader naturally develops a closeness with the narrator, so when you find out they're secretly a monster, for example, it creates a big dramatic reversal.

Since present tense draws you even closer to the narrator, it makes that reversal even more dramatic.

5 Drawbacks of Present Tense

As useful as present tense can be in the right situation, there are reasons to avoid it. Here are five reasons to choose past tense over present tense:

1. Some Readers Hate Present Tense

The main reason to avoid present tense, in my opinion, is that some people hate it. Philip Pullman , the bestselling author of the Golden Compass series, says:

What I dislike about the present-tense narrative is its limited range of expressiveness. I feel claustrophobic, always pressed up against the immediate.

Writer beware: right or wrong, if you write in present tense, some people will throw your book down in disgust. Past tense is a much safer choice.

2. Present Tense Less Flexible, Time Shifts Can Be Awkward

The disadvantage of present tense is that since you're so focused on into events as they happen, it can be hard to disengage from the ever-pressing moment and shift to events in the future or past.

Pullman continues :

I want all the young present-tense storytellers (the old ones have won prizes and are incorrigible) to allow themselves to stand back and show me a wider temporal perspective. I want them to feel able to say what happened, what usually happened, what sometimes happened, what had happened before something else happened, what might happen later, what actually did happen later, and so on: to use the full range of English tenses.

Since you're locked into the present, you're limited in your ability to move through time freely. For more flexibility when it comes to navigating time, choose past tense.

3. Present Tense Harder to Pull Off

Since present tense is so much less flexible that past tense, it's much more difficult to use it well. As Editorial Ass. says:

Let me say that present tense is not a reason I categorically reject a novel submission. But it often becomes a contributing reason, because successful present tense novel writing is much, much more difficult to execute than past tense novel writing. Most writers, no matter how good they are, are not quite up to the task.

Elizabeth McCraken continues this theme:

I think a lot of writers choose the present tense as a form of cowardice. They think the present tense is really entirely about the present moment, as though the past and future do not actually exist. But a good present tense is really about texture, not time, and should be as rich and complicated and full of possibilities as the past tense. They too often choose the present tense because they think they can avoid thinking about time, when really it’s all about time.

If you're new to writing fiction, or if you're looking for an easier tense to manage, choose past tense.

4. No or Little Narration

While present tense does indeed mimic film, that can be more of a disadvantage than an advantage. Writers have many more narrative tricks available to them than filmmakers. Writers can enter the heads of their characters, jump freely through time, speak directly to the reader, and more. However, present tense removes many of those options out of your bag of tricks. As Emma Darwin says:

The thing is, though, that film can't narrate: it can only build narrative by a sequence of in-the-present images of action.

To get the widest range of options in your narrative, use past tense.

5. Present Tense Is More Limited

As Writer's Digest says, with present tense you only have access to four verb tenses, simple present, present progressing, simple future, and occasionally simple past. However, with past tense, you have access to all twelve verb tenses English contains.

In other words, you limit yourself to one-third of your choices if you use present tense.

How to Combine Present and Past Tense Correctly

While you should be very careful about switching tenses within the narrative, there is one situation in which present tense can be combined within a novel:

Breaking the Fourth Wall is a term from theater that describes when an actor or actors address the audience directly. A good example of this is from Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream :

If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber'd here While these visions did appear. … So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends.

As with theater, novels have broken the fourth wall for hundreds of years, addressing the reader directly and doing so in present tense .

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

A great example of breaking the wall is from Midnight's Children , the Best of the Bookers winning novel by Salman Rushdie, in which Saleem narrates from the present tense, speaking directly to the reader, but describes events that happened in the past, sometimes more than a hundred years before.

I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done, of everything done-to-me. I am everyone everything whose being-in-the-world affected was affected by mine. I am anything that happens after I'm gone which would not have happened if I had not come. ― Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Dickens' novel, A Tale of Two Cities , also uses this technique of breaking the fourth wall and addressing the reader directly. Here's a quote from the novel:

A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!

Which Tense is Right For Your Book, Past Tense or Present Tense?

As you can see present tense has its advantages and disadvantages.

If you're writing a film-like, deep POV novel with an unreliable narrator in which the story takes place in just few days, present tense could be a perfect choice.

On the other hand, if your story takes place over several years, follows many point of view characters, and places a greater emphasis on narration, past tense is almost certainly your best bet.

Whatever you do, though, DON'T change tenses within your novel (unless you're breaking the fourth wall).

How about you? Which tense do you prefer, past or present tense? Why? Let us know in the comments .

Practice writing in both present and past tense.

Write a scene about a young man or woman walking through London. First, spend ten minutes writing your scene in present tense. Then, spend ten minutes rewriting your scene in past tense.

When your time is up, post your practice in both tenses in the Pro Practice Workshop and leave feedback for a few other writers, too.

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Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

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75 Comments

This is interesting because I’ve found that over the years my natural writing style has shifted from writing in past tense to writing in present tense and I’ve been looking at a piece for a while where I’ve been on the fence about rewriting it in past tense but after reading this I might keep it as is because I have a very unreliable narrator. I’ve found this to be extremely helpful, thanks.

Awesome. Glad you found this helpful, Ashley. Good luck with your piece!

I like present tense narration And trying to write one though scared I’ve been writing poems and prefer first person, hope to do better thank you for sharing your ideas

Very helpful advice. I was wondering about my middle-grade novel. Could I break the fourth wall in it? It would seem a wonderful thing to try.

If by ‘middle-grade’ you mean children’s, I think children’s and young adult fiction is very open to fourth wall smashing!

Though the mass of my fiction is past tense 3rd-person omni, I *do* break the 4th wall sometimes. I just can’t help myself…in a lifetime in music, theatre & dance, I know its power & frankly lust after it in writing. (But one thing those other fields of art taught me was that too much through-the-wall action and loss of control is almost inevitable.) Attempting to remain judicious, I don’t break the wall very often, but sometimes–especially in action scenes–and most especially in action scenes where I’m holding the focus on one out of a number of deeply developed characters, breaking that 4th wall–say, for a mere portion of a single scene–can really do the job!

Great points, Manilamac. We need to do a whole post on the 4th wall, but you’ve said everything I think!

He was not a Londoner or even a British national. He walked the streets of London in January dressed in bright color sleeveless shirt and sandals. People around him who carried umbrellas and wore suits and leather shoes saw him as a strange character who lost his way in the big city.

He is not a Londoner, or even a British national. He walks the streets of London in January wearing wild color sleeveless shirt but acts like he belongs in the big city. People look at him amused by what they see—a young man who needs help.

Past tense gave this a very different feel to present tense.

The present tense gives this a feel that differs markedly from the past.

Agreed! Also, I see what you did there, Davidh. 😉

Hello! I love this blog, but you have mis-cited John Updike’s seminal book Rabbit, Run several times. Can you fix this please?

Thanks Dorryce. What do you mean miscited?

Oh my gosh! How funny. I read that novel and loved it, have read a lot about it, and have thought about it for years, and this whole time I thought it was called Run, Rabbit Run, not Rabbit, Run. It’s amazing how your brain can edit things. Thanks Dorryce. Fixed!

Heheheh- my mind automatically changed it to “Run, Rabbit, Run” too! I think it must have confused it with Forrest Gump… 😮

Glad to hear I’m not the only one!

The term story itself suggests that we write about something that happened in the past.The past tense always fits the bill when you narrate a story of the past.But when you write a how to article, the present tense is always the best and again the content of a how to article definitely is not a story but something that directs somebody to do something.Even Salman Rushdie in his MIdnight Children chose the past tense to narrate his story.Thats what H.G.Wells did in his Time Machine.

I disagree, S. Have you ever told a story to a friend or colleague in present tense? I certainly have! “So I’m walking through the house and it’s pitch dark and then you know what I see… a giant mouse!”

The question is which tense is right for your novel, but not whether you can write a novel in the present tense.In my humble opinion, when you narrate a story of the past, the past tense is most appropriate and when you narrate what is happening now, I mean in the story, the present tense is appropriate.Again, the tense is determined by the content.For example if I write a story of the preindependant era in India, the past tense is a must and more appropriate.

Unfortunately, a long tradition of well respected novelists disagree with you, including Erich Remarch, who wrote about a historical event, WWI, well after the events. It might indeed be more appropriate by some measures to write about historical events, like preindependent India, in the present tense, but that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be artistically effective and technically possible if done well.

Our mental predilictions should not, of course, will not determine the right tense required for writing a novel, but certainly it is the content or the subject matter that determines it.

Fascinating article, but I do have some reservations.

Firstly, let me quote from your article: “While you should be very careful about switching tenses within the narrative, there is one situation in which present tense can be combined within a novel: Breaking the Fourth Wall is a term from theater that describes when an actor or actors address the audience directly….”

What about occasions in a present tense story in which your characters engage in reminiscences? How else can they do that but shift to the past tense? This is what is meant by ‘past within present’.

Secondly, I have also recently read a piece (written by a colleague) wherein the tense changes from scene-to-scene. One of the characters thinks and acts in the present, working to reform himself. The other character is dominated by resentments and focussed upon the past. This piece worked extremely well and was a great device for conveying the differences between the characters.

In my own work-in-progress, I have my regret-burdened starship Captain protagonist (and the bulk of the narrative) working in the past tense, whilst her living-in-the-moment AI friend operates entirely in the present tense.

I think tense can be made to shift effectively from one to the other, but only if done with great care and purpose.

I do not buy the notion that all tense shifts are Verboten.

Good question, Davidh. Yes, for flashbacks, you can absolutely use past tense. Just keep in mind, your character is still in the present, even if his/her consciousness is elsewhere. So you have to be careful to make sure the recollections he/she is having are natural, not forced by the story. Otherwise, you’re in danger of info dumping.

Regarding tense changes scene-to-scene, there are some novels that do that. Bleak House, which I mentioned, is one example. It’s hard to pull off, and can be jarring to some readers, though—just as switching POV characters can be jarring to some readers. It’s likely that few mass market, bestselling novels will be written this way, but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible!

Agreed! What can’t be done is careless tense shifts within a chapter (apart from flashbacks or asides, as you mention). Good thoughts, Davidh!

In my novel (picked up by Pen Name Publishing), I’ve done a masterful job creating ‘past within present’ while successfully writing a first person account from a drug-addled stream-of-consciousness. In Beyond The Blue Kite, the real world is present tense while the flashback and three dreams are past tense (thus proving shifting tense can work if you have a unique formula).

I disagree the drawback to present tense includes little to no narration. Pay attention to the character subject and it won’t become a flaw. In addition, the protagonist in Beyond The Blue Kite is portrayed as claustrophobic which is why present tense proved perfect in portraying reality.

What I loved about present tense was giving the reader deep suspense towards the end, and heightening the emotion from beginning to end. Interesting note that present tense draws you even closer to the narrator which made my dream sequences more dramatic when switching tense.

If you’re going to try succeed switching tense, practice and practice and then practice more; and be prepared to put in many hours of hard work. It can be challenging to change tense, but I can’t lie and say it’s not possible.

I m an English major hoping to earn a degree in creative writing, I would like to have a copy of your novel; would that be possible. my email [email protected] thank you, love your response.

Just checking for confirmation that Richard did a truly “masterful job” constructing the “past-within-present” tense? Struggling to master it myself and would love to have some confirmation about good models to examine.

http://www.amazon.com/Highways-Teresa-Marie-ebook/dp/B01A766HU8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1452047950&sr=1-1&keywords=Highways Hello everybody, I was inspired by Joe to finish my suspense thriller during NaNoWriMo 2015 and … tada! Thanks, Joe. I’d really appreciate any reviews or comments as I need the feedback. 🙂 I’m in your writing community too, so I’ll post a link there. All the best. K.

Wow, congratulations K! That’s a huge accomplishment. And now are you working on the next? 🙂

I’ve never tried writing in present tense, an to be honest have always found it distracting. Most of the books I read to my kids are written that way, and (as sad as it may seem) I usually translate to past tense when I read out loud.

Ha! Cheater! Although, I can’t really talk. I sometimes skip pages if the story is really long!

I did it once & I must say I did it successfully (despite many advising against writing this way). But I am currently writing the prequel. And I think there will be a prequel to the prequel. Do they all have to be written in the same tense? What about the POV? My debut novel is mostly in 3rd person POV. Do I need to do the same for all the books in this series? Sherrie

Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador: http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P11Ch5chkAc

Interesting question! Yes, I think it’s best to choose the same tense. Hunger Games is all in the same tense. It’s a bit different, since it’s a prequel, though. I’d definitely recommend keeping the same POV though.

John watches as his beloved house burns to the ground. He watches as flames lick out of the window of his trophy room. Images of his Star Wars figures flash across his mind, he and his nephew battling with the evil Emperor. Before the roof could fall in, he reaches out, turns the key in the ignition. With a blank face, he drives away.

Nice, determined. Where’s the past tense version?

I came, I saw, I conquered. Caesar insisting on his competence to do just that, even before he lands. His (arrogant) self confidence, if you will. An example of thinking positive in the extreme.

Present Walking in the deep, deserted, dark streets of London, where no soul was visible. Quietness was being intruded by coughing of a young man, chugging on his pipe. A lamppost seems to signal him to halt, where he stood leaning against the wall. Timelessly keeping a watch over his watch, waiting for some known or unknown. Every passing shadow lit a light of hope in his eyes, which the street lights also could not hide. Suddenly from nowhere a hand touched his back, making him numb with tears rolling his eyes. Turning seemed difficult for him at this time, even more than moving a rock. The touch & warmth, the breathing by his side was his younger brother, who he thought was not alive….

Past Deep, deserted, dark streets of London, where visibility of any soul was low, had seen a young man chugging on his pipe. His coughing had echoed to the highest point reaching to the deepest point in rebound. Lampposts dancing to the moonlight was left incomplete, due to the presence of this unknown. A bricked wall had lend his shoulder to him, where he ceaselessly kept a count over time. Shadows passed making his expressions grow more intense with time. Lamppost played a role of a spotlight, leading one aching soul to bond with another. A touch on his back was all what he groped, which melted him like an ice. He knew it was his younger brother, who he thought was never alive….

This is so evocative, Diya. I’m not sure “was being” works in the present tense, or “stood.” Should be “Quietness is” and “stands.” There are sever other mistakes in tense. Might be worthwhile to go back through and get clear on them. The past tense has a few issues as well, “knew it was his younger brother” should be “had known.” This piece is very dark and mysterious, though!

Thanks Joe, for this complete guide for writing in present or past tense. You’ve cleared up my doubts and I’m relieved that I have chosen to write my novel it in the past tense. I find it is easier to write in the past tense. I recently read a book written in the present tense and admire the author for her splendid novel. I’d love to imitate her but i dare not because I’d unconciously change the tense some place and not notice it. Better leave present tense alone. Past tense is okay for me.

I’m so glad this helped you realize you made the right choice for your novel. What was the book you finished that was in present tense?

The book I finished reading and enjoyed is titled ‘The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton.

I’ve heard of that, Lilian. It looks good!

Great Post. Here are is the exercise followed by a comment

Funny how life gives you these unexpected moments, as if to say, see? If you weren’t such a controlling, over scheduled sod you might actually enjoy life a little more. Don is just killing time in Piccadilly Circus, itself a kind of accident since his rental car wouldn’t be available till 5PM. Bloody hell, he said like a true Englishman, which he’s not. But it turns out to be kind of unforseen blessing. For there he is, browsing in a bookstore in Piccadilly, just that phrase seems to conjure such possibility, that he meets Angela. It must look to her as though he is hitting on her, chatting her up as they say in England, but he really did want to drink a coffee. And now, here they are in Starbucks, and the whole moment is starting to feel very datey to him.

Funny how life gives you these unexpected moments, as if to say, see? If you weren’t such a controlling, over scheduled sod you might actually enjoy life a little more. Don was just killing time in Piccadilly Circus, itself a kind of accident since his rental car wouldn’t be available till 5PM. Bloody hell, he said like a true Englishman, which he’s not. But it turned out to be kind of unforseen blessing. For there he was, browsing in a bookstore in Piccadilly, just that phrase seems to conjure such possibility, that he met Angela. It must have looked to her as though he was hitting on her, chatting her up as they say in England, but he really did want to drink a coffee. Then off they went to Starbucks, and the afternoon started to feel very datey to him.

I started my memoir in the present tense months ago, mostly because I liked the sound of it and was inspired by Michael Ian Black’s memoir, You’re Not Doing It Right. It is tricky to maintain the voice throughout, and sometimes I would unconsciously slip back into the past voice.

A good example is my chapter call A Social Dis-ease posted on the daily writing section of this site. ( https://thewritepractice.com/community/daily-writing/a-social-dis-ease-revision-of-earlier-posted-from-wdtath/ )

When I need to fill in the back story a bit, I switch back to the past. So far I have seen no reason to not continue, though I recently started a short story all in the past and it seems to be a lot easier to write somehow.

Dan de Angeli

I love the tone of this, Dan. Wry and critical. Very fun. Tenses look great! Funny how the first two lines are both in different tenses and yet remain, correctly, the same in both.

This was a very interesting post! However, again, I have to offer a critique: apostrophes can be evil when they’re used in wrong places (its vs it’s, writers vs writer’s).

Thanks Ash! Evil, perhaps not, but incorrect, definitely. I’ve fixed them. Thank you!

As I walk I’m careful where I put my feet, not wanting to step in some trash or trip over some litter, perhaps a child’s broken toy left lying. Now and then I stop to study the buildings around me, the tenement row houses and run-down apartment blocks. Cramped quarters where you try hard to shut your ears, not wanting to know about the shouts, cries, maybe even screams of your neighbours. Maybe hoping that it’s at least not the children getting the beating. But you tune it all out. You have enough problems of your own.

Snatches of conversation I’m hearing tell me a lot of immigrants are starting out life in Britain right here on these streets. How do they feel now about the Promised Land?

A gust of wind blows at my skirt and I smooth it down, trying to stay decently covered. Three black-haired, black eyed young men in a huddle look my way; one of them whistles. As I pass by they look me over, curious. I cringe a bit, then give myself a mental shake and straighten my shoulders. I’m not some teenage runaway; I have business here.

How did she end up on these streets? And why am I here, trying to find her? This is madness. Again I pray for a miracle: If she’d only somehow materialize in front of me, or I’d glimpse her down the block.

When I get to the street corner my eyes scan the sign posts, willing “Faust Street” to appear on one of them. Next time I’m taking a cab right to the door. No, I correct myself. There won’t be a next time. Ever.

Surely it can’t be much farther. I plod on, conscious that the daylight’s disappearing. I glance up into the murky sky and realize the fog is rolling in. What would it be like to be caught wandering these East End streets in a pea soup fog. My mind flips to the story of Jack the Ripper. I force myself to concentrate on my flower garden at home.

A man approaches, walking toward me, and something makes me look in his face. It’s not the scars that startle me, but the look in his eyes. Like a wolf sizing up a silly ewe. And I’m seeing myself very fitted to the role of lamb kebab.

At this moment finding her seems not half as important as it did an hour ago. All my being is crying to be out of this place, off these streets.

The man is so close to me now I can smell the stale tobacco on his clothes. He stops and eyes me too thoroughly. He seems to think he knows what I’m doing here. Well I’m not, mister! I take a several steps back.

“Where ye going’ lady? He reaches out his hand, gripping my arm with powerful fingers. I’d like ta get ta know ye.” He pulls me toward him.

Half a block behind him I see a bobby step out of a shop and look in our direction. Thank God!

I won’t replay this in third person. If I did, it would read much the same — except that I could describe the MC as she walked along. Now I’m just giving the indication that she’s female and of an age to attract male attention.

I commented on your website, Christine, but I enjoyed your writing very much in this piece. Good job!

Thanks. I love writing opening scenes. But…um… what should come next. Should she find her or shouldn’t she? This is probably why I haven’t written a literary novel yet. 😉

I don’t know. I would start from scratch on that. What I like most is the setting and, especially, the character’s voice.

Thanks again. You’ve set the wheels turning; I’m going to give this serious thought. If the city street can be anywhere…and the search can be for anyone… The voice I can do.

Thank YOU for reading LaCresha. Best!

Thanks for your feedback Joe…I know I’m far from being perfect, but such kind of light always makes the try worthwhile. I did feel present tense made me restricted, where past was easier though.

Interesting observation, Diya. Thank you for giving it a try! 🙂

It’s also important to note that present tense leaves a lot of mystery about the future and makes it so that anyone can die, even the main character. Where as in past tense first person (I did this. I did that.) We usually know the main character will survive because they have to live to tell the story. Of course, this can be worked around with past tense paired with an omnipotent narrator (They did this. They did that.)

I personally have no preference in reading but I notice that I always write in past tense. I guess it just makes more sense in my brain that an event would be recorded after the even happens, not as it is happening.

A London scene? Oh, goodness. I’ll give it my best shot.

Great point, Katherine! Yes past tense 1st person novels make it very difficult to kill your character! Still possible, of course, since many stories are narrated by ghosts or even letters left behind, but still… it’s rarer.

Yes, I’ve read a few present tense first persons that killed of their character, but I really do feel like it’s cheating. Those endings always make me angry for some reason, unless of course we already know that they’re a ghost though the story.

This was really helpful. I always tend to prefer the past tense over the perfect, but have noticed that more and more books seem to be venturing into the present tense. Perhaps, as you say, it is because it is like the movies.

Glad you found it helpful, Tanya. Do you have any present tense novels you have enjoyed?

All the light We Cannot See – but that is such an exceptional book in so many ways. The sentences are short and punchy like a blog post, but it’s superb writing because of the poetry – the choice of verbs is extraordinary.

Isn’t it great? Glad you’re enjoying it, Tanya. 🙂

I really like what Elizabeth McCracken says about present tense – that ‘a good present tense is really about texture, not time, and should be as rich and complicated and full of possibilities as the past tense’.

Thanks for the thought-provoking piece, Joe. So much to unpack here. Have shared it.

Great quote, Bridget. I really like that. Thank you for sharing it. And for sharing our article!

I don’t think you can blame articles on that, Martin. It’s so normal to drift between tenses. I read a lot of first drafts and I can tell you, switching tenses is the one of the most common mistakes I see.

I also am not saying this decision is easy. It’s not really supposed to be easy. But it IS important, otherwise I wouldn’t have devoted 2,700+ words to helping you figure it out. Honestly, it sounds like you need to spend some time alone thinking about which tense is best for your novel. And then stick to it. No one can make the decision for you, but you do have to decide.

Let me know if I can help.

I tried writing a story in the present tense for the first time after reading this article, and I found that I kept accidentally switching back to past tense and had to go back and correct myself several times. That’s probably because I am so familiar with stories told in the past tense that it feels like the default sense to me.

I believe I agree with the sentiment that “Present Tense Intensifies the Emotions”. It seems to provide a sort of immediacy with the emotional changes that a character undergoes because they aren’t telling us something that happened a long time ago, with embellishments and with the foresight of what happens next. Instead, you get to experience what happens to them as it happens, making the narration rawer and possibly more surprising.

Here’s my attempt: http://loonytales.blogspot.com/2016/01/beautiful.html

How is “The Hunger Games” well written present tense? Just look at the first sentence: “When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.” This is exactly what Pullman is talking about. The author thinks it means “When I woke up, the other side of the bed was cold.” but it actually means “Usually (or sometimes, or always) when I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.” You can’t just find/replace the tenses, you have to think about their usual use. This could’ve been fixed by a simple “I awake and realize the other side of the bed is cold.” if only the author knew what she was doing. One of the reasons I couldn’t get through the book was that I couldn’t tell most of the time whether Catniss was coming or going. I couldn’t tell if she was planning to pick up the bow, was picking up the bow, had already picked up the bow… Finally I got tired of trying to figure out what the author actually intended it to mean and switched to a novel where the author was clear, precise and unambiguous.

Sorry you didn’t enjoy it, Catalina. Perhaps present tense is an acquired taste. You should try Rabbit, Run next!

Very enlightening and an invitation to read some great novels. Do you have a piece on past tense that is as detailed?

Not currently, David, although we may update this article in the future. Thank you for reading!

But when you write a how to article, the present tense is always the best and again the content of a how to article definitely is not a story but something that directs somebody to do something. Snapback Caps

When you are telling a story where the reader can not a part of it or wasn’t the part of it, past tense is best. But present tense make the reader feel that he too can be the part of the story.

I am a bit late to the discussion, maybe by two years, but maybe someone will read this. I am one of those people who will throw down a book in disgust if it is written in present tense, Charles Dickens or Salman Rushide not withstanding. Why?

Because, I imagine the narrator must be writing the narrative as it happens. Which means, the narrator has to be both observing and narrating at the same time. Unless it is Quantum Entanglement, I don’t see how that is possible- being at two places or two different timelines at the same time. The narrator can be omniscient, a time-traveler if you will, but then, I am human and I like to read about books that are written with human curiosities and aspirations. So, I not only see writing in the present tense as annoying, but I consider it plain wrong. I know many of us here will disagree, but consider this-

“I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done, of everything done-to-me. I am everyone everything whose being-in-the-world affected was affected by mine. I am anything that happens after I’m gone which would not have happened if I had not come.- Salman Rushdie.”

This is more like a view into a letter that is written by Salman Rushdie. It is internal reflection. So it can be written in the present tense. In fact, past tense would have made it like Salman Rushdie was writing it as a ghost.

And consider this-

“A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!- Charles Dickens.”

Again, this comes off as internal reflection, because of the ‘when’. If one had to write this as if this was happening in the present, one could attempt this-

“A solemn consideration, when I entered any great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses enclosed its own secret; that every room in every one of them enclosed its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousand of breasts there, was, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!”

Still works.

Now lets consider this- again, an except from Dickens’s Great Expectations- “…

“Hold your noise!” cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the graves at the side of the church porch. “Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”

A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.

“O! Don’t cut my throat, sir,” I pleaded in terror. “Pray don’t do it, sir.” “Tell us your name!” said the man. “Quick!” “Pip, sir.” “Once more,” said the man, staring at me. “Give it mouth!” “Pip. Pip, sir!” “Show us where you live,” said the man. “Pint out the place!”

Let’s now attempt this in present tense-

“…

“Hold your noise!” cries a terrible voice, as a man starts up from among the graves at the side of the church porch. “Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!”

A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who was soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limps, and shivers, and glares and growls; and whose teeth chatters in his head as he seize me by the chin.

“O! Don’t cut my throat, sir,” I plead in terror. “Pray don’t do it, sir.” “Tell us your name!” says the man. “Quick!” “Pip, sir.” “Once more,” says the man, staring at me. “Give it mouth!” “Pip. Pip, sir!” “Show us where you live,” says the man. “Pint out the place!”

It doesn’t quite cut it. What’s wrong?

I am telling the story as it is happening to me! Will I? In the situation I am, when a man is terrorizing me, threatening to cut my throat? Will I tell you a story?

Nah, I think writing in present tense is a gross negligence on the part of the writer to respect his/her reader to be a discernible, self-respecting human, and therefore, the writer will then, be writing for an audience of people who have lost it in their heads. So, yes, I will throw the book down in disgust.

Hi, thank you for this article. I’m not a creative writer – I’m an art therapy Masters student looking to make my report on “creative inquiry” more interesting. I started writing it in the present tense to make it more personal, however, I felt out of my depth because it deserved more research and “know how”. Your article has helped me to appreciate the different qualities in past and present tense writing, so I’m sticking with past tense for now. I will, however, look up your recommended readings because you’ve sparked my interest! This is best article I’ve found and easiest to understand. All the best.

Is this sentence correct… “Tonya and Meg ask us for help moving that heavy box.” My teacher put it on a warm up for school and told us that it was incorrect, and that it was supposed to be ‘asked’ instead of ‘ask’. I think that he is wrong, but I’m not sure.

I’ll dump your book immediately if I see present tense. I hate it, and many others do also. When you tell a story, you instinctively tell it in the past tense. That’s what people expect. Telling it in the present tense is jarring. It’s like a radio announcer is reading it. In addition, most of the present tense writing I’ve seen switches to past tense willy-nilly.

I personally undoubtedly prefer past tense, however, I have issue with how to end it. It might be strange, but despite not writing in first person I don’t like the narrator to be outside of the story. I want an omniscient narrator, not for one of my characters to be retelling it, but if the story is told in past tense I don’t feel like it will ever be finished.

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Nick Travers

Writing hacks for first-person present-tense.

The biggest problem I have come across is that some people just don’t like reading in this tense.  They feel awkward or uncomfortable, and a few just don’t think it’s a valid tense in which to write a novel. I disagree.

I’m on my second novel written in the first-person present-tense (I have written others but in the more traditional third-person) and I find it an exciting tense in which to write:  it suits my point-of-view character and I can really get into their head.

There are other, more commercial, reasons for writing in first-person present-tense. The younger generation have fewer problems with first-person present-tense than their elders, which I believe is something to do with their familiarity with texting and snapchat. Two-thirds of my audience read my novels on their mobiles and first person present tense is uniquely suited to the mobile generation, because it incorporates so much more dialogue, which is closer to the text conversations with which they are so familiar. Of course, there are other considerations when writing for the mobile reader which I have writing about elsewhere .

So, to the perils of writing in first-person present-tense.

First the usual stuff:

What to include.

However, just like any other story writing technique, you are selectively presenting only what actively moves the story forward, so there is no need for such a minute level of detail. If a reader wants to fill in the extra detail they can do that in their own minds.

Neither do you need to include the thought process behind every idea. In fact, I nearly always deliberately leave the thought process out entirely, so when my character blurts out an idea it is a surprise to everyone, including the reader.

Alternatively, if I want some fun, I can include a very reasonable sounding thought process or line of reasoning, then have the character blurt out something totally unreasonable, based on pure instinct/feelings. I can then have the character defend the bad idea against the criticisms of other characters who are following the good and logical reasoning that the POV character has just gone through. This can give great depth to a character.

Identifiers

“He says”, “she says”, “I say”, all just sound too narratory for me and detract, I feel, from the immediacy of first-person present-tense, so I try, if possible, to avoid using them at all.  And never, ever, use “I think” or “thought” (which is the wrong tense anyway).

What works well for me, and something I would encourage you to experiment with, whatever tense you are using, is to identify the speaker by their actions. e.g.:

‘Jason hovers by the controls. “Is anyone in charge here?”’ Clearly Jason is the person speaking.

However, this technique does require you to be meticulous about not mixing the thoughts and voices of different characters in the same paragraph, e.g.:

‘I notice Jason hovering by the controls. “Is anyone in charge here?”’  This could still be Jason speaking or the speaker could have changed from Jason to the point-of-view character, which is confusing.  So you must first be clear in your own mind which action is associated with which character and secondly, you must make that crystal clear to your reader.

Keep the actions and dialogue of each character confined to separate paragraphs.  This will probably result in shorter paragraphs than you are used to, but just go with it and see what happens.

Tense Drift

Reading back your writing aloud, or using a text-to-voice app to read it for you (I use the standard Windows Narrator, but you could use Dragon or Claro Read), is the easiest way to pick out this error. Also, get your manuscript edited/proofread and specify this as an area of concern for special attention for your proofreader (if you don’t have a tame proofreader in your family or friendship circle, there are plenty available for reasonable prices on Fiver.com).

Showing not Telling

We’re all familiar in our writing with the concept of showing and not telling, however, in the first-person present-tense it can take on a new element. In this case, your point-of-view character is also the narrator so whatever you are trying to show about another character can only be conveyed through showing not telling. Otherwise your reader is going to think, “How do they know that?” and the narrative spell of the novel will be broken.

This can get confusing. I find it useful to plan out all the scenes in a grid that records what every character is doing while other every scene plays out. This way, I know exactly who needs to be in which scene, which scenes the point-of-view character actually witnesses, and which parts of the story must remain hidden.

Enrich your writing

A technique which may be of use here is something screen writers use, called the, ‘extended scene brief.’ Basically, after you have written your first draft, you go over the text again adding in as much color and sensory information as you can, concentrating specifically on information received through all five of the senses. This extra scene description can be used or rejected when you come to the first edit of your manuscript. I’m always amazed how much of this additional information I eventually use.

Now for the more difficult technical stuff:

Witness reliability.

You can have a lot of fun with this, especially if you have more than one viewpoint character. If your characters constantly misunderstanding each other – this makes the reader the only one who truly knows what each character thinks. Your aim here is to make the reader shout out, “No, don’t do that!” If you can achieve that level of reader involvement you have nailed it.

Also, in the first-person present-tense you are always inside your point-of-view character’s head, so this must be represented in your writing. Your character’s hopes/fears/angst need to be present. However, as with most people, what they think is often not what they say. Often this is only hinted at in the third-person past-tense, but in the first-person present-tense it is right there laid out for us:

“How are you feeling?”

“Good.”  Except for the splitting headache and the nauseating hangover. “Yeh, absolutely fine.”

In the first person present tense character relationships need to be developed and expressed through dialogue, which is a good technique anyway. However, long descriptive paragraphs, even if directly observed by the character, will only serve to break up the dialogue, which is not good, unless, of course, you are deliberately trying to slow the pace of the story. This takes us back to the identifier technique I highlighted above. Little snippets of detail mixed in with identifier action can help build a picture of the scene in which the dialogue takes place . (This is also the way we build character: a slow but continuous drip of consistent character information throughout the novel).

To be successful, this technique requires the development of a good vocabulary, because usually you have room for only one choice descriptive word, and picking just the right word makes all the difference. The example I like to quote is Mrs Weasely ‘galloping’ up Diagon Alley towards Harry Potter:  That one word, ‘galloping’ paints exactly the right description of both Mrs Weasley’s action and her character – brilliant.

Prefiguring

When I first started writing in the first-person present-tense, I was actually advised, by an experienced writer, never to prefiguring in this tense, because the point-of-view character cannot unknow what they have already experienced or seen.  If the target of prefiguring is the point-of-view character, they would be right.

However, I would argue that whatever tense you are writing in, the reader is always the target of prefiguring. The whole point of prefiguring, is to create a foresight or hindsight emotional response from your reader.

Hindsight is closely related to foresight, but in this case we are aiming for the reader to slap their forehead and shout, “I should have seen that coming.” Hindsight also requires prefiguring.

So what is prefiguring?

It is human nature to generally see what we expect to see.  In defense, I quote the famous experiment asking viewers to count objects in the foreground of a TV scene.  Seventy-five percent then fail to notice the guy in the gorilla suit dancing crossing the background.

Prefiguring in the first-person present-tense does work if you go about it in the right way. I use it a lot.

Firstly, you need to be sneaky.  Your prefiguring has to be so blatantly obvious that the reader skims straight over it without noticing, only to recall it later, either as foresight or hindsight.  Dialogue with two meanings is a good technique for this, because the reader will automatically assign the meaning that best fits the current scene, only later realizing there could have been more than one meaning when the alternative meaning fits a different scene.

Secondly, because you are in the first person present tense, you can only prefigure in snippets, so you may have to build your prefiguring in separate pieces that only slowly fit together in the reader’s mind – like a jigsaw-puzzle. I find identifier action is a good place to hide prefiguring snippets. This is because once your reader is used to the idea of using action/description to identify characters in dialogue, they tend to start skimming over the details of the identifying action/description in order to get to the dialogue: just picking out enough detail to identify the speaker.

Of course, if you fail to deliver on that prefiguring or don’t offer a better/cleverer solution than your reader has pieced together from the prefiguring, they will feel cheated or let down – yes, if you are clever, you can use prefiguring to build a false sense of foresight that increases the impact of your clever end twist.

The good news about prefiguring is that in your novel you are god, therefore you can rewrite previous scenes/chapters to include prefiguring once you know what/how you need to prefigure.  This is one of the useful purposes of editing.

I’ve posted some sample chapters of first-person present-tense writing on my website if you want an example of this style of writing.  Read a few chapters and see whether you feel comfortable with it. If you have any other first-person present-tense tricks, or if you have any comments, I would love to hear from you.

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Why Do I Bounce So Hard Off Fiction Written in Present Tense?

Casey Stepaniuk

Known in some internet circles as Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian, Casey Stepaniuk is a writer and librarian who holds an MA in English literature and an MLIS. Topics and activities dear to her heart include cats, bisexuality, libraries, queer (Canadian) literature, and drinking tea. She runs the website Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian, where you can find reviews of LGBTQ+ Canadian books. She also writes a monthly column on Autostraddle recommending queer books called Ask Your Friendly Neighbourhood Lesbrarian . Find her on Twitter: @canlesbrarian , Litsy: CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian , Goodreads: CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian , and Facebook: Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian .

View All posts by Casey Stepaniuk

In the last year or so of my reading life, I seem to be encountering more fiction written in present tense. I’m not sure if this translates to more being published. But I am cracking open more and more new books written in present tense, usually from a first person perspective, but occasionally, third person. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that…I hate it? Or, to be less dramatic, I find it hard to overlook my distaste. Much more often than not, I bail on the given book within a few pages. This has happened even with books I was highly anticipating! So I find myself asking: why do I bounce so hard off fiction written in present tense?

Experiences Reading Fiction Written in Present Tense

The first time I remember thinking consciously about a work of fiction written in the present tense was when I read Jim Grimsley’s Dream Boy when I was a grad student. When we discussed in class why the author had chosen to write the novel that way, someone more clever than me pointed out that it served as a reminder that there was no safe present for the main character Nathan to narrate a story from. Dream Boy is a brutal story of abuse and homophobia, one Nathan doesn’t survive. The literary purpose the present tense serves in Dream Boy is powerful and chilling. When you look at the novel retroactively, you realize there is a disturbing, seemingly mundane clue all along that Nathan is going to die.

The books I’ve recently attempted to read that use present tense, however, don’t seem to be using it for the dark effect Grimsley is. The latest book I bailed on, in fact, was a contemporary romcom! ( One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, for those who are curious. It’s written in third person present tense, which in my experience is less common than first person present tense). In addition to adult contemporary fiction and romance, I’ve also found present tense recently in contemporary YA novels. Just the other day, I even picked up a YA fantasy that was written in first person present tense. Fantasy as a genre has such  strong associations with the past — its ties to traditional myth and folklore, its predominantly medieval-inspired settings — that I was flabbergasted to find “I say” instead of “I said.”

Why Would Authors Choose Present Tense and Why Do Some Readers Like It?

When I brought my frustrations to Twitter, asking genuinely to reader and writer friends why authors would choose to write a work of contemporary fiction, YA, or romance this way, I got some interesting answers.   

One YA author, Nita Tyndall , commented that for them present tense adds a sense of immediacy to a contemporary narrative. In other words, it imbues a sense of really being there in the “present,” experiencing everything at the same time as the characters. They do specify, however, that they use first person present for this effect, not third person, which they find unnatural. This certainly put to words my experience. There is just something about present tense that feels unnatural to me. Like Tyndall, I find third person present tense even harder to acclimatize to.

A fellow queer reader, Lizzy Someone , made another excellent point. She wrote that present tense is very common, perhaps the default, in contemporary fan fiction. She even referenced Casey McQuiston as a writer who has roots in fan fiction. McQuiston may be bringing fan fiction conventions to traditional publishing. Why does fan fiction have such a strong tradition of present tense narration? Perhaps for the same reasons of immediacy or to convey a sense of unease that the character might die. That doesn’t explain its dominance though. There’s a whole Reddit thread debating the issue.

So What’s My Issue With Fiction Written in Present Tense?

So if authors are using present tense for specific purposes, and it’s even becoming the default in certain contexts, why do I dislike it so much?

I think the simple but at least partially true answer is I’m just not used to it. Younger readers are probably more accustomed to it. Likewise for those who’ve grown up reading fan fiction. But I suspect there’s a deeper reason as well. In fact, once I dug into my reading past, I discovered present tense might have the opposite effect on me than authors are intending.

A story told in the present tense often makes me feel like I’m being told about the story instead of being in the story itself. Why? The culprit, I believe, is my English literature training. In writing essays about fiction, the golden rule is the write about the details of the book using present tense. This rule is applied no matter what tense the book is written in. As a graduate student and teaching assistant, I taught students specifically not to write “Character so-and-so did this” in their essays.

Back to the issue of immediacy. Part of me absolutely sees using a specific tense to help the reader feel like they’re right there. But another feels a little push back to this idea. There are a LOT of sophisticated techniques writers can use to make readers feel as if they are right there along with the characters. Simply writing in present instead of past tense is not enough on its own. I suspect some of these books I’ve bailed on weren’t doing enough other than using present tense to draw in readers to their characters’ experiences.

What about you? Do you care or pay attention to what tense the fiction you read is written in? Do you like fiction written in present tense, or not?

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14.15: Verb Tenses

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Verb Tenses - What are they?

Tense refers to the form a verb takes in a sentence, whether to express the present, past or future.

Connections: For more help identifying subjects and verbs, turn to “ Subject & Verb Identification .”

Simple Tenses

The present tense indicates that an action is taking place at the time you express it, or an action that occurs regularly.

• We wear organic cotton shirts [an action taking place when it is expressed] .
• I watch the documentary on PBS each Sunday night [an action that occurs regularly] .

The past tense indicates that an action is completed and has already taken place.

• Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his most famous speech in 1963 [an action completed in the past] .
• As a girl, she wondered how her college degree would help her career [an action that occurred once or many times in the past but did not extend to the present] .

The future tense indicates that an action will or is likely to take place.

• Later today I will rinse the dishes [a future action that will definitely occur] .
• The defendant probably will plead innocent [a future action that is likely to occur] .

Perfect Tenses

Perfect tenses designate actions that were or will be completed before other actions. You can form the perfect tenses with the appropriate tense form of the helping, or auxiliary, verb have plus the past participle.

Present perfect

• We have worn organic cotton shirts [an action that began in the past and is finished at the present].
• She has donated extensively to UNICEF [an action that began in the past and extends into the present].

Past perfect

The past perfect tense indicates an action occurring before a certain time in the past.

• By 1995, Doctor Harvey had built the first artificial brain.

Future perfect

The future perfect tense indicates that an action will be finished by a certain time.

• By Thursday, the President will have apologized for his mistake.

Progressive Tenses

The progressive tenses express continuing action. You can form them with the appropriate tense of the verb be plus the present participle.

Present progressive

The present progressive tense indicates that something is happening at the time you express it.

• The worker is hammering , and her foreman is watching lazily.

Past progressive

The past progressive tense indicates two kinds of past action.

• Poe’s writing was becoming increasingly bizarre and dark [a continuing action in the past] .
• The mob tackled Jean-Luc Goddard while he was introducing the film [an action occurring at the same time in the past as another action] .

Future progressive

The future progressive tense indicates a continuing action in the future.

• The government will be monitoring the phones in the lab.

Present perfect progressive

The present perfect progressive tense indicates action continuing from the past into the present and possibly into the future.

• The teacher has been grading since yesterday afternoon.

Past perfect progressive

The past perfect progressive tense indicates that a past action went on until another occurred.

• Before her promotion, Nico had been working on restoring open space on campus.

Future perfect progressive

The future perfect progressive tense indicates that an action will continue until a certain future time.

• On Tuesday I will have been working on this paper for six weeks.

Adapted from The Brief Holt Handbook , Fourth Edition, Kirsner & Mandell, 2004.

Exercise 1 – Simple Past Tense

Fill in each blank with the correct past tense form of the verb provided.

Example: PLAY We played dodge ball all afternoon.

FRY 1. We ___________ the fish we caught in the lake.

STUDY 2. All of us ________________ hard for the physics exam.

CRY 3. Mary ______________ on his shoulder all through the movie.

MARRY 4. She _______________ him on Tuesday and played slots that night.

TRY 5. Fred ____________ to get in the concert by posing as a security guard.

SHOP 6. I _______________ for all of my birthday presents at the art fair.

ADMIT 7. No one __________________ that he was tired.

PLAN 8. Marty and Isabel ________________ their marriage simply and loosely.

TERRIFY 9. The fireworks __________________ the younger children.

Exercise 2 – Simple Past Tense

In each of the following sentences, mark any verbs that should have –ed or –d endings and supply the missing letters. Watch for time expressions (last week, yesterday, years ago) that indicate past time.

incorrect: The committee vote to adjourn yesterday.

correct: The committee voted to adjourn yesterday.

• The driver ask for the exact fare last week.
• Oliver use to live in Berkeley when he was a college student.
• Katerina studied all the time and so she graduate from college last year.
• College students are suppose to attend every class meeting.
• Last Sunday, Laura listen to the drummers in the park.
• Until I started school, I work twenty hours per week and study the rest of the time.
• Finally Gayle’s cat return home.
• Several years ago I witness a crime and identify the criminal.

Exercise 3 – Perfect Tenses

Use the perfect tense to fill in the blank using the same time period (past, present, future) as the sample.

Example: Joan licks the popsicle. (present tense)

Joan has licked the popsicle. (present perfect tense)

(Remember: Perfect tenses for the verb to run are:

Present: she has run

Past: she had run

Future: she will have run )

• Eric took piano lessons.

Eric ____________________ piano lessons since he was ten years old.

• Tara raises as many children as she can.

Tara _______________ as many children as she can.

• Bill, on the other hand, will join the Coast Guard.

Bill, on the other hand, ____________________ the Coast Guard.

• Alyssa gives a drawing to each of her friends.

Alyssa ________________ a drawing to each of her friends.

• Chickens pecked at bugs and fruit in the garden.

Chickens ____________________ at bugs and fruit in the garden.

• Each egg will travel a thousand miles before it lands on her lap.

Each egg _____________________ a thousand miles before it lands on her lap.

• The wings had plenty of room to spread.

The wings _____________ plenty of room to spread.

• Madison collects the hay in the morning after breakfast.

Madison ____________________ the hay in the morning after breakfast.

Exercise 4 – Progressive Tenses

In the following sentences, change the simple tense verbs to progressive tense verbs using the same time period (present, past, future). Avoid the perfect tense for this exercise.

Example: Martians land on the planet Earth. (present)

Martians are landing on the planet Earth. (present progressive)

(Remember: Progressive tenses for the verb to run are:

Present: she is running

Past: she was running

Future: she will be running )

• Ferdinand scoffed when his friends all left for college.

Ferdinand __________________ when his friends all left for college.

• He enjoys his flowers, vegetables and herbs.

He ______________________ his flowers, vegetables and herbs.

• The pumpkins ripened too long last year.

The pumpkins ____________________ too long last year.

• His friends will call at the next holiday or break.

His friends ________________________ at the next holiday or break.

• Ferdinand answers the phone saying “What?”

Ferdinand ______________________ the phone saying “What?”

• He screened his calls last week to avoid bill collectors.

He ____________________ his calls last week to avoid bill collectors.

• His money goes under his mattress until he needs it.

His money ___________________ under his mattress until he needs it.

• He will go fishing next week if he gets his license.

He _______________________ next week if he gets his license.

PLAY We played dodge ball all afternoon.

FRY 1. We fried the fish we caught in the lake.

STUDY 2. All of us studied hard for the physics exam.

CRY 3. Mary cried on his shoulder all through the movie.

MARRY 4. She married him on Tuesday and played slots that night.

TRY 5. Fred tried to get in the concert by posing as a security guard.

SHOP 6. I shopped for all of my birthday presents at the art fair

ADMIT 7. No one admitted that he was tired.

PLAN 8. Marty and Isabel planned their marriage simply and loosely.

TERRIFY 9. The fireworks terrified the younger children.

COMPILE 10. The assistants compiled the materials into a great handbook.

In each of the following sentences, underline any verbs that should have –ed or –d endings and supply the missing letters. Watch for time expressions (last week, yesterday, years ago) that indicate past time.

• The driver aske d for the exact fare last week.
• Oliver use d to live in Berkeley when he was a college student.
• Katerina studied all the time and so she graduate d from college last year.
• College students are suppose d to attend every class meeting.
• Last Sunday, Laura listen ed to the drummers in the park.
• Until I started school, I work ed twenty hours per week and study the rest of the time.
• Finally Gayle’s cat return ed home.
• Several years ago I witness ed a crime and identify the criminal.

Adapted from Fog City Fundamentals , Fourth Edition, Altman & Deicke, 1998.

Eric had taken piano lessons since he was ten years old.

Tara has raised as many children as she can.

Bill, on the other hand, will have joined the Coast Guard.

Alyssa has given a drawing to each of her friends.

Chickens had pecked at bugs and fruit in the garden.

Each egg will have traveled a thousand miles before it lands on her lap.

The wings had had plenty of room to spread.

Madison has collected the hay in the morning after breakfast.

Ferdinand was scoffing when his friends all left for college.

He is enjoying his flowers, vegetables and herbs.

The pumpkins were ripening too long last year.

His friends will be calling at the next holiday or break.

Ferdinand is answering the phone saying “What?”

He was screening his calls last week to avoid bill collectors.

His money is going under his mattress until he needs it.

He will be going fishing next week if he gets his license.

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• Published: 08 May 2024

Accurate structure prediction of biomolecular interactions with AlphaFold 3

• Josh Abramson   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0000-3496-6952 1   na1 ,
• Jonas Adler   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9928-3407 1   na1 ,
• Jack Dunger 1   na1 ,
• Richard Evans   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4675-8469 1   na1 ,
• Tim Green   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3227-1505 1   na1 ,
• Alexander Pritzel   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4233-9040 1   na1 ,
• Olaf Ronneberger   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4266-1515 1   na1 ,
• Lindsay Willmore   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4314-0778 1   na1 ,
• Andrew J. Ballard   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4956-5304 1 ,
• Joshua Bambrick   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0003-3908-0722 2 ,
• Sebastian W. Bodenstein 1 ,
• David A. Evans 1 ,
• Chia-Chun Hung   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5264-9165 2 ,
• Michael O’Neill 1 ,
• David Reiman   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1605-7197 1 ,
• Kathryn Tunyasuvunakool   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8594-1074 1 ,
• Zachary Wu   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2429-9812 1 ,
• Akvilė Žemgulytė 1 ,
• Eirini Arvaniti 3 ,
• Charles Beattie   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1840-054X 3 ,
• Ottavia Bertolli   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8578-3216 3 ,
• Alex Bridgland 3 ,
• Alexey Cherepanov   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5227-0622 4 ,
• Miles Congreve 4 ,
• Alexander I. Cowen-Rivers 3 ,
• Andrew Cowie   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4491-1434 3 ,
• Michael Figurnov   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1386-8741 3 ,
• Fabian B. Fuchs 3 ,
• Hannah Gladman 3 ,
• Rishub Jain 3 ,
• Yousuf A. Khan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0201-2796 3 ,
• Caroline M. R. Low 4 ,
• Kuba Perlin 3 ,
• Anna Potapenko 3 ,
• Pascal Savy 4 ,
• Sukhdeep Singh 3 ,
• Adrian Stecula   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6914-6743 4 ,
• Ashok Thillaisundaram 3 ,
• Catherine Tong   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7570-4801 4 ,
• Sergei Yakneen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7827-9839 4 ,
• Ellen D. Zhong   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6345-1907 3 ,
• Michal Zielinski 3 ,
• Augustin Žídek   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0748-9684 3 ,
• Victor Bapst 1   na2 ,
• Pushmeet Kohli   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7466-7997 1   na2 ,
• Max Jaderberg   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9033-2695 2   na2 ,
• Demis Hassabis   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2812-9917 1 , 2   na2 &
• John M. Jumper   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6169-6580 1   na2  

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

• Drug discovery
• Machine learning
• Protein structure predictions
• Structural biology

The introduction of AlphaFold 2 1 has spurred a revolution in modelling the structure of proteins and their interactions, enabling a huge range of applications in protein modelling and design 2–6 . In this paper, we describe our AlphaFold 3 model with a substantially updated diffusion-based architecture, which is capable of joint structure prediction of complexes including proteins, nucleic acids, small molecules, ions, and modified residues. The new AlphaFold model demonstrates significantly improved accuracy over many previous specialised tools: far greater accuracy on protein-ligand interactions than state of the art docking tools, much higher accuracy on protein-nucleic acid interactions than nucleic-acid-specific predictors, and significantly higher antibody-antigen prediction accuracy than AlphaFold-Multimer v2.3 7,8 . Together these results show that high accuracy modelling across biomolecular space is possible within a single unified deep learning framework.

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Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold

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De novo design of protein structure and function with RFdiffusion

Author information.

These authors contributed equally: Josh Abramson, Jonas Adler, Jack Dunger, Richard Evans, Tim Green, Alexander Pritzel, Olaf Ronneberger, Lindsay Willmore

These authors jointly supervised this work: Victor Bapst, Pushmeet Kohli, Max Jaderberg, Demis Hassabis, John M. Jumper

Authors and Affiliations

Core Contributor, Google DeepMind, London, UK

Josh Abramson, Jonas Adler, Jack Dunger, Richard Evans, Tim Green, Alexander Pritzel, Olaf Ronneberger, Lindsay Willmore, Andrew J. Ballard, Sebastian W. Bodenstein, David A. Evans, Michael O’Neill, David Reiman, Kathryn Tunyasuvunakool, Zachary Wu, Akvilė Žemgulytė, Victor Bapst, Pushmeet Kohli, Demis Hassabis & John M. Jumper

Core Contributor, Isomorphic Labs, London, UK

Joshua Bambrick, Chia-Chun Hung, Max Jaderberg & Demis Hassabis

Google DeepMind, London, UK

Eirini Arvaniti, Charles Beattie, Ottavia Bertolli, Alex Bridgland, Alexander I. Cowen-Rivers, Andrew Cowie, Michael Figurnov, Fabian B. Fuchs, Hannah Gladman, Rishub Jain, Yousuf A. Khan, Kuba Perlin, Anna Potapenko, Sukhdeep Singh, Ashok Thillaisundaram, Ellen D. Zhong, Michal Zielinski & Augustin Žídek

Isomorphic Labs, London, UK

Alexey Cherepanov, Miles Congreve, Caroline M. R. Low, Pascal Savy, Adrian Stecula, Catherine Tong & Sergei Yakneen

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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Max Jaderberg , Demis Hassabis or John M. Jumper .

Supplementary information

Supplementary information.

This Supplementary Information file contains the following 9 sections: (1) Notation; (2) Data pipeline; (3) Model architecture; (4) Auxiliary heads; (5) Training and inference; (6) Evaluation; (7) Differences to AlphaFold2 and AlphaFold-Multimer; (8) Supplemental Results; and (9) Appendix: CCD Code and PDB ID tables.

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Abramson, J., Adler, J., Dunger, J. et al. Accurate structure prediction of biomolecular interactions with AlphaFold 3. Nature (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07487-w

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Checks, not sex, and other takeaways from Trump’s New York hush money trial

Key takeaways from Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial.

The two-day tempest in a Manhattan courtroom raged through Thursday morning and quieted by the afternoon, when adult-film actress Stormy Daniels finished testifying against Donald Trump . The presumptive Republican presidential nominee is on trial for allegedly falsifying business records to keep secret a $130,000 hush money payment made to Daniels in 2016. A day that began with testimony about pornography, strip clubs and a disturbing sexual encounter that Daniels says she had with Trump gave way to … a junior bookkeeper describing checks being signed and put in the mail, and Trump’s former White House assistant crying as she professed her deep admiration for him.

Here are key takeaways from Day 14 of the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.

(Like what you’re reading? If so, sign up here to get the Trump Trials newsletter in your inbox every Sunday.)

Stormy Daniels can be just as combative as Trump’s attorneys

After bruising testimony Tuesday, in which Daniels depicted Trump as a man who used his age and stature to intimidate her into having sex in 2006, Trump’s attorneys were in charge of the questioning Thursday morning. They went all out in attacking Daniels’s credibility, seeking to portray her as an opportunistic woman chasing money and clout.

In the face of accusatory questions, Daniels fired back with barbs, denials and banter.

At one point, Trump attorney Susan Necheles said Daniels is a woman who has a “lot of experience making phony stories about sex appear to be real.” The attorney cited Daniels’s experience writing adult films and working on a reality show that purports to talk to dead people’s relatives — suggesting that since those are made-up scenarios, Daniels also lied about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump.

“Wow,” Daniels said in response. “If that story were untrue, I would have written it to be a lot better.”

Trump’s role in the hush money payment is key to the case. But Daniels doesn’t know about it.

In the final questions of the combative cross-examination, Necheles got to the crux of the charges laid out in the indictment: Did Daniels have any knowledge of whether Trump was personally involved in paying her $130,000 to keep their alleged affair quiet in 2016.

Daniels responded no — and said she also knew nothing about Trump’s paperwork.

“I know nothing about his business records,” Daniels said. “No, why would I?”

While much of the more salacious testimony in this trial has involved Daniels’s vivid retelling of her alleged sexual encounter with Trump, this questioning was key for the defense attorneys. It was a chance for them to remind jurors that while Daniels’s testimony about the alleged sexual encounter may have made Trump look bad, none of that will be on the verdict sheet.

Judge says trial is running slightly ahead of schedule

We don’t know exactly how long a trial will last or how many witnesses will be called, but at the onset, legal experts estimated that this trial could take anywhere from six to eight weeks. Since jury selection started April 15, we have been looking for hints from New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to determine this trial’s timetable.

Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said this week that the prosecution expected to finish calling and questioning their witnesses around May 21. After that, the defense will call whatever witnesses they want to testify.

On Thursday, Merchan told the jury that the trial was running on schedule, or even slightly ahead of schedule.

Trump attorney: ‘This is not a case about sex.’

By the end of the day, Trump’s lawyers were mad at the judge, and the judge was mad at Trump’s lawyers.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche tried for a mistrial and made a separate request for Merchan to ease the conditions of Trump’s gag order. Both failed.

Defense lawyers said now that Daniels is off the witness stand and her testimony has been widely reported around the world, it’s only fair that Trump should be able to publicly respond. They also wanted a mistrial over their belief that the court allowed Daniels to reveal too many details on the stand about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump.

Blanche’s focus was on the portion of Daniels’s testimony that suggested she had unwanted intercourse with Trump. The attorney repeated his argument that her narrative is unfounded and irrelevant to the charges against Trump — and is grounds for a mistrial because it could unfairly prejudice the jury against him.

He called her words “a dog whistle for rape.”

“It almost defies belief that we are here for a records case,” Blanche told the judge. “This is not a case about sex.”

He didn’t seem to come close to convincing Merchan, who blamed Trump’s attorneys for not making more objections during the testimony.

Question time

Q. Who hires courtroom sketch artists? How many attend trials?

In general, news outlets hire sketch artists so they can publish illustrations with their articles. For high-profile trials where photography isn’t allowed during the proceedings — such as the Trump trial — there are multiple artists in attendance each day. Many states allow cameras in their courtrooms, however, and sketches aren’t as valuable in those situations.

Cedric Hohnstadt — a Minnesota-based illustrator who has sketched high-profile trials — said he typically works out his own arrangement with local and national media. He often has to reach out to courthouse employees to ensure that he can get a seat in court when there is a high-profile trial. Hohnstadt said he prefers to draw his sketches on an iPad, which means he must contact staff at courthouses that prohibit electronics to get an exception. If he can’t, he will lug his big drawing board and bag of supplies and take a photo of his completed sketches to email them to the media.

“I only do a handful of trials each year, because many states allow cameras in the courtroom, and in the states that don’t, there just aren’t that many trials that warrant the expense of paying for a sketch artist,” Hohnstadt said in an email.

Have more questions on this or other Trump trials? Email us at [email protected] and [email protected] and check for answers in future editions.

Thanks for reading this midweek Trump Trials update. You can find past issues of The Trump Trials here . We’ve also started posting searchable PDFs of the daily transcripts from the New York trial. You can view those here .

Suggested reads

Live updates from Thursday’s cross-examination of Stormy Daniels