Introduction 

Whether speaking about the present, the past, or the future, speakers of the English language employ several verb tenses and verb forms such as "go," "went," and "will go." There are a total of twelve distinct verb tenses in the English language. This is in addition to other temporal expressions such as "used to."

When switching between verb tenses, it's usual practice to change the verb itself.

For example, the terms "is" and "was" refer to things that are taking place at the moment, but the phrase "will be" alludes to things that have taken place in the past, etc.

Common Verbs

Verb tense error: what are they?

Because there are so many distinct tenses, it's easy to confuse them and end up communicating inappropriately. Verb tense mistakes are inconsistencies in verb tense usage that cloud the meaning and make it difficult to understand what is being said.

Misusing a tense, making an improper transition to future tense forms, or making an inaccurate shift in tense inside a compound phrase are all possible errors. Alterations in verb tense are not uncommon in written works, particularly longer ones.

This common writing error occurs when a piece of writing starts in the present tense and then abruptly flips to the past tense in the middle of the sentence.

Misuse of tenses may be illustrated by the statement, "by the time of another preceding event, I had traveled five kilometers." This is an example of tense abuse.

Using the verb walked in this context would be inappropriate because it represents a choice of verb tense that is not appropriate for the circumstance. The phrase should be written in the past perfect tense, as "had traveled".

Some common Errors in  Verb Tense 

There are a lot of tenses to choose from. Hence it's easy to make a mistake in your communication. Verb tense mistakes are inconsistencies in verb tense use that obscure meaning.

An error might occur due to a tense shift in a compound phrase, a tense misuse, or a mistake in the usage of the future tense. A passage's verb tense may shift at various points.

English has a reputation for being a challenging language to learn. Even though they know the language well, some pupils can't help but make a few clumsy blunders now and again. Most common English grammatical errors involve the use of tenses. In addition, it is very uncommon for pupils to confuse the present, future, and past tenses within the same sentence. or ambiguity regarding the tense itself, such as between the present continuous and present perfect.

Verbal Vagueness in the Present Perfect

While constructing phrases in the present tense, students commonly mix up two or more subtenses or even completely misuse the tenses.

The present tense is the mode of expression used to talk about anything that is happening right now. To denote if something happens once or often.

Continuous action is indicated by the simple present tense. You can describe a recent activity still in progress in the Present Perfect tense. The Present Perfect Continuous Tense describes actions that have been going on for some time.

Unclearness in tenses

To put it simply, the past tense is used to talk about things that happened in the past. To reflect the varying frequency of previous events, the past tense is subdivided into the simple past continuous tense, the past perfect tense, the past tense, and the past perfect continuous tense.

To prevent misunderstandings while using the Past Tense, students should refer to these illustrations to help them identify whether an activity was a one-time occurrence or a continuing pattern.

Lack of Definability

The future tense is used to talk about things that will happen in the future but haven't happened yet. Like the past and present tenses, the categories for the Future Tense are based on the possibility of occurrence.

In the simple future tense, an action is stated as though it were going to take place at some unspecified period. The future continuous tense is used to talk about anything happening in the future that isn't quite finished yet.

However, when describing an activity that will be completed later, the Future Perfect Tense is utilized. The Future Perfect Continuous tense is used to talk about something that is currently happening but won't be finished later.

How to Spot Errors in  Verb Tense 

Numerous terms in the English language defy basic conventions.

Sometimes it can be difficult to spot errors in verb tenses.  The easiest way to prevent these mistakes is to become familiar with the tense usage norms in grammar.

In other words, if a verb is used in the tense i.e, past tense, it should continue in the past tense throughout the entire piece of writing. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule and acceptable ways to switch between tenses, such as by giving the reader cues to introduce a new time reference. Other verbs, like "remember," can be used to describe an event that happened in the past. 

The gerund or the clause should come after the verb suggests. It is incompatible with a to-infinitive. Discussing, describing, ordering, and requesting are transitive verbs. Instead of prepositions, direct objects should come after them.

Conclusion

Errors in verb tenses are among the most often made when writing. These aren't always easy to spot, but with enough effort, you'll soon become a pro at mending them.

When a writer makes a mistake in verb tense, the sentence is rendered incorrectly. For instance, the present tense verb form should be used when the text is written in the present tense. Use the past tense verb form when writing in the past tense. Inconsistent use of tense within the same phrase or paragraph is the most typical cause of verb tense mistakes. This might cause the reader to become confused and the text to appear disconnected. Avoid this by maintaining uniform verb tense inside each phrase or paragraph.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.  What is the single most crucial thing that one must do to stay away from making errors in verb tense?

Ans. Read the text to two-three times to check for errors. You should give your manuscript many passes through the proofreading process, especially if you have trouble writing in the past tense or if you write in the present tense.

2. Why do people get confused between present and past tense?

Ans. One of the most common errors people make when using verbs in their writing is switching back and forth between the past and present tense. This occurs most frequently when someone writes something in the present tense but then, without meaning to, flips back to the past tense in a later sentence. Another typical error is misunderstanding the meaning of the different tenses and their associated forms (such as present and present perfect).

3.  What is part of speech?

Ans. Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, interjections, and interjections make up the eight grammatical categories in English. A word's meaning and grammatical function in a sentence are indicated by its part of speech.