Avoiding Shifts in Tense, Person, and Voice 1. Watch your verb tenses. o Don’t shift back and forth in time unless you have a good reason. Illogical Shift in Verb Tense Past tense I started writing my essay last night at 9 p.m. and then finish it five minutes before class today. o Present tense Consistent Verb Tense Past tense I started writing my essay last night at 9 p.m. and then finished it five minutes before class today. Past tense Logical Shift in Verb Tense Past tense I started writing my essay last night at 9 p.m., but I will not do that any more. Future tense 2. Watch your pronouns. Don’t move back and forth between first-, second-, and third-person pronouns unless you have a good reason. PRONOUNS: The System 1st person SINGULAR PLURAL I (me/my) we (us/our) you (your) you (your) he (him/his) she (her) it (its) one (one’s) they (them/their) (= the person who is writing or speaking) 2nd person (= the person who is being written or spoken to) 3rd person (= the person or thing being written about) Illogical Shift in Person Third Person Everyone can become a good writer once you learn how to revise and edit. Second Person Consistent Point of View 1st Person 2nd Person 3rd Person o I can become a good writer once I learn how to revise and edit. o You can become a good writer once you learn how to revise and edit. o Everyone can become a good writer once he or she learns how to revise and edit. 3. Watch active/passive voice. o Don’t shift back and forth between active and passive voice unless you have a good reason. o In an active sentence, the subject performs the action. o She took my sister’s old job. o The subject, she, performed the action in this sentence—she did the taking. Watch active/passive voice. o In a passive sentence, the subject is acted upon. o My sister’s old job was taken by her. o The subject, job, receives the action in this sentence—it was taken. Illogical Shift in Voice Active o Jill and I started the report, and it was finished by another team. Passive Consistent Voice Active Jill and I started the report, and another team finished it. Active Generally, prefer the active voice: Passive o The directions were given by the teacher. Active o The teacher gave the directions. Passive o Economic declines are often caused by rising interest rates. Active o Rising interest rates often cause economic declines. To review illogical shifts in tense, person, and voice, see Chapter 17.