Answer to Question #190722 in English for briamah ezekiel

Question

1a) Give two reasons why the author used the past tense in the text      

1b) Based on your knowledge of person as a grammatical concept, in what form of grammatical person is the text written in? Give one reason for your answer.       

Answer 1

1a. Past tense allows you, as the writer, to more freely jump around the timeline of your story. It’s easier to make a non-linear story when you’re writing about past events without the use of flashbacks. Doing this properly can lead to a stronger storytelling experience and can feel more fluid or natural than it does in the present tense.

Past tense is the more traditional of the tenses. Because of this, and the prevalence of past tense literature, it tends to be slightly more enjoyable for the reader. Don’t get me wrong, a well-written book in the present or even future tense is a great thing, just as a past tense book, but it is something to consider your readers when deciding what tense to write in.

1b. Third-person limited omniscient. This point of view (often called a “close third”) is when an author sticks closely to one character but remains in the third person. The narrator can do this for the entire novel, or switch between different characters for different chapters or sections. This point of view allows the author to limit a reader’s perspective and control what information the reader knows. It is used to build interest and heighten suspense.