When should verb tenses match?

Answer 1

Generally, verb tenses should match when verbs are connected to each other by conjunctions.

Example: He walked into the room and tookoff his shoes.

In the main part of a sentence, if you can break it apart and make separate sentences, it's in the right tense.

He walked into the room.

He took off his shoes.

Both in the past-tense, both correct.

When you have a parenthetical phrase, however, the tenses only have to match inside of it and outside of it, not all the way through. (A parenthetical phrase is a part of a sentence that can be removed without hurting the sentence.)

Example: He walked into the room, dropping his bag on the floor and removing his shoes, then sat down on his bed.

Dropping and removing match, because they're in the same phrase. The phrase also works without the parenthetical, which can be removed. (He walked into his room, then sat down on his bed.) As long as the verbs match, it's right.

Answer 2

Verb tenses should match to ensure consistency and clarity in writing. It is essential to use the appropriate tense for the context to convey the correct time relationship between actions or events. Inconsistent verb tenses can lead to confusion and disrupt the flow of the narrative.