I am having problems understanding tense when using Helping verbs in sentences.

I am writing in first person, past tense. Twice during revision, I found I used the helping verb ‘could’ before a verb. I am not sure what tense I am in when using ‘could’ as a helping verb.

If the first sentence below is present tense and the last sentence is past tense, what tense does one get with the middle sentence?

It is so quiet I hear my shoes scuffing the carpet as I walk.
It was so quiet I could hear my shoes scuffing the carpet as I walked.
It was so quiet I heard my shoes scuffing the carpet as I walked.

Everywhere I look, I see statues and fountains with carved marble angles and saints.
Everywhere I looked, I could see statues and fountains with carved marble angels and saints.
Everywhere I looked, I saw statues and fountains with carved marble angles and saints.

Thanks
Azel

Isn't it still just the past tense (perfect)? But a different verb, that's all. You are saying something different: that the person was able to see the statues, etc., not that he saw them.

Others may know better...?

Rosy

It's still past tense, just with what I know as an auxiliary verb - the 'could bit' - as well as the main verb - heard/saw.

If it were present tense it would be:

It is so quiet I can hear my shoes scuffing the carpet as I walk.

and

Everywhere I look I can see statues and fountains with carved marble angels and saints.

'Can/could' in this context is like all those other verbs that modify the main verb, and can't be used on their own: may/might, shall/should, will/would, must

Emma

Thank you Emma and Rosy

I have several books on grammar I keep on my desk during revision, but they don’t say much about auxiliary verbs (helping verbs). Mainly they just show a list of them and say they modify the main verb.

My verb tense wanders into the present tense often in my first draft, and I have to fix it during revision. I find myself using “had” too often in sentences to get the past tense correct. Sometimes the narration sounds unnatural. In dialogue I don’t worry about it, but in narration I try to get it correct. I am not sure if this is the correct way to write narration / exposition or not. Perhaps I should rewrite a sentence that has too many “had” verbs. Or perhaps the reader will not notice. When we talk, we tend to leave many of them out in normal conversation.

Revision is going slow. It will take much longer to revise this first draft than it took to write it. When you take it sentence by sentence and check the grammar; speak it aloud; rewrite the bad parts; etc., it really slows things down.

Thanks
Azel

Azel, I checked it out in David Crystal's Rediscover Grammar, which is very clear and easy to use, and also very much written in descriptive terms, not prescriptive ones: not 'this is right, this is wrong' but 'this is how it's used formally, this is how it's used informally', which is so much more appealing, as well as realistic.

I know what you mean about too many 'had's Sometimes you can re-cast the sentence, but you're right, for a lot of them you have to trust your ear.

Emma

Thank you Emma

I bought both ‘Rediscover Grammar’ and ‘Making Sense of Grammar’ by David Crystal, on your recommendation. I have not read either yet. (I was having trouble reading the fine print, and went with a grammar book that had larger fonts) I will look up Helping verbs in ‘Rediscover Grammar’ tonight.

Thanks
Azel

I think he calls them auxiliary verbs. In my edition it's section 18, which is on p.84.

Emma

There's absolutely no difference in meaning between sentences 2 and 3 in both cases. It's just a question of which you think sounds better. I'm not sure it matters if you can't put a name to a tense as long as you are using it correctly - as you are doing perfectly!

My confession:

I studied books on writing for several years before I started on my first book, first draft. While writing my first draft, I was scared, but it was fun most of the time. I felt like a ‘real writer’.

But, now that I’m working on revision, I feel like a grammar teacher / copy editor. It’s dull work. My books on “How to Write” never mentioned this boring business part of writing. Well, maybe they did, but they glossed over it quickly in one short chapter. I don’t like this part of being a writer.

Azel

Well, it usually comes under the heading of 'revising' but yes, it can be dull, but quite a lot of writing is. We all need to check something out occasionally, but it's more fun to learn all this stuff by reading and reading and reading excellent authors till it comes naturally, than by working through with a stack of grammar books at your elbow. That way you develop your own ear for what works and what doesn't. Grammar's only there to help your words to sing the way you want them too: it's a tool, not a straighjacket.

Emma

[it can be dull, but quite a lot of writing is]

Writing is not all dull. I enjoyed the research, the plotting, and writing the first draft. It’s the revising that I find dull—printed out double spaced lines; checking verb tense, check irregular verbs, checking for complete sentences, checking clauses and phrases, checking commas, checking apostrophes, ugh!
Azel

English is a living language and is changing all the time. Grammar sets out guidelines on the structure and system of a language. This does not mean there are stringent and unbending rules but the understanding and use of 'good grammar' is an essential tool for any writer. Where this knowledge comes from is an interesting subject in itself.

Language is fundamentally a means of communication with a sender and a receiver. It is the sender (the writer) who has to ensure that his/her words have the effects on the reader that were intended. 'Bad' grammar is something that gets in the way of 'good' communication.

However 'bad' grammar can become part of the total message and even enhance or add to the 'enjoyment' of the receiver. A lot of RAP falls into this category... there is nothing 'wrong' with this for it is all part of the intended effect by the writer of the RAP.

The same might be said of written dialogue where the writer wishes to convey images through the mouths of the characters. The deliberate use of bad grammar is almost an essential in many 'Soaps' for it reflects what is happening in real life.

Yes, understand as much as you can about 'grammar' but always apply it with a correct but creative touch. The 'correctness' of this touch depends upon your knowledge and appreciation of grammar... the creative aspect simply reflects your genius as a writer.

Len

If it sounds right, and - after you check it out with a few test-readers - people understand what you want to say - it is right.

Lady B (who has a couple of English degrees and lots of grammar book, and who stil can't spell or do grammar properly)