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Unity in Sentences

Unity of tense refers to maintaining consistency of verb tense within a sentence or passage. Changing tenses without reason can confuse or mislead readers. Maintaining the same tense, such as past or present, for all verbs (except when specifically indicating a shift in time) helps create clear, coherent writing. The document provides examples of correct and incorrect tense usage and gives tips for ensuring verbs agree in tense.

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407 views

Unity in Sentences

Unity of tense refers to maintaining consistency of verb tense within a sentence or passage. Changing tenses without reason can confuse or mislead readers. Maintaining the same tense, such as past or present, for all verbs (except when specifically indicating a shift in time) helps create clear, coherent writing. The document provides examples of correct and incorrect tense usage and gives tips for ensuring verbs agree in tense.

Uploaded by

torresmajesusa17
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Unity in Sentences

-Unity of Tense
-Unity of Subject and/or Person
Unity in Sentences

 Unity means oneness and/or consistency.

 In order for a sentence to have unity, its statements/ideas…


(1) must be closely related,
(2) must be logically arranged,
(3) must compose only one thought, and
(4) the tense of its verb/s should be kept
uniform.
A. Unity of Tense
It is important to maintain
-Tense indicates one tense in a discourse.
time.
Tony reads and studied at the
-Oneness or library every morning.
consistency of time INCORREC
elements should be T
observed. Tony reads and studies at the
library every morning.
CORRECT
Verb Tense Consistency
 Tenses of the verb do not change unless there is a time change for the
action in the sentence.
 If the sentence is written in the past tense, the prior action is expressed
in the past perfect tense.
I ate my dinner before I brushed my teeth
last night. INCORREC
T
I had eaten my dinner before I brushed my
teeth last night. CORREC
T
1st action – had eaten (past perfect tense)
2nd action – brushed (simple past)
Verb Tense Consistency

Perfect Tense – used in describing action that has


been completed (perfective aspect)

had + past participle of verb =


past perfect tense has/have +
past participle of verb = present perfect
example: had eaten tense

example: has/have eaten

will + have + past participle of verb = future perfect tense

example: will have eaten


Principal Parts of a Verb

 The principal parts (of a verb) are the forms of


the verb from which all other forms of the verb can be
made.

 Principal parts of a verb are:


- present tense(base form and –s form)
- infinitive
- past tense
- past participle
- present participle
 Principal Parts are:
Present Infinitive Past Tense Past Present
(to + base Participle Participle
base form -s form form) (-ing form)

be, am, is, are to be was, were been being


look looks to look looked looked looking
see sees to see saw seen seeing

to drink
drive drives
read reads to read read read reading
(pronounced (pronounced
as /red/) as /red/)

run runs to run ran run running


takes
has, have to have had had having
Verb Tense Consistency Hints

1. Use the past tense to narrate past events and to refer


to an author’s ideas as historical events.

Jonathan Swift published Gulliver’s Travels in 1726.


Verb Tense Consistency Hints

2. Use the present tense in expressing facts and habits


and in discussing your own ideas or those expressed by
an author in a particular work.

Mexicans consume chocolate more as traditional


drink and as spice than as candy.

I brush my teeth before going to bed.


Verb Tense Consistency Hints

3. Use present tense to describe an action in a literary


work, movie, or other fictional narrative.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tells the story


of a child from a poor family, who wins one of the golden
tickets to visit the mythical chocolate factory belonging to
Willy Wonka.
Correct the SECOND verb so it matches the
tense of the FIRST verb.

1. I danced almost all night. Then I


remember I had to wake up early the
next day.

remembered
Correct the SECOND verb so it matches the
tense of the FIRST verb.

2.The vampire walked down the master


staircase. He smiles at his next victims.

smiled
Correct the SECOND verb so it matches the
tense of the FIRST verb.

3. The people at my dentist's office are very


nice. They always answered people's
questions patiently.

answer
Correct the SECOND verb so it matches the
tense of the FIRST verb.

4. Alexis went to the mall and look at


mini-tower computers.

looked
Correct the SECOND verb so it matches the
tense of the FIRST verb.

5. The mouse sniffs the cheese and ran


away.

runs
Correct the SECOND verb so it matches the
tense of the FIRST verb.

6. Often, people come to visit us in


Manhattan. Sometimes, they overstayed
their welcome a little bit.

overstay
Correct the SECOND verb so it matches the
tense of the FIRST verb.

7. Rush hour traffic was just awful. It


takes me two hours more than usual
this morning.

took
Correct the SECOND verb so it matches the
tense of the FIRST verb.

8. The detective walks to her desk. She


opened a bottle of bourbon.

opens
Correct the SECOND verb so it matches the
tense of the FIRST verb.

9. Suddenly, Maria had a feeling of dread,


and she reaches for the phone.

reached
Correct the SECOND verb so it matches the
tense of the FIRST verb.

10. Sam took the money and vanishes.

vanished
References:

 College Writing: The Reading-


Writing Connection, Protacio,
Cruz, Lastrella, Grama, Co,
Quizon, Divino, Dañas, 2011
 http://www.mhhe.com/socscien
ce/english/langan/sentence_skil
ls/exercises/ch10/ie11.htm
 http://www.towson.edu

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