ABriefGuideToVerbTenseAndVoice
InScientificWriting
A.PresentTense
Usepresenttense:
1.Todescribesomethingthatishappeningnow:
?AppendixAsummarizestheresultsofthesurvey.
2.Todescribepublishedresearch,articlesorbookswhoseconclusionsyoubelieveare
currentlyvalidandrelevant.Itdoesn’tmatterwhetherthepublicationisrecentorcenturies
old:
?Malone(2003)discussesnursingcareinthecontextofnestedproximities.
?InherNotesonNursing(1860),FlorenceNightingaleincludespracticesfor
cleanlinessandobservationofthesick.
3.Toindicateageneraltruthorfact,agenerallaw,oraconclusionsupportedbyresearch
results.Inotherwords,somethingthatisbelievedtobealwaystrue:
?Theprovincialgovernmentregulatesthedeliveryofhealthcare.[fact]
?Foreveryactionthereisanequalandoppositereaction.[law]
?Ourresultsdemonstratethatcimetidinecanimprovemeanfatabsorptionin
adolescentswithcysticfibrosis.[conclusion]
4.Todescribeanapparatus(becauseitalwaysworksthesameway):
?Thistemperaturegaugegivesanaccuratereadinginallweatherconditions.
5.Tostateresearchobjectives:[note:pasttenseisalsocommonlyused]
?Thepurposeofthisstudyistoexamineimageryusebyeliteathletes.
B.SimplePastTense
Usesimplepasttense:
1.Todescribesomethingthatbeganandendedinthepast,e.g.,theMethodsorResults
sectionsofaresearchreport:
?Weadministeredfourdosesdailyto27participantsfor14days.
?Thetransgenicplantsshoweduptoeight-foldPALactivitycomparedtocontrol.
2.Todescribepreviousworkonwhichthecurrentworkisbased:
?Smithetal.’s(2005)studycollecteddataonthedrug’seffectinapediatric
populationsimilartoours.
3.Todescribeafact,law,orfindingthatisnolongerconsideredvalidandrelevant:
?Nineteenth-centuryphysiciansheldthatwomengotmigrainesbecausetheywere
“theweakersex,”butcurrentresearchshowsthatthecausesofmigraineare
unrelatedtogender.
Notetheshiftherefrompasttense(discreditedbelief)topresent(currentbelief).
4.Tostateresearchobjectives:[note:presenttenseisalsocommonlyused]
?Thepurposeofthisstudywastoexamineimageryusebyeliteathletes.
C.PerfectTense
Thistenseisformedwiththeauxiliary[“helping”]verbhaveplusthemainverb:
1.Useapresentperfecttensetodescribesomethingthatbeganinthepastand
continuestothepresent:
?Hassanpourhasstudiedtheeffectsofradiationtreatmentsince1982.[andstilldoes]
?Researchershavedemonstratedacloselinkbetweensmokingandmorbidityrates.
2.Useapastperfecttensetodescribeanactioncompletedinthepastbeforeaspecific
pasttime:
?NightingalehadbegunherreformsofnursingpracticepriortotheCrimeanWar.
D.FutureTense
Usefuturetenseinoutlines,proposals,anddescriptionsoffuturework:
?Theproposedstudywillexaminetheeffectsofanewdosingregimen.Twenty-seven
participantswillreceivefourdosesdailyfor14days.
E.ProgressiveTense
Useaprogressivetenseforanactionorconditionthatbeganatsomepasttimeandis
continuingnow.Itisformedfromtheauxiliaryverbbeplusapresentparticiple.A
progressiveformemphasizesthecontinuingnatureoftheaction:
?Iamcollectingdatafromthreesitesthismonth.
Inplaceswhereconcisenessisimportant(suchasanabstract),itisoftenpossibletousea
simpleverbforminstead:
?Withthisnewmethod,weareattemptingtodemonstrate….
?Withthisnewmethod,weattempttodemonstrate….
F.ActiveandPassiveVoice
Active(direct)voice:ThenormalpatternofEnglishsentencesissubject—verb—object,
whichwecallactivevoice:
?Southernanalysisindicatedasinglesiteofinsertion.
Passive(indirect)voicereversestheorder(object—verb—subject).Passivevoiceis
constructedbyusingaformoftheverbbefollowedbyapastparticiple(-ed).Thephrase
“by[thesubject]”isincludedorimplied:
?AsinglesiteofinsertionwasindicatedbySouthernanalysis.
?Southernanalysiswasperformed[byus]andasinglesiteofinsertionwasindicated
[bytheanalysis].
Usepassivevoice:
1.tode-emphasizethesubjectinfavourofwhathasbeendone:
?Redorblueoutfitswererandomlyassignedtocompetitorsinfourelitesports.
2.todiscussbackgroundthatexistsaspartofthebodyofknowledgeofthediscipline,
independentofthecurrentauthor:
?Colouristhoughttoinfluencehumanmood,emotionsandexpressedaggression.
Asageneralprinciple,useactivevoiceinpreferencetopassive.Itisbothmoredirectand
moreconcise:
?Chenperformedtheexperimentin2006.
?TheexperimentwasperformedbyChenin2006.
?2007,DenaBainTaylor,PhD,UniversityofToronto
Toronto,Canada.Allrightsreserved
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