Knowing how to maintain consistency in your writing is a skill that every writer should possess. Writing that lacks consistency will confuse readers. It will also discourage readers from reading more from that writer in the future, as a confused reader is less likely to return.
The use of tense is usually the most inconsistent aspect of a sentence. However, there are other aspects of a sentence that are often inconsistent. This article demonstrates how you can create more consistency in your tense, reference, and grammatical perspective (or voice).
Correcting Inconsistent Tense
The verb in a sentence is always associated with a particular time. Therefore, when creating sentences, you should pay particular attention to the type of verb tense you use. You should ask yourself if the verb matches the time of the story you’re telling.
Present Example: Nuclear weapons pose a threat to every nation on the planet. (This action is happening now.)
Past Example: In World War two, nuclear weapons posed a threat to every nation on the planet. (This action happened and concluded in the past.)
Both examples above use the verb pose, which shifts the tense based on the time of the action. In addition to using incorrect tense in sentences, authors tend to shift from one tense to the other in a single sentence. If there is more than one verb in a sentence, the key is to observe their tense and ensure that they match.
Incorrect example: We ran towards the house when suddenly a car comes crashing through the gate.
Correct Example: We ran towards the house when suddenly a car came crashing through the gate.
Correcting Inconsistent Reference
Personal pronouns include I, my, or me. These are pronouns that you’ll use when you’re referring to yourself (first-person reference). If you wish to speak to your readers directly then you can use the “you” pronoun (second-person reference).
However, some sentences tend to shift from one reference type to another, when referring to the same person. Thus, creating an inconsistency in reference and potentially confusing readers.
Incorrect Example: I wouldn’t want to live in Antarctica, you would have to experience months on end without sunlight.
Correct Example: I wouldn’t want to live in Antarctica, I would have to experience months on end without sunlight.
Correcting Inconsistent Voice
Some sentences confuse readers by shifting from an active voice to a passive one and vice versa. When the subject of a sentence acts, the action verb is in the active voice.
Active Voice Example: A local boy wins the gold medal.
When the action is performed on the subject, the action verb is in the passive voice.
Passive Voice Example: The gold medal was won by a local boy.
The consensus is that the active voice is preferable, as it helps you to write clearer sentences. However, there are instances when the passive voice is desirable, such as when you don’t know who the performer of an action is.
Therefore, you can choose to either use an active or passive voice in your sentences, the key is to not use both voices in the same sentence.
Incorrect Example: She returned to her home as soon as her meal had been eaten.
Correct Example: She returned to her home as soon as she had eaten her meal.
The incorrect example switches from an active voice to a passive one. In addition to making the sentence inconsistent, this switch also made the sentence unclear, because you’re not sure who ate the meal. Whereas the correct example is both consistent and clear.
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