Our question today is from ely_baby, who wants to know: When writing mostly in the present tense, what tense should be used for events in the past?

There are a lot of past tense choices, and all of them can work with a present tense narrative. ( I will use Daisy, from Agents of SHIELD, to illustrate the options with some present day action and past history. )

Question: When writing in present tense, should events taking place in the past be written in past tense or past perfect tense? (ex: Victor remembers his first days in Paris (present tense). The first thing he did after unpacking was call home (past tense), just as his mother had urged him to do (past perfect) before he got onto the plane (past ( Read more... )

akasha_lilian asks, "How do you conjugate 'to party' in the past tense?"

( With examples from Saiyuki and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. )

Fandom Grammar was asked ‘what is the relationship and history between to go and went?’

Go is an irregular verb, and our answers wend their way back to Middle English and beyond. Fannish examples will come from Sapphire and Steel, who are accustomed to dealing with irregularities.

( Let's go check this out )

sosaith asks, "When someone is dead or something doesn't exist anymore, should you ever use the present tense to describe them?"

The answer is "it depends." Let's get down to the particulars with the cast of Rosemary Sutcliff's YA historical novel The Eagle of the Ninth - or, if you prefer, the cast of "The Eagle" (2011). ( Dead and/or gone - but not forgotten! )

skroberts did a really great job of describing the grammatical difference between lie, which never takes an object, and lay, which always takes an object, in the original lie/lay post. Here are a few more tips for remembering the difference, with some help from our friends from Due South.

( lay what? )

saavikam77 asks, Is there any real difference between the full and contracted past tense forms of certain verbs (burned/burnt, leaped/leapt, etc.)? Are there particular situations in which it's not okay to use the contracted form?

As with many things, the answer depends on whether you're writing in American or British English. ( With examples from Supernatural and Sherlock Holmes. )

avidrosette wants to know: When a verb has both an irregular past tense form and a regular one, such as shone/shined or dove/dived, are the words interchangeable or are there rules that govern when each form should be used? Is contemporary English usage leaning more toward the regular forms?

With examples from Good Omens.

( Whew, I really sweat (sweated?) over this one… )

Grammar 101: Verbs with examples from Stargate SG-1, Harry Potter, and Heroes.

Co-written by katilara and supercheesegirl

( Verbs: What are they? )

earth2skye asks: How is the verb “would” used in conditionals and habitual tenses in the context of a narrative in the past tense?

( With examples from Tin Man )