When writing fiction in the first person I find that the present tense keeps creeping in to past tense sentences. For example: "It was becoming scary, and I was relieved now that John was here." Technically this is wrong and it should be: "It was becoming scary, and I was relieved that John was there." Or, "It was becoming scary, and I was relieved that John had arrived." But the second two, although grammatically correct don't sound as immediate. Is the first one totally wrong, or is that a style that is used in first person?
There is no tense for ‘here’ and ‘there,’ just location. Standing next to you would be.... (past tense) he was here a moment ago. Or maybe he was over there somewhere. If you keep the verbs in past your okay. I would caution the use of ‘had’ unless it is past perfect. When you have...I was relieved when John arrived. Is in past tense. But if you write....I was relieved that John had arrived. Now you’re past perfect. Maybe one of the big kids like @Seven Crowns can chime in and explain it better. But this is my understanding.
It's totally fine to use here. That doesn't matter what tense you're using. Also, tense isn't any different between first and third. But in the example you gave, you're totally fine. No problem.
Here and there are spatial, right. They don't have tense. Your original line could work. It has to do with where the past exists (recent, simple, distant) and where the narrator exists (near or far). If you were talking about the recent past with the narrator being very close, then you could get easily away with "here." You'd have to be very consistent though. If you slipped (forgot your plan) and the past tense moved, almost as if the narrator were reminiscing the whole story as deeper moments, then "here" would show up as a mistake. When you say "here" that means that the locale is in the immediate vicinity, and so the past events had to happen just heartbeats ago. It'll work if you're consistent. The key is to square away the narrator's place in the story and then hold it there as your basis. The narrator will still move about as needed, but he/she returns to a common place and time. The difference between your other lines is that one emphasizes place and one emphasizes an action. I've highlighted the verb phrase in the "that" clauses. I was relieved that John was there. ("there" is an adverb giving the "where" of "was.") I was relieved that John had arrived. (all one past-perfect action) In the first, John just sort of exists there. In the second, at some point he entered the scene. They both work and say the same thing more or less, just with emphasis on either place or action. You have to decide upon which is more important, and of course, no sentence exists alone, so the neighboring sentences help you make the choice. If you have past perfects running wild, choosing the first might be better. Depends on the paragraph, as always. You're right about the original line being more immediate. It's more naturally talking about the immediate past. Your other two are a little more removed and the past pushes farther away. (That doesn't mean they're somehow worse. It depends on your goal.)
Take out the "I was relieved that". The sentence then reads either: "John was here." or "John was there." The first obviously makes no sense unless the speaker is still at the location where John was. Let that be your guide.
Thanks All. I think that has all uncovered my issue. I'm not clear on where the narrator is sitting in time and space. If they are telling the story to their grandchildren about something 40 years ago it would be "there," unless they really are in the exact same house. If it was something that had just happened, it would be here. Yet, I tend to think of first person narrators in books as disembodied voices that could exist anywhere at any time. I suppose the best thing to do it choose a style and stick to it. Edit: that was very helpful everyone, thank you for your responses.
Here and there still apply as to location, not time. That’s what @Seven Crowns meant by spatial. Example He is right here or just over there. The last time John was here was forty years ago. When he was here, if he’d had any sense about him, he would have built the outhouse over there.
In John's head if it is third-person limited. Here is another view...https://www.writingforums.org/threads/here-or-there-in-past-tense.44418/
