The simple past, present, and future tenses indicate when actions happened, happen, or will happen.

At the animal shelter, Elsa immediately was falling in love with Alfie, a tiny, all-white Chihuahua puppy who gazed at her pleadingly and reached his little paw out to her through his cage. Unfortunately, someone else already decided to adopt him before Elsa met him.

At the animal shelter, Elsa immediately was falling in love with Alfie, a tiny, all-white Chihuahua puppy who gazed at her pleadingly and reached his little paw out to her through his cage. Unfortunately, someone else already decided to adopt him before Elsa met him.

At the animal shelter, Elsa immediately fell in love with Alfie, a tiny, all-white Chihuahua puppy who gazed at her pleadingly and reached his little paw out to her through his cage. Unfortunately, someone else already decided to adopt him before Elsa met him.

At the animal shelter, Elsa immediately fell in love with Alfie, a tiny, all-white Chihuahua puppy who gazed at her pleadingly and reached his little paw out to her through his cage. Unfortunately, someone else had already decided to adopt him before Elsa met him.

Given the meaning a writer is trying to convey, he or she may intentionally shift verb tenses. For instance, in the sentence, “I had already decided to quit the team in order to focus on my studies when I read the letter informing me of my dismissal due to substandard grades,” the writer uses both the past perfect and the simple past verb tenses to show the order in which the actions occurred in relation to each other. However, when a writer shifts verb tenses without good reason, the writing becomes confusing and jumbled.

Jules Verne’s classic science fiction novel Journey to the Center of the Earth is an adventure tale about three explorers — German professor Otto Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel, and their Icelandic guide Hans — who embark on a perilous expedition to the center of the earth. Unlike so many science fiction novels that turn a lens toward outer space, this novel focused on an imaginary subterranean world beneath the earth’s crust. Its fantastical creatures are not futuristic space aliens, but remnants of earlier Earth ages — mastodons, giant ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, and even prehistoric humans. The three men encountered these beings on a path leading down into the depths of a giant volcanic crater in the middle of Iceland.

Jules Verne’s classic science fiction novel Journey to the Center of the Earth is an adventure tale about three explorers — German professor Otto Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel, and their Icelandic guide Hans — who embark on a perilous expedition to the center of the earth. Unlike so many science fiction novels that turn a lens toward outer space, this novel focused on an imaginary subterranean world beneath the earth’s crust. Its fantastical creatures are not futuristic space aliens, but remnants of earlier Earth ages — mastodons, giant ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, and even prehistoric humans. The three men encountered these beings on a path leading down into the depths of a giant volcanic crater in the middle of Iceland.

Jules Verne’s classic science fiction novel Journey to the Center of the Earth is an adventure tale about three explorers — German professor Otto Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel, and their Icelandic guide Hans — who embark on a perilous expedition to the center of the earth. Unlike so many science fiction novels that turn a lens toward outer space, this novel focuses on an imaginary subterranean world beneath the earth’s crust. Its fantastical creatures are not futuristic space aliens, but remnants of earlier Earth ages — mastodons, giant ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, and even prehistoric humans. The three men encountered these beings on a path leading down into the depths of a giant volcanic crater in the middle of Iceland.

Jules Verne’s classic science fiction novel Journey to the Center of the Earth is an adventure tale about three explorers — German professor Otto Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel, and their Icelandic guide Hans — who embark on a perilous expedition to the center of the earth. Unlike so many science fiction novels that turn a lens toward outer space, this novel focuses on an imaginary subterranean world beneath the earth’s crust. Its fantastical creatures are not futuristic space aliens, but remnants of earlier Earth ages — mastodons, giant ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, and even prehistoric humans. The three men encounter these beings on a path leading down into the depths of a giant volcanic crater in the middle of Iceland.

Sentences in the passive voice have more words than their active-voice counterparts. The passive voice is a more roundabout way of saying things. Generally, it is better to use sentences in the active voice for the most clear and concise writing.

Writing that has sentences of varying lengths and structures is more interesting to read. Therefore, the occasional sentence in the passive voice may enhance the reader’s experience of a piece of writing.

The story begins in Germany in the spring of 1863. The eccentric Professor Lidenbrock and his nephew Axel find a mysterious note tucked into an ancient runic manuscript chronicling the exploits of the Norwegian kings who once ruled over Iceland. The note’s message is decoded by Axel, who at first tries to hide from his uncle what it says. Eventually, he shares that the note details the whereabouts of a passageway to the center of the earth through a crater of an ancient Icelandic volcano. Using the coded instructions as a guide, Professor Lidenbrock departs immediately for Iceland, dragging along his reluctant nephew. Once in Reykjavik, Iceland, the two of them hire the accommodating Hans to be their guide to the base of the volcano.

The story begins in Germany in the spring of 1863. The eccentric Professor Lidenbrock and his nephew Axel find a mysterious note tucked into an ancient runic manuscript chronicling the exploits of the Norwegian kings who once ruled over Iceland. The note’s message is decoded by Axel, who at first tries to hide from his uncle what it says. Eventually, he shares that the note details the whereabouts of a passageway to the center of the earth through a crater of an ancient Icelandic volcano. Using the coded instructions as a guide, Professor Lidenbrock departs immediately for Iceland, dragging along his reluctant nephew. Once in Reykjavik, Iceland, the two of them hire the accommodating Hans to be their guide to the base of the volcano.

The story begins in Germany in the spring of 1863. The eccentric Professor Lidenbrock and his nephew Axel find a mysterious note tucked into an ancient runic manuscript chronicling the exploits of the Norwegian kings who once ruled over Iceland. Axel decodes the message, but he at first tries to hide from his uncle what it says. Eventually, he shares that the note details the whereabouts of a passageway to the center of the earth through a crater of an ancient Icelandic volcano. Using the coded instructions as a guide, Professor Lidenbrock departs immediately for Iceland, dragging along his reluctant nephew. Once in Reykjavik, Iceland, the two of them hire the accommodating Hans to be their guide to the base of the volcano.