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
o I started writing my essay last night at 9
p.m. and then finish it five minutes before
class today.
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
SINGULAR PLURAL
1st person I (me/my) we (us/our)
(= the person
who is writing
or speaking)
2nd person you (your) you (your)
(= the person
who is being
written or
spoken to)
3rd person he (him/his) they
she (her) (them/their)
(= the person or it (its)
thing being one (one’s)
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
o I can become a good writer once I
learn how to revise and edit.

2nd Person o You can become a good writer once

you learn how to revise and edit.

3rd Person
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.