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.