A shift is a sudden, unexpected change in point of view, verb tense, voice, mood, or level of diction that may confuse your readers. Shifting from a direct to an indirect question or quotation can also confuse readers. A mixed construction is a sentence containing parts that do not sensibly fit together. This chapter will help you identify and correct shifts and mixed constructions in your sentences.

Person shows the writer’s point of view. Personal pronouns indicate whether the subject is the speaker (first person: I, we), the person spoken to (second person: you), or the person or thing spoken about (third person: he, she, it, they, one). (For more on person, see 1b and Chapter 5.)

Shifts between the present and past tense are among the most common shifts writers make.

Use the present tense for events that occur in the present; use the past tense for events that occurred in the past. When the time changes, be sure to change the tense. Notice the intentional shifts in the following passage (the verbs are in italics).

Every spring migratory birds return to cooler climates to raise their young. This year a pair of bluejays is occupying a nest in my yard, and I spy on them. The hatchlings are growing larger and developing feathers. Last spring, robins built the nest that the jays now call home, and I watched them every morning until the young birds left home for the last time.

As the events switch from this year (present) to the previous year (past), the writer changes from the present tense (is occupying) to the past tense (built). (For more on verb tense, see 1c and 27a.)

Needless shifts between the active voice and the passive voice can disorient readers and create wordy sentences.

To change a sentence from the passive voice to the active voice, make the performer of the action the subject of the sentence. The original subject of the sentence becomes the direct object. Delete the form of the verb be.

For more on voice, see 1c and 6d.

An indirect question tells what a question is or was.

Avoid shifting from direct to indirect questions.

Mood indicates whether the sentence states a fact or asks a question (indicative mood); gives a command or direction (imperative mood); or expresses a condition contrary to fact, a wish, or a suggestion (subjunctive mood). The subjunctive mood is also used for hypothetical situations or impossible or unlikely events. (For more on mood, see 1c.)

INCONSISTENT

You shouldn’t expect to learn ballroom dancing immediately, and remember that even Fred Astaire had to start somewhere. First, find a qualified instructor. Then, you should not be embarrassed even if everyone else seems more graceful than you are. Finally, keep your goal in mind, and you need to practice, practice, practice.

This paragraph contains shifts between the indicative and imperative moods.

CONSISTENT

Don’t expect to learn ballroom dancing immediately, and remember that even Fred Astaire had to start somewhere. First, find a qualified instructor. Then, don’t be embarrassed if everyone else seems more graceful than you are. Finally, keep your goal in mind, and practice, practice, practice.

This revised paragraph uses the imperative mood consistently.

Your level of diction can range from formal to informal. The level you choose should be appropriate for your audience, your subject matter, and your purpose for writing. As you revise your essays, look for inappropriate shifts in diction, such as from a formal to an informal tone or vice versa.

For academic writing, including class assignments and research papers, use formal language. (For more on levels of diction, see Chapter 10)

A mixed construction contains phrases or clauses that do not work together logically and that cause confusion in meaning.

The sentence starts with a subject (The fact) followed by a dependent clause (that the marathon is twenty-six miles). The sentence needs a predicate to complete the independent clause; instead it includes a noun (a length) and another dependent clause (that explains why I have never finished it). The independent clause that begins with The fact is never completed.

To avoid mixed constructions in your writing, it often helps to check the words that connect clauses and phrases, especially prepositions and conjunctions.

Faulty predication occurs when a subject does not work grammatically with its predicate.