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Editing and Grammar
Quick questions on Tenses and time: N(A)-Level Editing
4short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What are the three main tenses?Show answer
The three main tenses are past (what already happened: walked, ate, was), present (what happens now or generally: walks, eats, is), and future (what will happen: will walk, will eat, will be). Each verb in a sentence should be in the tense that matches when the action takes place.
What is form the past tense correctly?Show answer
Many tense errors come from forming the past tense wrongly. Regular verbs add -ed (walk to walked, finish to finished). Irregular verbs change form (go to went, eat to ate, see to saw). After "has" or "have", use the past participle ("has finished", "have eaten"), not the base form ("has finish").
What is keep the tense consistent?Show answer
Within a passage, stay in one tense unless there is a reason to change. If a recount is in the past tense, do not suddenly slip into the present. "I walked into the room and there is a cake" is inconsistent; it should be "there was a cake". Read the passage and check the tense does not jump about.
What is wrong past form after has/have?Show answer
"Has finish" should be "has finished"; after has/have, use the past participle.
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