live/living

living...

you always want to keep the same verb tenses/endings...

Many thanks.

Why, Mame?

Isn't it obvious?

In general . . .

Do not switch from one tense to another unless the timing of an action demands that you do.
Keep verb tense consistent in sentences, paragraphs, and essays.
Verb tense consistency on the sentence level
Keep tenses consistent within sentences.
Do not change tenses when there is no time change for the action.

"During the movie, Stan stood up and then dropped his popcorn."

If there is no indication that the actions happened apart from one another, there is no reason to shift the tense of the second verb.

"When Mary walks into a room, everyone stares."

The above sentence means that Mary walks into a room at times. The action is habitual present. The second action happens when the first one does. Therefore, the second verb should be present as well.


Change tense only when there is a need to do so.

Usually, the timing of actions within a sentence will dictate when the tense must change.

"When Mary gets here, everyone will stare."


"Henry reached for a sandwich after he had already eaten 2 pieces of pizza."

The second action took place in the past; the first action occurred before the past action. Therefore, the first action requires the past perfect tense (had + verb).

Verb tense consistency on the paragraph level:

Generally, establish a primary tense and keep tenses consistent from sentence to sentence.

Do not shift tenses between sentences unless there is a time change that must be shown.

I'm not going to argue about it; it's my interpretation. Feel free to change tenses all you want. Peace out.

Me neither, Mame. But I think that you're first reply was a wee bit precipitous. I change tenses pretty much the same way as an native speaker does but when ESLs want to know what the score is, I think you'd agree that it's a different ballgame.

Do you think the living should be considered habitual?