: Re: What tense to use for events that are still happening? The question is similar to this but the answers does not answer me. In my general fiction novel, which is told in first person singular

@Kaufman555

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Still happening... in the past

Past tense indicates something that was present, in the past. This also implies that it is not happening any longer, or that the situation has changed, or that we simply don't know what the present status is

John Doe was on the bus. John was a keen photographer.

This sentence indicates that at that time John was simultaneously "on the bus" and "a photographer".

John Doe was on the bus. John had been a keen photographer.

This sentence indicates that at that time John was "on the bus". However he was no longer a photographer, and he was probably doing something else.

What about the present tense?

There are indeed some instances in which you may wish to use a present tense, for instance when switching to a flashback, but you may need to clarify the transition by adding some time reference element, or a transition particle:

John Does was on the bus. That day is January 1st 1900. John is a keen photographer.

or

John Doe was on the bus. Thinking of it, it seems to me to relive the moment. The bus is halting at the intersection and the parade is about to pass. John is a keen photographer.

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