Tense, Adjectives, and Modifiers
Tense

Present tense He decides the issue

Past Tense He decided the issue yesterday.

Future tense He will decide the issue tomorrow.

Adjectives

Use adjectives to modify nouns or pronouns and adverbs to modify verbs, adjectives, or
other adverbs.

Incorrect: He drives careless (adjective).

Correct: He drives carelessly (adverb).

Incorrect: He drives considerable (adjective) faster than she does.

Correct: He drives considerably (adverb) faster than she does.

Modifiers

Make sure that modifiers are clear. Modifiers (words, clauses, phrases) describe, limit, elaborate,
or in some way change the meaning of the subject. Keep the modifier close to the word it modifies
so their relationship will be clear.

Incorrect: Walking down the aisle, the typewriter caught his eye. (A typewriter

cannot catch anything.)

Correct: Walking down the aisle, he spotted the typewriter.