Other uses of tenses - Vivid narrative

Other uses of tenses

63 So far in this chapter, we have dealt with the commonest and simplest uses of the various tenses. However, there are also some less common uses of tenses.

Vivid narrative

present tenses 64 Stories are normally told using past tenses. However, if you want to make a story seem vivid, as if it were happening now, you can use present tenses, the simple present for actions and states and the present continuous for situations.

There's a loud explosion behind us. Then I hear Chris giggling. Sylvia is upset.

He pulls the van into the decrepit terrace. He packs and hurries indoors.

Chris is crying hard and others look over from the other tables.

He sits down at his desk chair, reaches for the telephone and dials a number.

Firm plans for the future

present tenses 65 Both the simple present and the present continuous can be used to state firm plans that you have for the future. An adjunct is necessary unless you are sure that the hearer or reader knows that you are talking about the future.

My last train leaves Euston at 11.30.

The UN General Assembly opens in New York later this month.

Tomorrow night we exchange packages.

I'm leaving at the end of this week.

An expert on modern drama is arriving from Switzerland.

Forward planning from a time in the past

66 There are several ways of talking about an event which was in the future at a particular time in the past, or which was thought to be going to occur. These are described in the following paragraphs.

67 The past continuous can be used to refer to events planned in the past, especially with some common verbs such as 'come' and 'go'.

Four of them were coming for Sunday lunch.

Her daughter was going to a summer camp tomorrow.

Allister Sparks, formerly of the Dispatch, was leaving a local London paper to join Reuters.

68 The simple past of 'be' can be used in structures used to express future events, such as 'be going to', 'be about to', and 'be due to'. The implication is usually that the expected event has not happened or will not happen. For more information on 'be going to', see paragraph 237.

I thought for a moment that she was going to cry.

He was about to raise his voice at me but stopped himself.

The ship was due to sail the following morning.