Unity means consistency or oneness…that is, a sentence or a paragraph has only one main idea. To achieve unity, shifts or changes in tense, voice, and subject should be avoided. Consistency of Tense - The general rule is that uniformity of verb tense should be observe in a sentence, or a paragraph. If the first verb is in the present tense, the succeeding verbs should be in the present. If the first verb is in the past, the next verbs should also be in the past. Kent stopped me, and said hello. I closed my book, had a snack, and then decided to call it a day. I went into the kitchen, raised the shade, looked out into the garden, and then, I saw a wild pig eating the newly planted cabbages. Kevin takes all the tests, writes all the papers, and then he gets only a 2.0. The general rules according to Catanjal are:
The verb in an adverbial clause generally agrees with the tense of the verb in the main clause. Ex : Juanito ran to the door when he saw us coming. Pres. Manuel Roxas was delivering a speech when he had a heart attack. Renz cleared his desk before he left. A baby usually sleeps after he eats. The verb in an adjective clause need not agree in tense with the verb in the main clause inasmuch as the two actions are not necessarily related in time of occurrence. Ex: Lilia, who was my classmate in English 1 last semester, is planning to go the US. This is the book (that) I had been telling you about.
The verb in a noun clause is generally in the past tense if the verb in the main clause is in the past tense. The verb remains in the present tense if the idea expressed in the noun clause is a universal truth or a relatively permanent condition. Ex: PAG-ASA announced that a storm was heading towards the Philippines. The young people stated that they would choose the best man.
Amelia claims that she knows all the
answers to the questions.
The student learned from his
experiment that water seeks its own level.
The map indicated that the Philippines lies in the Torrid Zone. Exercises Write OH OH OH if the tenses of the sentence are correctly used. Rewrite the sentences that violate tense unity.
The people of our town agreed that fiesta
can be put to good use.
Ethan was late to his 7:30 class because
the traffic is heavy. The man who built the Eiffel Tower was a good engineer. Everybody prepared to leave as soon as the bell rings. World War II formally ended on September 2, 1945 after Japan has signed the surrender papers. The government which was established by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed June 12, 1898 as Philippine Independence Day. Jose Rizal believed that there exists a Filipino nation. Doctors say the one cause of heart failure is the pressure of modern living. A citizen can vote as soon as he had reached the age of twenty-one. The tourist learned that Pagsanjan Falls was in Laguna. We shall go on an excursion to Los Banos on Sunday if it would not rain. Teresa used to be present at every meeting, but this week, she has been absent several times. No person can exercise his right of suffrage unless he has registered with the Commission on Elections.