What are example sentences in which a shift in verb tense is acceptable?

Answer 1

Examples of acceptable shifts in verb tenses:

1. Though the weather had been rough, we made it home safely.
2. By the time I returned home three hours had passed.
3. We were walking by the lake when we heard a siren.
4. By the time I graduated, I had attended three different high schools.
5. Though he had been rude at first, Rupert eventually won over the congregation.
6. He's playing a song he learned from Max Roach.
7. By the time the police arrived, the intruder had left.
8. I was thinking about Cape Town when Sathima called.

If you jump from verb tenses, your reader will get confused. Both of these stories contain wrong verb shifts:

1. Mr. Firman invited his friend, Mr. Nulty, to come over and have dinner with him and Mrs. Stoner. The maid fixesa big dinner for the three of them, and when they were ready for dessert, Mrs Stoner then begins to clear the table of the food and dishes. she brings a cake out for Mr. Nulty because it was his fifty-ninth birthday.The candles were lit and the lights are turned out so that he could blow out the candles in the dark.
2. I wanted to go for a walk. My friend and I were walking when we see a big lightning burst. Right then, a car jump the curb and the police arriving soon. We watch the police for a while, then my friend says, "Let's went to the store." I said, "I have no money." She says, "No problem, I had money." Once inside the store, the storm worsen. The policeman are soaked and so is the driver of the car. When the ambulance come, the people was completely soaked to the skin. I could heard the policeman's shoes squeak as he walked.

Answer 2

1. "I loved that movie when I was a child." (Past simple to past imperfect)
2. "I am reading a book that my friend recommended." (Present simple to present continuous)
3. "She will have finished her work by the time I arrive." (Future simple to future perfect)