Perspectives and Tenses
Today, is a special day.
We will be learning about…
The perspective = basically who's telling the story and that format. (There's first and third, and the never-actually-seen-so-we-won't-be-discussing-it second.)
The tense = basically when the story is happening and that format. (Present and past are used, like, 99.99999% of the time, except in dialogue, when future is possible.)
As always, we will begin with the first one.
TENSES!
(Ha, I lied.)
The only tenses I will discuss today will be:
Present, and
Past
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Present
Now, I will not CONFUSE YOU with weird and complicated names for these tenses by repeating them constantly by their one and only name. I will just explain each one, and then refer to them with my OUTSTANDING nicknames.
1) Present Simple (or The Easy One)
Examples:
I die of embarrassment.
You die of embarrassment.
He/She dies of embarrassment.
We die of embarrassment.
They die of embarrassment.
2) Present Continuous (or The "IS" ["IS/ARE/AM"] One)
Examples:
I am laughing too hard.
You are laughing too hard.
He/She is laughing too hard.
We are laughing too hard.
They are laughing too hard.
3) Present Perfect (or The "HAVE" ["HAVE/HAS"] One)
Examples:
I have sung in the shower.
You have sung in the shower.
He/She has sung in the shower.
We have sung in the shower.
They have sung in the shower.
4) Present Perfect Continuous (or The "HAVE BEEN" ["HAVE/HAS"] One)
Examples:
I have been choking on salami.
You have been choking on salami.
He/She has been choking on salami.
We have been choking on salami.
They have been choking on salami.
(You don't have to memorize all this; you just sort of need to semi know it.)
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WHEN TO USE EACH
The Easy One:
-For situations happening at that very moment
Example:
-"I die because of the killer salami." [Because I'm dying right then.]
The "IS" One:
-The situation is happening AT THAT EXACT SECOND.
-The situation is happening AROUND THAT EXACT SECOND and IS NOT USUALLY WHAT HAPPENS.
Examples:
-"You are reading this sentence right now." [Because you're reading this phrase this very second.]
-Annabeth and Percy are looking for a house to buy. [Because they won't always be looking for a house, and the situation is happening at the time that this phrase is being spoken.]
The "HAS" One:
There's ALWAYS a connection between past and present when using this one:
-experience
-change
-continuing situation
EXPERIENCE: We don't care when, we just want to know if.
Example:
"Hazel has lived in Alaska." [We don't ask WHEN did Hazel live in Alaska, but we're answering the question of IF she has.]
CHANGE: When information from the past has changed now that we're in the present.
Example:
"Leo has a new screwdriver." [Yesterday he didn't have a screwdriver (he probably did, but he didn't have the new one)—now he does.]
CONTINUING SITUATION: Something in the past happened, is continuing now, and will probably continue in the future.
Example:
"Reyna has worked as praetor." [Because Reyna worked as praetor in the past, in the present, and probably will in the future.]
The "HAVE BEEN" One
-An action that has just/recently stopped or continuing up to this point in time
Example:
"I have been writing about this freaking tense FOR EVER." [Because it's finally time to move on to…]
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Past
1) Past Simple (or The Easy One version 2.0)
Examples:
I cried after watching the finale of season four in Doctor Who modern.
You cried after watching the finale of season four in Doctor Who modern.
He/She cried after watching the finale of season four in Doctor Who modern.
We cried after watching the finale of season four in Doctor Who modern.
They cried after watching the finale of season four in Doctor Who modern.
EVERY FREAKING WHOVIAN CRIED OHMIGODS IT WAS SO SAD.
2) Past Continuous (or The "WAS" [WAS/WERE] One)
Examples:
I was looking at my sister's baby pictures before writing this part of the chapter.
You were looking at your sister's baby pictures before writing your own chapter.
He/She was looking at his/her sister's baby pictures before writing his/her own chapter.
We were looking at my sister's baby pictures before writing our own separate chapters.
They were looking at my sister's baby pictures before writing their own respective chapters.
3) Past Perfect (Or The "HAD" One)
Examples:
I had eaten a penguin for breakfast.
You had eaten a penguin for breakfast.
He/She had eaten a penguin for breakfast.
We had eaten a penguin for breakfast.
They had eaten a penguin for breakfast.
4) Past Perfect Continuous (Or The "HAD BEEN" One)
Examples:
I had been frolicking in the daisies.
You had been frolicking in the daisies.
He/She had been frolicking in the daisies.
We had been frolicking in the daisies.
They had been frolicking in the daisies.
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WHEN TO USE EACH
The Easy One 2.0
-Something that happened in the past, and is completely finished. Duh.
Example:
-"Jason kicked the zombie in the face." [Because Jason went commando on the zombie in the past and has already finished killing it.]
The "WAS" One
-Something that happened in the past at a particular moment that is stated—basically an interruption.
Example:
-"Nico was crying over his sad and wretched life when the cabin door opened and the love of his life—Percy—entered (said no one ever [who didn't get a Stygian Iron sword up his/her nose right after]). [Nico had been crying before the appearance of Percy—Percy entering the cabin is the stated moment.]
The "HAD" One
-An action in the past that happened before another action in the past—basically the past-past.
Example:
"By the time the trio of demigods arrived, the monsters had already fled the scene." [Because if you put the events on a timeline, the monsters would have fled first (HAHA COWARDS) and then the demigods would have arrived; this makes the monsters the most in the past, which gives them the "had".]
The "HAD BEEN" One
-Almost the same as The "HAD" One, but signalizes longer actions in the past before another past action.
Example:
-"Hazel arrived at the coffee shop at 9:00 sharp, but Frank had been waiting for at least twenty minutes before her." [Because Frank is an amazing boyfriend, and shows up at a breakfast date with Hazel almost half an hour before he was supposed to.]
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And there we have it!
Oh, but there are so many of them! How will I remember all these tenses?
You don't need to remember them ALL.
-The Easy One (*verb*[-s]/*verb*-ed [unless irregular])
-The "IS/WAS" One
-The "HAS/HAVE/HAD" One
-The "HAS/HAVE/HAD BEEN" One
That's ALL OF THEM.
Your brain: KA-BOOM!
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But what if I can't remember this all? So… much… brain… exploding….
Well, I don't have this 100% memorized either. I had to Google a few things. Double-check with my mom.
But I recognize when what sounds right in a phrase, and that's basically all that you need to take with you from this chapter.
PERSPECTIVES
This part of the chapter will be shorter than tenses because there are fewer rules to site.
First perspective
Third perspective
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First (because why not?)
This is the tense in which we hear it directly from a character—like someone's re-telling a story of their life. Meaning, they'd say I when referring to the main character—them.
Examples:
-I swung my sword.
-I chopped off the monster's head.
-I submerged myself in the victory of my enemy's defeat by showering in their warm, spurting, crimson blood.
Et cetera.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is in this perspective.
This tense is good because you can get into your character's thoughts easily and really exploit them, but the downfall is that you can't do that for all the other characters.
BUT there is something you can do instead.
In Maximum Ride (urgh I HATED those books, all the characters are Mary Sues [and Daniel X is even worse ohmigods I didn't even finish the series, the entire time I was reading I was just sittin' there like, "NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE"]), Max speaks in the first perspective, but sometimes she flies off to another location and becomes a third-person narrator for whatever's happening over there.
The narrators change (which is okay—more on this at the bottom of the chapter), but the perspective (first) doesn't.
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Third
Third perspective is the tense in which a random pedestrian who sees all narrates the story. The word I outside of dialogue is never used.
Examples:
-Hazel dodged the attack and countered it.
-Leo blew up Camp Jupiter.
-Frank turned into a weasel.
Et cetera.
In third perspective, you can get into anyone's head and spew their secrets to the world (unless you're in stalker mode, which will be talked about in the following paragraph), which is more than what you can say for the first perspective.
Now, in this perspective, you have two choices on how you're going to act:
-Stalker mode (limited)
-Free to attack any character (omniscient)
Stalker mode is that even though the story is being told by some random pedestrian, that pedestrian stays with the main character and never leaves his/her side. Real-life published examples are the Harry Potter books—with the exception of a few first chapters, the entire story is told by the side of Harry Potter; you don't get to go into any other character's head, and to discover a new plot twist Harry has to discover it too.
Free mode means that the pedestrian attacks whichever character's brain it wants to mess with. Think of Harry Potter, but you get to hear Ron's and Hermione's thoughts as well.
The Heroes of Olympus is a stalker-mode one, but since the narrators are constantly changing we hear everyone's thoughts anyway.
Which reminds me to state a rule after the line break….
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The rule!
NEVER EVER EVER OHMIFREAKINGODS EVER SWITCH PERSPECTIVES (OR TENSES, FOR THAT MATTER) IN YOUR STORY.
EVER.
IF ANNABETH IS TELLING THE STORY IN FIRST PERSPECTIVE, THEN FINE, ANNABETH IS TELLNG THE STORY FIRST PERSPECTIVE.
NEXT CHAPTER: NOT PERCY THIRD PERSPECTIVE.
IT WILL BE ANNABETH, FIRST PERSPECTIVE.
The only, ONLY exception is when the ENTIRE story is third perspective, and the narrators switch-a-roo WITH A CLEAR INDICATION THAT THEY ARE.
Example:
Heroes of Olympus
It's third perspective, and doesn't switch POVs in the middle of a chapter without warning; the narrator is clearly stated at the beginning of each chapter.
Fine.
BUT ONLY THAT—THIRD PERSPECTIVE, AND CLEAR INDICATION OF SWITCHING NARRATORS.
AND NOT THE SIMPLE:
percy p.o.v.
YOU WILL CLEARLY STATE IN BOLDED LETTERS/CAPITAL LETTERS/UNDERLINED LETTERS/A COMBINATION OF THESE THREE AT THE TOP OF THE CHAPTER.
I AM—ARGH—SO MAD ABOUT THIS!
RECAP
Tenses
Present = *regular*, is, had, had been
Past = *regular*, was, have, have been
Perspectives
First = I
Third = He or She
NO RANDOMLY SWITCHING PERSPECTIVES.
And keep being cool!
-Bookworm1756
(OHMIGODS THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO LONG TO WRITE AND IT'S NOT EVEN 2000 WORDS.)