movie review past tense or present

Do You Use The Past Tense or Present Tense to Describe Movies?

When you’re writing any type of paper, story, review, or other source of media, you need to know what tense you’re writing in: past or present. Movies are a source of media you should know how to describe. So, do you describe movies in the past or present tense?

The rest of this article will cover why you should use the present tense, and why you shouldn’t use the past tense.

Why You Should Use The Present Tense

Books, movies, TV shows, and other sources of media should all be described in the present tense because their plots are timeless. Therefore, unless you are describing an event that happens in the past in the timeline of the story, you should always use present tense.

Why You Shouldn’t Use The Past Tense

The past tense is used in a lot of modern day books. It’s common because of how well it flows when you’re reading it. However, when you’re describing media like books and movies, it’s not a great idea because you can confuse the people you’re speaking to.

When you describe something in the past tense, you’re describing it as something that happened in the past. If you’re going to use the past tense, you should use it to describe historical events, not movies.

“Jane gets her phone and looks at her favorite picture of her best friend. Jane and her best friend have been friends for five years. Five years ago, Jane’s best friend bumped into her and they became friends after that.”

Related posts:

IELTS Speaking

Face the IELTS Speaking exam with confidence!

Present Tenses to Describe Films & Books

March 20, 2015 By PeterT

IELTS Grammar >> Talking about film and book plots with present tenses

You probably already know the various reasons for using the present simple and continuous tenses: to talk about facts or habits (present simple), to describe temporary situations or what is happening at the time of speaking (present continuous) or to talk about future timetables or schedules (present simple). However, one very important reason for using these tenses is to describe the events in a book or film. This is a topic that sometimes appears in Part 2 so here’s a chance to practise.

When we tell a story or anecdote or describe the events in a book or film, we will often use the present tense in order to make the action seem more engaging or dramatic. Study the use of tenses in the following extract from an IELTS Part 2 answer to this question:

Describe a scene from a book or film that you really enjoyed …

I really enjoyed reading Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ and one scene in particular comes to mind. Two of the characters, Linda and her son John, are taken from the place where they  are living , to London.  This is the ‘brave new world’ and ideals of love, and family life are despised. Because Linda looks old and unattractive she is given a drug called ‘soma’ in the hope that she will die . Eventually, John gets a phone call and is told his mum is dying in hospital. He rushes to her bedside and sits there watching over her. He remembers how she used to be when she was younger but a group of children spoil the moment when they start making fun of Linda. This event is really important because it shows the difference between the old and the new world. Even the nurse can’t understand why John is unhappy when his mum dies.

The events have been described as if they are happening ‘now’. There are lots of examples of present tenses. The simple present appears most frequently, but there are also examples of the present simple passive such as ‘are taken’, ‘is given’ and ‘is ‘told’. On two occasions the past tense is used to signify a change in time period, ‘used to be’ and ‘when she was younger’. We also have a reference to the future – ‘will die’.

This is an authentic, natural way to describe events in a book or film in English. Making your long turn like this will make a positive impression on the examiner if such a question appears in the exam.

Over to you

Answer the following IELTS-style Part 2 question using present tenses appropriately:

Describe a scene from a book or film that you enjoyed. You should say: what the book or film is called who the main characters are what happens in the scene and say why you liked it so much.

Next Step? Find out what the typical grammar mistakes are that IELTS candidates tend to make and practise some of these areas. Sign up to IELTS Speaking: Advanced for grammar tests and a whole lot more!

November 6, 2016 at 6:01 am

I really enjoy such a kind of description ,too. It helps us to develop our reading knowledge.

August 9, 2016 at 1:14 pm

Ireally enjoy reading and a love the way you support us, flow joe is great, thank you very much

January 27, 2016 at 6:10 pm

I love to read this article so much.It correct my sentences.

December 5, 2015 at 9:43 pm

Generally, it is clear.I would like to read.

• 5 Minute Functions
• IELTS Grammar Practice
• IELTS Speaking FAQs
• IELTS Speaking Task Sheets
• IELTS Vocabulary
• Practice Tests
• Privacy Policy
• Splendid Expressions
• The IELTS Speaking Roadmap

Social Media

We all know studying a little each day pays off and will help you get that top grade you're after. However, we all lead such busy lives and simply REMEMBERING to do this can be a challenge, never mind actually sitting down and doing the work.

Well, we'd like to give you a helping hand. Join us on Twitter or Facebook and get daily updates from us featuring a short, bite-sized exercise to help you prepare efficiently and effectively for your exam.

Twitter Facebook

Download our e-book

Sign up for our FREE ebook: 'Roadmap to IELTS Speaking Success':

Past Tense of review: Conjugations in Past and Present Participles

What is the past tense of “review?” Most commonly, the past tense of the word “review” is “reviewed.” Although the word form will change based on its participle. And the sentence where it’s used. For example, referencing “review” in the present participle form will change it to “reviewing,” but in the infinitive form, will be “review.”

What is the past tense of the word "review"

The past tense (past participle) form of “review” is “reviewed.” The infinitive of the word form is “review.” The present participle form is “reviewing.” The past tense form is “reviewed” and past participle form is “reviewed.”

Understanding verb tenses

The general grammar rules that govern past tenses are as follows. The simple past tense form is created by adding a -ed or -d affix to the root word of the verb. Some verbs use a -t variation where they end in a -t. For example, when "dream" turns into "dreamt."

The past perfect tense is formed for regular verbs (ending in -ed, -d, or -t) by adding "had" followed by the verb. For example, "I had finished ."

The past continuous tense is formed by the verb "be" followed by the affix or ending of -ing. For example, " we were having dinner."

Lastly, the past perfect continuous tense is formed by adding "had been" followed by the affix or ending of -ing. For example, "I had been building a castle with my sister."

For more information on forming all past tenses, visit our " understanding verb tenses " resource.

Sentence examples for the past tense of the word "review"

• Infinitive: I review.
• Present participle: She is reviewing.
• Past tense: I reviewed.
• Past particle: I have reviewed.

Verb forms of the word "review"

Example sentences in all verb forms:

Indefinite present tense

Present continuous tense.

She/he/it is reviewing.

Present perfect continuous tense

She/he/it has/had reviewed.

Present perfect tense

She/he/it has/had been reviewing.

Simple past tense

She/he/it reviewed.

Past continuous tense

She/he/it were reviewing.

Past perfect tense

Perfect continuous tense.

She/he/it will/shall review.

Simple future tense

She/he/it will/shall be reviewing.

Future perfect tense

She/he/it will/shall have reviewed.

Future perfect continuous tense

She/he/it will/shall have been reviewing.

Sentence examples in all forms

Sentence examples in all participles and parts of speech :

Fact checked: Content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Fact checkers review articles for factual accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. Learn more.

About the author

Dalia Y.: Dalia is an English Major and linguistics expert with an additional degree in Psychology. Dalia has featured articles on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Grammarly, and many more. She covers English, ESL, and all things grammar on GrammarBrain.

Core lessons

• Abstract Noun
• Accusative Case
• Active Sentence
• Alliteration
• Adjective Clause
• Adjective Phrase
• Adverbial Clause
• Appositive Phrase
• Body Paragraph
• Compound Adjective
• Complex Sentence
• Compound Words
• Compound Predicate
• Common Noun
• Comparative Adjective
• Comparative and Superlative
• Compound Noun
• Compound Subject
• Compound Sentence
• Copular Verb
• Collective Noun
• Colloquialism
• Conciseness
• Conditional
• Concrete Noun
• Conjunction
• Conjugation
• Conditional Sentence
• Comma Splice
• Correlative Conjunction
• Coordinating Conjunction
• Coordinate Adjective
• Cumulative Adjective
• Dative Case
• Declarative Statement
• Direct Object Pronoun
• Direct Object
• Dangling Modifier
• Demonstrative Pronoun
• Demonstrative Adjective
• Direct Characterization
• Definite Article
• Doublespeak
• Equivocation Fallacy
• Future Perfect Progressive
• Future Simple
• Future Perfect Continuous
• Future Perfect
• First Conditional
• Gerund Phrase
• Genitive Case
• Helping Verb
• Irregular Adjective
• Irregular Verb
• Imperative Sentence
• Indefinite Article
• Intransitive Verb
• Introductory Phrase
• Indefinite Pronoun
• Indirect Characterization
• Interrogative Sentence
• Intensive Pronoun
• Inanimate Object
• Indefinite Tense
• Infinitive Phrase
• Interjection
• Intensifier
• Indicative Mood
• Juxtaposition
• Linking Verb
• Misplaced Modifier
• Nominative Case
• Noun Adjective
• Object Pronoun
• Object Complement
• Order of Adjectives
• Parallelism
• Prepositional Phrase
• Past Simple Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Progressive Tense
• Present Simple Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Personal Pronoun
• Personification
• Persuasive Writing
• Parallel Structure
• Phrasal Verb
• Predicate Adjective
• Predicate Nominative
• Phonetic Language
• Plural Noun
• Punctuation
• Punctuation Marks
• Preposition
• Preposition of Place
• Parts of Speech
• Possessive Adjective
• Possessive Determiner
• Possessive Case
• Possessive Noun
• Proper Adjective
• Proper Noun
• Present Participle
• Quotation Marks
• Relative Pronoun
• Reflexive Pronoun
• Reciprocal Pronoun
• Subordinating Conjunction
• Simple Future Tense
• Stative Verb
• Subjunctive
• Subject Complement
• Subject of a Sentence
• Sentence Variety
• Second Conditional
• Superlative Adjective
• Slash Symbol
• Topic Sentence
• Types of Nouns
• Types of Sentences
• Uncountable Noun
• Vowels and Consonants

Popular lessons

Stay awhile. Your weekly dose of grammar and English fun.

The world's best online resource for learning English. Understand words, phrases, slang terms, and all other variations of the English language.

• Abbreviations
• Editorial Policy

English Intelligent

Do You Use The Past Tense or Present Tense to Describe Movies?

When you’re writing any type of paper, story, review, or other source of media, you need to know what tense you’re writing in: past or present. Movies are a source of media you should know how to describe. So, do you describe movies in the past or present tense?

When you’re describing movies, the best way to describe them is in the present tense. This is called the literary present. The reason why is because it flows better to describe movies in the present tense, and also because the past tense should be used when describing things such as historical events rather than movies.

The rest of this article will cover why you should use the present tense, and why you shouldn’t use the past tense.

Why You Should Use The Present Tense

For movies, you should always use the present tense to describe what’s happening; also called the literary present tense. You should use this tense because whenever you’re watching the events in a movie, you’re viewing them as they’re happening.

Books, movies, TV shows, and other sources of media should all be described in the present tense because their plots are timeless. Therefore, unless you are describing an event that happens in the past in the timeline of the story, you should always use present tense.

Why You Shouldn’t Use The Past Tense

The past tense is used in a lot of modern day books. It’s common because of how well it flows when you’re reading it. However, when you’re describing media like books and movies, it’s not a great idea because you can confuse the people you’re speaking to.

When you describe something in the past tense, you’re describing it as something that happened in the past. If you’re going to use the past tense, you should use it to describe historical events, not movies.

For example, if you’re describing a movie that is based on a historical event, you should use present tense to describe the movie, then past tense to describe the real event. This method gives proper distinction between historical events and fictional events.

The one exception is when something in the plot happens in the past. For example, if Jane is explaining her past, then you can use the past tense to describe that. Here is an example of that:

“Jane gets her phone and looks at her favorite picture of her best friend. Jane and her best friend have been friends for five years. Five years ago, Jane’s best friend bumped into her and they became friends after that.”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• Rules/Help/FAQ Help/FAQ
• Members Current visitors
• Interface Language

Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.

Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.

• English Only

Why does book/film review use simple present?

• Thread starter nhungiu
• Start date May 11, 2013

• May 11, 2013

Can anyone please explain why in a film/film review or a story plot, simple present is used, although the book uses simple past. Thank you very much.  

Senior Member

Thank you, Myridon. So, is it ok to use past tense here?  

post mod (English Only / Latin)

Think about it this way, if a character is called Beth and is 15 years old, she is always called that and always that age. Some things in books and films are fixed so when we discuss them we use the present tense. You can use other tenses for other things, so you need to provide the examples.  

• May 12, 2013

Thank you everybody. My example is that: In the book "The Call of the Wild", Jack London used past tense: "Buck did not read the newspaper" etc... But when I read the plot on Wikipedia, they say: " As the story opens, Buck, a powerful St. Bernard - Scotch Collie , [1] [2] lives a comfortable life in California's Santa Clara Valley as the pet of Judge Miller" Can I use past tense when I write the summary of this book?  

It's common to write a summary of a book's plot in the present tense. The present tense is an option when narrating any story, even in casual conversation. In the case of summaries of books and movies, using the present tense brings the reader closer to the creative work, rather than treating the story as something that has been completed and is now history. So, in the absence of a compelling reason to use the past tense, it seems preferable to write summaries in the present tense.  

For a summary the present tense is best because the book and its narrative and characters continue to exist. So, if you pick up the book and tread the opening page now you will find Buck is doing what he always does in the opening page. Using the present tense to discuss literature, films, plays etc is a well established convention.  

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

Can we use the past tense followed by present tense to describe videos or movies we've seen before?

For example:This video talks about the importance of giving affection to your pets, they were mentioning how you should make enough time for your pets to ensure their happiness in the long run, it was posted by PetFriends.

I watched the movie "Cradles" yesterday, it was a good movie and it talks about the upbringing of two brothers and the hardships their parents face to give them a decent childhood.

• present-tense

• 1 At least be consistent. Either it was a good movie and it talked about [blah blah] or it is a good movie and it talks about... –  FumbleFingers Commented May 9, 2020 at 16:43

2 Answers 2

Your example is fine. You watched (past tense) the movie because that event happened yesterday, but the movie talks (present tense) because the movie, as a recording, will continue to talk to others.

This is often the idiomatic way to refer to recorded media, including the printed word. Just consider these quotes from book and record reviews:

• "... the gusto with which he sings those final two lines..."
• "On track number 7 he sings 'I believe I can fly'"
• "...in his own book he deals with a much longer period..."

This is idiomatic because you are not speaking about a past event, but the ongoing effect that the media in question will have on people. Of course, if you're talking about the event of making a movie, writing a book, recording a song, then you use the past tense:

• he sang in the studio
• he made the movie in Hollywood
• he wrote in his book...

Yeah. The protocol I've always understood is that one SHOULD use the present tense to refer to material in a pice, the way Astralbee describes.

• This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post. - From Review –  Joachim Commented Mar 31, 2022 at 5:16

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged past-tense present-tense ..

• Featured on Meta
• Announcing a change to the data-dump process
• Upcoming initiatives on Stack Overflow and across the Stack Exchange network...
• We spent a sprint addressing your requests — here’s how it went

Hot Network Questions

• Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York -- What is it now? How can I reach them?
• Is "secco" really used in piano music?
• Is the XOR of hashes a good hash function?
• Roasting vegetables instead of sweating for a stock
• Character Combining 山 and 大
• How to simplify and rearrange a mathematical expression with quantities that have subscripts
• Does surviving an assassination attempt increase your chance of getting elected?
• Can an employer use your FMLA “tardiness” from a previous time working for them in a re-hire situation?
• What happens if a leading Presidential candidate dies with no running mate?
• Edna Andrade's Black Dragon: Winding Around Control Points
• What is the meaning of green plus icons in component headers?
• Zugzwang where the side to move must be mated in exactly 2 moves
• Drilling holes into a drywall when the bit slips off the framing behind
• Manhwa where the blonde, stoic female lead reincarnates/regresses into a kid and has a brother. Together they are friends with a black-haired kid
• What is the name of this location in the Gerudo Highlands, at the top of a mountain?
• Signature doughnut from a city
• Are missiles aircraft?
• From what equations is magnetic field uniquely determined for a given current distribution?
• How do I trace back a dead outlet?
• "A set of Guatemalas" in Forster's Maurice?
• A short story where all humans deliberately evacuate Earth to allow its ecology to recover
• How to pronounce Türkiye in English?
• Are hardware benchmark results copyrighted?
• What standards did velocipedes have when they were invented?

WRITERS' RUMPUS

Authors & Illustrators Wild About Kidlit!

Past or Present? Learn Which Tense is Best for Your Narration

If you google VERB TENSE, you’ll find lists ranging from 12 to 16 confusing forms. Fortunately, writers of middle grade and young adult literature only need to concern ourselves with the two main tenses, PAST and PRESENT . To help you determine which tense is best for the narration of your story, I’ll review the possibilities and limitations of each.

PAST TENSE: Use this tense when describing action that occurred in the past, whether recent or distant, especially when writing about a well known and documented event like V-Day, August 14, 1945, the official end of WWII. Flashbacks, by definition, should always be written in past tense, as these reflect scenes recalled from a character’s past.

The majority of MG and YA books (fiction and non-fiction alike) are written in past tense. Think about how natural the dialogue tag “she said,” sounds, and you’ll understand why. For many writers, past tense is more natural to write than present tense, and it also allows for deep reflection and accommodates a lush descriptive style.

If the narrator is also the main character, readers will deduce the character must have survived whatever story is being revealed. This makes it especially appropriate when describing difficult topics to young readers. But If you want your readers to experience nail-shredding worry about the survival of the main narrator, give PRESENT TENSE a try, at least for a chapter or two, to see if it works for your writing style and plot.

WATCH OUT!! Writing in PAST TENSE lends to long narrative passages, which can easily lead to telling, not showing. These can work if the narrator’s voice is especially compelling and revealing. But to SHOW , not TELL , sprinkle in as many active verbs (growled, baked, jumped) as possible instead of the more passive verbs was and were.

Rest assured, PAST TENSE can still offer action-packed suspense. An outstanding example of this is SHADOW MAGIC by Joshua Khan, a darkly compelling MG fantasy written in PAST TENSE with alternating points of view and differentiated dialogue. The bulk of the plot takes place in the fictitious land of Gehenna, land of the dead, whose existence is the stuff of nightmares to those from other lands. What I truly loved, however, is how the traditional symbols of good and evil are completely reversed. In the following scene, the giant, fearsome bat is young Lady Shadow of Gehenna’s loyal steed. Yes, the plot gets quite intense, but we know the main characters will survive in some fashion or another.

The bat turned to face the line of soldiers and widened its mouth, revealing its bloody fangs and hissing out a warning… “Put your weapons away!” shouted Lady Shadow as she raced across the flagstones, waving furiously. (from page 119)

PRESENT TENSE: Do you want readers to believe your story is unfolding before their eyes? Do you want readers to feverishly turn pages throughout the night in their drive to learn the fate of main characters or of the world in which they live? Is your plot contemporary or set in a different galaxy? Are you itching to write something fresh and new? If you say YES to any of these questions, give PRESENT TENSE a try.

The 1st Person POV is tailor-made for this tense, followed closely by 3rd Person Limited. These POVs allow for delving into the character’s deep inner thoughts and unique perspectives whether your narration choice is PRESENT TENSE or PAST TENSE . Regardless which POV you choose, PRESENT TENSE works especially well for mysteries, horror, science fiction, and realistic contemporary fiction.

For many writers, PRESENT TENSE is awkward to write, especially if you end up with a lot of “I say” and “she says” dialogue tags. To avoid that pitfall and help your story sound as natural as possible, remember you can also identify a speaker by describing that character’s actions.

With PRESENT TENSE , you’re still able to use highly descriptive and poetic language and insert flashbacks when it benefits your plot. Shorter memories can be woven into your plot, but take special care when switching from PRESENT to PAST and back to PRESENT within your narration.

WATCH OUT!! The most serious limitation of PRESENT TENSE is this: you can’t summarize the plot in advance or provide any kind of perspective on action that has not yet occurred! If you love to drop hints on what’s to come, PAST TENSE narration will likely be your best bet.

A fantastic example of the use of PRESENT TENSE narration is GOLDEN BOY by Tara Sullivan, a chillingly realistic story of an albino teen named Habo whose “otherness” is one of the reasons his family must move from Tanzania to Mwanza. Life was hard enough for Habo before, with his poor eyesight, pale skin and hair, and the cruelty he endured from his own family, but in Mwanza, albinos are hunted for their body parts, as they are thought to bring good luck. When Habo gets chased by a fearsome machete-wielding man, I was terrified for him, especially since I know the horror of hunting albinos exists in reality.

With the first step I feel a terrible shift in my chest. This leaving is not like leaving for the river or school. This leaving is the kind of leaving you do at a gravesite. It’s a leaving that is also giving up. (From Page 12)

DARE TO MIX IT UP!

Now that you fully understand the pros and cons of narrating your story in PAST or PRESENT , feel free to experiment, as long as you do so purposefully and not accidentally. It’s difficult to mix up tenses effectively, but look no further than to OUT OF MY MIND , a masterful MG novel by Sharon M. Draper to see it done well. Main character and narrator Melody, an 11-year old girl who can neither talk nor walk, is judged incapable of learning by many, including teachers and doctors who really should know better. But at the start of chapter 1, readers quickly learn the depth of her intelligence and fascination with words.

Words have always swirled around me like snowflakes – each one melting untouched in my hands. Deep within me, words pile up in huge drifts. (from page 1)

Chapters start in PRESENT TENSE but often switch back and forth with PAST TENSE , and as you can see in the quote above, PRESENT and PAST TENSE are also deftly woven together in adjacent sentences. In essence, much of the story is told using flashbacks, but the flashbacks are seamlessly interlaced with the present-day circumstances facing Melody. For most of us, interrupting the flow of an active scene with a flashback is a giant no-no. This book is a marvel in many ways, and I highly suggest you read it!

FUTURE TENSE :

You may be wondering why I didn’t include this tense in my list of narration choices. While MG and YA passages are commonly written in FUTURE TENSE , it’s hard to imagine an entire novel written that way. But picture books are another story entirely (pun intended). Some wonderful examples include IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE by Laura Numeroff, WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN by Jodi Moore, and IF I BUILT A CAR by Chris Van Dusen.

I hope you now have a better understanding of whether PAST or PRESENT tense is better for your novel’s narration. For more in-depth information about some of the other important topics brushed upon in this post, check some of my earlier Writers’ Rumpus posts: FLASHBACKS: A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE : This post will help you better understand flashbacks and how to integrate them into your stories effectively .

SHOW AND TELL FOR WRITERS : Learn the difference between TELLING and SHOWING and examine passages from books that effectively TELL then SHOW .

DARE TO CHANGE YOUR POV : This post contains a detailed description of each POV (Point of View) with examples. It also includes mentor texts that effectively use dual POV’s.

DESCRIPTIVE WRITING TOOLBOX: If you’re looking to add more descriptive details to your stories, this post shares a toolbox-worth of possibilities for you to choose from.

Like it? Share it!

12 comments.

If you’d like to work on your present simple tense and other tenses in a friendly and fun way, check out websites like https://typeng.com . It’s a fantastic free online simulator that offers exercises to help you improve your English grammar skills.

• Pingback: Before We Turn the Page: The 2022 Writers’ Rumpus Year in Review – WRITERS' RUMPUS
• Pingback: All News, No Schmooze: Present or Past
• Pingback: Imaginary — Review – Rosi Hollinbeck

This is very helpful for me in my middle grade writing. Lots of interesting angles to consider here!

Like Liked by 1 person

Thanks, Hilary! I recommend writing a page or chapter in both tenses to discover which fits your story and writing style best.

I loved the quotes you chose.

Thank you, Adaela! I heartily recommend all the books I highlighted.

Thank you for breaking these down and pointing out the pros and cons. Great post, Laura!

Thank you, Kim! Have fun writing!!

Fantastic post, Laura. You always tell it like it is in an interesting, fun way!

Thank you, Marcia! I’m a teacher at heart, and I strive to make my teaching posts clear and compelling.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

Past vs. present tense when referring to a fictional character

What would you write when referring to a fictional character in a non-fiction work? e.g. Tom Sawyer is a boy, he has no parents, he goes on adventures or Tom Sawyer was a boy, he had no parents, he went on adventures.

• non-fiction

• 9 What are you writing that would require you to reference a fiction character in a non-fiction work? How you would use the answer seems likely to influence the answer, here. Please Edit your question to clarify. –  user Commented Jun 12, 2019 at 8:29

3 Answers 3

If the non-fiction work is an essay or similar analysis of the literary work, I would use present tense.

Tom Sawyer's friendship with Huckleberry Finn represents unity between middle and lower class Americans. In the scene where Tom is painting his fence...

(I've never read the book, I just made something up for an example)

• So what if the character is mythical rather than fictional? I guess this leads to choices about when the historic present is appropriate. "In Greek mythology, Priam was the legendary king of Troy during the Trojan War." [Wikipedia] vs "In Greek mythology, Priam is the legendary king of Troy during the Trojan War." Both work. –  Michael Kay Commented Jun 13, 2019 at 15:14
• @MichaelKay I suppose it also depends on what context you're working in. If I was referencing a text about mythology, like the Iliad, the Bible, or the Mahabharata, I would still use present. Maybe references to religious 'myths'/ characters would vary in tense based on whether there are still people who believe in them or not? –  tryin Commented Jun 14, 2019 at 5:21
• "still"? - I think belief in the historical veracity of characters in the Iliad has probably increased in recent times. –  Michael Kay Commented Jun 14, 2019 at 8:47

The book exists in the present, so the characters do as well.

The author, though, exists in the past, since he's no longer with us.

Mark Twain wrote about a boy, Tom Sawyer, who has adventures with his friends.

It would not be wrong to write about the character in past tense if describing his actions that have already happened (because you finished the book). But present tense is okay here too.

Tom Sawyer nearly spoiled his friend's plan to run away.

Tom Sawyer nearly spoils his friend's plan to run away.

A rule-of-thumb is that characters may become part of the past only in their universe, where they are a "real" person. In this case, you can use the past-tense if you are referring to a "previous version", or "younger version" of the character. You would still use the present for the contemporaneous one.

In any other universe, e.g. in those where they are fiction, they are elevated to timeless absolutes. The use of the present-tense is preferred. This should hold true for most non-fiction works about fiction.

• 2 You can can use The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as an example here... if your report is on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which is a sequel. Any discussion of the events of Tom Sawyer would be in the past relative to Huckleberry Finn. Since Finn is the subject of the report, for the purposes of this report, Tom is in the past. –  hszmv Commented Jun 12, 2019 at 20:39
• 1 When writing in-universe, it's partly a matter of style. For example, Memory Alpha prefers past tense for nearly all statements about the fictional world of Star Trek. They do this because it encompasses many different time periods and tenses would otherwise be awkward and inconsistent. –  Kevin Commented Jun 13, 2019 at 2:20

Your Answer

Reminder: Answers generated by artificial intelligence tools are not allowed on Writing Stack Exchange. Learn more

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest.

Required, but never shown

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy .

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged characters non-fiction tenses or ask your own question .

• Featured on Meta
• Announcing a change to the data-dump process
• Upcoming initiatives on Stack Overflow and across the Stack Exchange network...
• We spent a sprint addressing your requests — here’s how it went

Hot Network Questions

• How could warfare be kept using pike and shot like tactics for 700 years?
• Zugzwang where the side to move must be mated in exactly 2 moves
• Solution for a modern nation that mustn't see themselves or their own reflection
• USB A mechanical orientation?
• What happens if a leading Presidential candidate dies with no running mate?
• Photon propagator
• How to choose a textbook that is pedagogically optimal for oneself?
• New causes of side channel
• Character Combining 山 and 大
• How to pronounce Türkiye in English?
• How can a Warlock learn Magic Missile?
• Use a single Image Texture node with multiple mappings
• How to simplify and rearrange a mathematical expression with quantities that have subscripts
• Why are prime ideals proper?
• Why call for Biden to step down now?
• imgaussfilt Template Function Implementation for Image in C++
• Professor Previously wrote letter, and now he's not responding to my emails
• Concentration bounds for a mixture of a fixed value and a uniform distribution
• Could today's flash memory be used instead of RAM in 1980s 8 bit machines?
• Ideas for cooling a small office space with direct sunlight
• What are the ways compilers recognize complex patterns?
• Why is this not in the dative case?
• Roasting vegetables instead of sweating for a stock
• "Des fini ton plat"?

Review Past Tense

reviewed past tense of review is reviewed.

Review verb forms

Conjugation of Review

• What is the past tense of rival in English?
• What is the second form of verb rive?
• What is the third form of verb rivel in English?
• What is the conjugation of river in English?
• Conjugate rivet in English?

PastTenses is a database of English verbs. One can check verbs forms in different tenses. Use our search box to check present tense, present participle tense, past tense and past participle tense of desired verb.

Get the Reddit app

A subreddit for questions and discussions about grammar, language, style, conventions[,] and punctuation.

Are book and movie plots described in present tense in a past tense novel?

If you're writing a novel in past tense, from a third person deep point of view, and you describe a book or a movie's plot, should you switch to present tense or keep everything past tense?

• Internet Culture (Viral)
• Animals & Pets
• Cringe & Facepalm
• Interesting
• Oddly Satisfying
• Reddit Meta
• Wholesome & Heartwarming
• Action Games
• Adventure Games
• Gaming Consoles & Gear
• Gaming News & Discussion
• Mobile Games
• Other Games
• Role-Playing Games
• Simulation Games
• Sports & Racing Games
• Strategy Games
• Tabletop Games
• Stories & Confessions
• 3D Printing
• Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
• Computers & Hardware
• Consumer Electronics
• DIY Electronics
• Programming
• Software & Apps
• Streaming Services
• Tech News & Discussion
• Virtual & Augmented Reality
• Pop Culture
• Celebrities
• Creators & Influencers
• Generations & Nostalgia
• Tarot & Astrology

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Photography
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

The Secret Service is investigating how a man who shot and injured Trump was able to get so close

The FBI is investigating Saturday’s shooting at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania as an attempted assassination and act of domestic terror. However authorities say, a motive has not yet been identified.

Former President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt Saturday at a Pennsylvania rally, days before he was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time. The FBI said during a press conference late Saturday that they were not prepared to release the identity of the shooter and had not yet identified a motive for the assassination attempt.

Former Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy was shot on the day there was an attempt to assassinate former President Ronald Reagan. As he watched the shooting at the Trump rally unfold on Saturday he noticed similar failures in the attempts to protect the president.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is covered by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

• Copy Link copied

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Police snipers return fire after shots were fired while Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Secret Service is investigating how a gunman armed with an AR-style rifle was able to get close enough to shoot and injure former President Donald Trump at a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania, in a devastating failure of one of the agency’s core duties.

The FBI on Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.

The gunman, who officials said was killed by Secret Service personnel, fired multiple shots at the stage from an “elevated position outside of the rally venue,” the agency said.

An Associated Press analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos taken at the Trump rally, as well as satellite imagery of the site, shows the shooter was able to get astonishingly close to the stage where the former president was speaking. A video posted to social media and geolocated by the AP shows Crooks’ body lying motionless on the roof of a manufacturing plant just north of the Butler Farm Show grounds, where Trump’s rally was held. A different image shows Crooks wearing a gray T-shirt with a black American flag on the right arm, with a bloody wound to his head.

The roof was fewer than 150 meters (164 yards) from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target. For reference, 150 meters is a distance at which U.S. Army recruits must hit a human-sized silhouette to qualify with the M16 assault rifle in basic training. The AR-style rifle, like that of the gunman at the Trump rally, is the semiautomatic civilian version of the military M16.

President Joe Biden said Sunday he has directed an independent review of the security at the rally.

Biden said he also directed the U.S. Secret Service to review all security measures for the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday in Milwaukee. Audrey Gibson-Cicchino, the Secret Service’s coordinator for the convention, told reporters later the agency was satisfied with what she called its comprehensive planning for the Republican convention.

Biden urged Americans not to make assumptions about the motive of the shooter. He said investigators are working swiftly to investigate the attack.

“Unity is the most elusive goal of all,” he said, but “nothing is more important than that right now.”

What to know :

• Timeline of events : How the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump unfolded.
• RNC: The Republican presidential ticket came together when Trump named JD Vance as his running mate. Follow live updates .
• Biden’s response : The president says it was a “mistake” to say he wanted to put a “bull’s-eye” on Trump .
• Key question : Officials are demanding to know how an armed man was able to get to the top of a building and shoot the former president .
• A “man of conviction” : Victim Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief, used his body to shield his family from gunfire.

Calls for an investigation came from all sides.

Rep. Mark Green, a Tennessee Republican who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday raising questions about the shooting and demanding information about the former president’s Secret Service protection.

“The seriousness of this security failure and chilling moment in our nation’s history cannot be understated,” Green wrote.

The Secret Service did not have a speaker at a news conference Saturday night where FBI and Pennsylvania State Police officials briefed reporters on the shooting investigation. FBI Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek said it was “surprising” that the gunman was able to fire at the stage before he was killed.

Members of the Secret Service’s counter-sniper team and counterassault team were at the rally, according to two law enforcement officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss details of the investigation.

The heavily armed counterassault team, whose Secret Service code name is “Hawkeye,” is responsible for eliminating threats so that other agents can shield and take away the person they are protecting. The counter-sniper team, known by the code name “Hercules,” uses long-range binoculars and is equipped with sniper rifles to deal with long-range threats.

Mayorkas said his department and the Secret Service are working with law enforcement to investigate the shooting. Maintaining the security of presidential candidates and their campaign events is one of the department’s “most vital priorities,” he said.

“We condemn this violence in the strongest possible terms and commend the Secret Service for their swift action today,” Mayorkas said. “We are engaged with President Biden, former President Trump and their campaigns, and are taking every possible measure to ensure their safety and security.“

Green also noted reports that the Secret Service had rebuffed requests from the Trump campaign for additional security. A spokesman for the Secret Service, Anthony Guglielmi, said on X Sunday that those allegations were “absolutely false” and that they had added resources and technology as the campaign’s travel increased.

Police snipers return fire after shots were fired while Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Green said he would be talking with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Sunday.

Former top Secret Service agents told The AP that Crooks should never have been allowed to gain access to the roof, and the agency will have to figure out how that happened. They said such a lapse could have been caused by officers neglecting their posts or a flaw in the event’s security plan.

The agency is “going to have to go through the security plan and interview a number of people from the director on down” to figure out what went wrong, said Stephen Colo, who retired in 2003 as an assistant director after a 27-year career in the service.

Colo said presidential candidates and former presidents don’t typically get the same level of protection as the sitting president. In fact, Colo said he was surprised that the agency had staffed the event with a counter-sniper team. Such a valuable resource — there are not many of those highly trained agents — is usually reserved for the president. Candidates don’t usually get such teams.

Timothy McCarthy, a former agent who retired from the agency in 1994, said the Secret Service “better be doing a deep dive into what happened there and doing whatever it takes to figure it out” because the gunman should not have been able to occupy such a vantage point.

“How did that person get up on that building?” said McCarthy, 75, who in 1981 took a bullet when President Ronald Reagan was shot outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. “How did that happen? I mean, that’s the key to the entire thing. And what measures were put in place to prevent it?”

James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who is the House Oversight Committee chairman, said he contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and called on Cheatle to appear for a hearing. Comer said his committee will send a formal invitation soon.

“Political violence in all forms is un-American and unacceptable. There are many questions and Americans demand answers,” Comer said in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, called for investigating “security failures” at the rally.

“The federal government must constantly learn from security failures in order to avoid repeating them, especially when those failures have implications for the nation,” Torres said.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, posted on X that he and his staff are in contact with security planning coordinators ahead of the Republican National Convention set to begin Monday in Milwaukee. “We cannot be a country that accepts political violence of any kind — that is not who we are as Americans,” Evers said.

The FBI said it will lead the investigation into the shooting, working with the Secret Service and local and state law enforcement.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department “will bring every available resource to bear to this investigation.”

“My heart is with the former President, those injured, and the family of the spectator killed in this horrific attack,” Garland said in a statement. “We will not tolerate violence of any kind, and violence like this is an attack on our democracy.”

Associated Press writers Del Quentin Wilber, Colleen Long and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.