I know there are several kinds of past tense, and I get a little confused by them. If I am writing a story in past tense, and the narrator is telling something that happened in the past, what kind of past tense do I use? In stead of using was or were (as in past progressive), do I use had (which would be past perfect), or had been (which would be past perfect progressive)? Thanks, to anyone who can help.....
Don't confuse narrative tense with grammatical tense. Narrative tense is either past tense or present tense (although some wag will undoubtedly suggest future narrative tense, but that will be entirely for the sake of argument.) Narrative tense is simply whrther the narrator is relating what happened )past) or what is happening (present). Grammatical tense is the verb to verb choice for each sentence or clause. Each has a particular meaning and connotation, and may also interact with other nearby verbs to indicate relative simultaneity or sequence. The only way to fully understand is to study each simple and compound grammatical tense. Regardless of the narrative tense, you may find examples of every grammatical tense contained within it.
Thanks, I will look through those threads. So that I am understanding, if I am writing in past tense (first person) and the MC is telling about something that occured in the past , like his first kiss for example do I write. My first kiss was sloppy. or My first kiss had been sloppy.
Depends on the context, both could be correct. If recounting the events as if in a flashback, the first is correct. It is present tense. If referring back to a first kiss in comparison to a kiss taking place now, the second could be correct. (just an example) It is past tense.
"Was" is a simple past tense verb. You are relating to the reader that in the past, the first kiss you had was a sloppy kiss. "Had been" is a past perfect (the helper verb "had" with the appropriate "to be" verb). Specifically, your relating that in the past, you were kissed with a sloppy kiss, that kiss continued for a length of time, and then it ended in the past. Sorry for the pun, but I think KISS works here. Keep it Simple Silly (hate the word stupid). Use the simple past as much as possible, unless you have to tell us that an action happened, then stopped before the present. "I had slept for eight hours when he came to see me." The end of the action is laid out: "when he came to see me." But even that sounds contrived. It's easier to say. "The doorbell rang eight hours after I fell asleep." Of course, and as always, just my opinion!
KISS can also mean Keep It Simple and Snappy, if you don't like the original WWII GI phrase, Keep It Simple, Stupid. I rather like Keep It Simple and Smart, keeping in mind that smart also means energetic and quick as well as canny and shrewd. I'm a firm advocate of KISS. Reducing matters to their essence is an underrated writing skill. Being CONcise goes hand in hand with being PREcise. What does this have to do with the thread topic? The right choice of tense is a matter of word mastery,which is an element of precise writing.
