Verb+Tense

THIS DOCUMENT WAS EDITED AND STRUCTURED BY ALL GROUP MEMBERS (SAM KROHN, ASHLEY NEALON, AND JAMIE HUENINK)

Verb tense is a tactic an author uses in order to portray the time period in which something significant took place. An author may draw attention to the importance of a particular situation through a change in verb tense, like in a flashback, where the verbs would be switched to past tense. He/she may also go in the other direction and project something in present or future tense. Either way, a change in the tenses of verbs used in a novel almost always signifies importance.
 * Verb Tense Definition**:

pg. 1- //"Fear presides over these memories, a perpetual fear. Of course no childhood is without its terrors, yet I wonder if I would have been a less frightened boy if Lindbergh hadn't been president or if I hadn't been the offspring of Jews. When the first shock came in June of 1940..."// Obviously, the switch in verb tenses in the very first sentence of the book symbolizes importance right off the bat. We can assume from the statement "Fear presides over these memories" that, because this particular statement is in present tense, the author is clearly still affected by the experience he's about to encounter. He then switches to past participle in order to highlight certain details of his childhood. Then, at the indentation of the next paragraph, he reverts to past tense, which indicates to the reader that the real synopsis of whatever significant event took place is about to be retold.
 * Example #1 from //The Plot Against America://**

pg. 329- //"The fear was everywhere, the// look //was everywhere, in the eyes of our protectors especially, the look that comes in the split second after you have locked the door and realize you don't have the key."// This sentence starts off in past tense explaining the fear that was prevalent. As the sentence continues, the verb tense turns into past perfect as the author uses a simile to compare the look that the many frightened Americans had to a universal situation all readers can relate to. The look and fear were both significant concepts in this chapter and the author uses the verb tense switch to intensify the fear.
 * Example #2 from //The Plot Against America://**

[|**http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYnmbMgwYgA**] This video is an accurate depiction of real-life verb tense tactics used in advertising. In the commercial, which is for an allergy medication, the boy says, "I used to be foggy, but now I'm 'Claritin-clear.'" The placing of the verb tense switch is important becasue it signifies the exact moment in the commercial when the climax is taking place; the creator wants the viewer to be aware of the change in time, and the fact that the product has differed it so considerably.
 * Real Life Example:**