American Diploma · ACT · English: Sentence Structure

Unnecessary Shifts: Tense, Point of View, Voice and Mood

Keep the same tense, point of view, voice and mood unless the meaning changes — and learn to read the surrounding sentences to decide, with four worked items and two ACT-style practice essays.

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What this question type tests

Shift questions belong to the Conventions of Standard English reporting category of the ACT English test (38–43% of the English score, together with punctuation, usage and the other sentence-structure skills). The English test has 50 questions (40 scored) in 35 minutes, over five essays: three of about 340 words with 10 questions each and two of about 185 words with 5 questions each. The essays are informational, argumentative or narrative — and each type has its own "normal" tense and point of view, which is exactly what shift questions check.

A shift item looks like any other ACT English item: an underlined portion, four choices, usually NO CHANGE first. The choices are the same verb in different tenses (*opens / opened / has opened / will open*), the same idea with different pronouns (*you / one / we / they*), or the same action in active and passive voice. The underlined sentence alone usually cannot tell you the answer. Every choice may be grammatical on its own; only the surrounding sentences show which one fits. That is why this lesson is about reading context.

An unnecessary shift is a change in tense, person, voice or mood that the meaning does not need. A *necessary* shift — for example from past to present when the essay really moves from history to today — is correct, and the ACT tests that too.

يعني إيه shift؟

الـ shift إن الكاتب يغيّر فجأة الزمن (ماضي ← مضارع) أو الضمير (a student ← you) أو المبني للمعلوم/المجهول من غير سبب. الحل: متبصّش على الجملة لوحدها، اقرا الجملة اللي قبلها واللي بعدها، وشوف الأفعال والضماير اللي مش متسطّرة، والتزم بيهم.

Rule 1: Keep one time frame — verb tense

Each essay (and each paragraph) has a main time frame. A narrative about a past event is normally in the past tense; an informational essay about how something works is normally in the present. Once the writer sets the time frame, the verbs stay in it unless the time really changes.

✗ In 1952, the family moved to Aswan and opens a small bakery.
✓ In 1952, the family moved to Aswan and opened a small bakery.
✗ Every morning the fishermen leave at dawn, and by noon they returned with their catch.
✓ Every morning the fishermen leave at dawn, and by noon they return with their catch.

Time clues to look for: dates (*in 1925*), time phrases (*last year, today, now, currently, at the time, these days*), and above all the other verbs that are not underlined. If the sentence before says *arrived* and *told*, the underlined verb is almost certainly past.

Clue in the sentence	Tense needed	Example
A finished past time (in 2009, last week, two years ago)	Simple past	The team found the site in 2009.
since / for + a period up to now; already, yet, so far	Present perfect (has/have + past participle)	Since 2009, the team has collected 4,000 seeds.
An earlier past action before another past action; by the time + past	Past perfect (had + past participle)	By the time help arrived, the fire had spread.
by the time + present, by next year	Future perfect (will have + past participle)	By the time you read this, the ship will have left.
A general fact or something always true	Simple present	Water boils at 100 °C.
Habit in the past	Simple past or would / used to + verb	Every summer, my grandfather would take us to Ras El Bar.

Rule 2: Necessary shifts are correct

A change in tense is not an error when the meaning changes time. The ACT likes NO CHANGE answers that look like shifts but are logical.

✓ The bridge was completed in 1998, and it still carries thousands of cars every day. (past event → present situation, signalled by *still … every day*)
✓ Scientists believe that the lake dried up about 5,000 years ago. (present belief about a past event)
✓ The study found that honeybees use the sun to navigate. (past research, present general fact)
✓ In the novel, the father controls every part of his family's life. (describing what happens in a book or film: the ACT usually uses the present — the *literary present* — as long as it is consistent)

The test: is there a real reason — a new time phrase, a general truth, a belief now about the past? If yes, the shift is fine. If the time is the same and only the verb changed, it is an error.

Rule 3: Keep one point of view — pronoun shifts

Point of view is the "person" the writer uses: first person (*I, we*), second person (*you*), third person (*he, she, it, they, one, a person, students*). Within a sentence — and usually across a paragraph — keep the same one.

✗ When a visitor enters the temple, you notice the painted ceiling.
✓ When visitors enter the temple, they notice the painted ceiling.
✓ When a visitor enters the temple, he or she notices the painted ceiling.
✗ If one practises every day, you will improve quickly.
✓ If one practises every day, one will improve quickly.
✗ We all know how important sleep is, but you rarely get enough of it before an exam.
✓ We all know how important sleep is, but we rarely get enough of it before an exam.

Number shifts are a kind of point-of-view shift. Keep singular with singular and plural with plural: ✗ "A student who wants a scholarship should start preparing early, because they will face many tests." The ACT avoids this question by offering a consistent version, such as "Students who want a scholarship … they" or "A student … he or she". Choose the consistent one.

Where to look: find the nearest non-underlined pronoun or noun that names the same people. In an essay written with *I* and *my family*, *we* is natural; in an informational essay about *travellers*, *they* is natural; *you* belongs only in essays that address the reader from the start (for example, instructions).

إزاي تعرف الزمن الصح؟

دوّر على الأفعال اللي مش متسطّرة في نفس الجملة وفي الجملة اللي قبلها، وعلى كلمات الوقت: last year / in 1925 / today / since. لو المقال حكاية في الماضي خليك في الماضي. ولو اتغيّر الوقت فعلاً (still ... today) يبقى التغيير صح. ونفس الكلام في الضماير: لو بدأ بـ a student أو people ما ينفعش يقلب فجأة لـ you.

Rule 4: Keep the same voice — active and passive

In the active voice the subject does the action (*The team tested the robot*). In the passive voice the subject receives it (*The robot was tested by the team*). Passive is not wrong in itself — it is useful when the doer is unknown or unimportant (*The tomb was discovered in 1922*). The error is an unnecessary switch from active to passive when the same person keeps doing the actions.

✗ The students built the model bridge, and then it was tested by them with heavy weights.
✓ The students built the model bridge and then tested it with heavy weights.
✗ My uncle repairs old radios, and broken clocks are also fixed by him.
✓ My uncle repairs old radios and also fixes broken clocks.

ACT signal: a choice ending in *by them / by him / by the team* after an active verb is almost always wrong. The shorter, active version is usually also the more concise one.

Rule 5: Keep the same mood — commands and conditions

Mood shows the writer's attitude: a fact (indicative), a command (imperative), or a condition / wish (conditional and subjunctive). Two mood shifts appear on the ACT.

Commands. In instructions, keep using the plain command form. ✗ "Mix the flour and water, and then you should knead the dough." → ✓ "Mix the flour and water, and then knead the dough."

If-sentences. Each type of condition has a fixed verb pattern. Mixing patterns is a shift error.

Type	If-clause	Main clause	Example
Real / general	present	present or will / can	If the river floods, the road closes. / If it rains, we will stay inside.
Unreal now / imagined future	past (were for be)	would / could / might + verb	If the museum opened earlier, more tourists would visit.
Unreal past	had + past participle	would have / could have + past participle	If we had left earlier, we would have caught the train.

✗ If the museum would open earlier, more tourists would visit. (no *would* in the if-clause)
✗ If a plant will disappear, the seeds could bring it back.
✓ If a plant disappeared, the seeds could bring it back. / ✓ If a plant disappears, the seeds can bring it back.
✗ If I was the coach, I will change the team. → ✓ If I were the coach, I would change the team.

Subjunctive after demands: verbs such as *recommend, insist, require, ask that* take the base verb: "The doctor insisted that he rest for a week" (not *rests*).

How to read the surrounding sentences — a 5-step method

Notice what changes in the choices. Tenses? → time frame. Pronouns? → point of view. *by them*? → voice. *would / will / were*? → mood.
Read the whole sentence, then the sentence before (and after, if needed). Collect the verbs and pronouns that are not underlined — they are the writer's choices, and the underline must agree with them.
Find time and person clues: dates, *last year, today, still, since, by the time*, and the noun or pronoun the essay uses for its people (*I, we, visitors, one*).
Ask: does the meaning really change? A new time phrase or a general truth allows a shift; otherwise, stay consistent.
Choose the consistent, simplest version. Between two consistent choices, the shorter active one is usually right.

Worked examples

Worked example 1 — tense from the surrounding sentences

Passage: The first public library in the town opened in 1925. At first, it __lends__ books only to adults, but within ten years it had a busy children's room.

Choose the best version of the underlined portion.

A) NO CHANGE
B) lent
C) has lent
D) will lend

Answer: B

A) ✗ Wrong: Present tense in a passage set in the past: *opened in 1925*, *At first*, *had* — all past.
B) ✓ Correct: *Lent* matches the past time frame given by *1925*, *At first* and *had*.
C) ✗ Wrong: Present perfect connects the past to now, but *At first* (the 1920s) is a finished time.
D) ✗ Wrong: Future tense makes no sense for events in the 1920s.

Worked example 2 — point of view

Passage: If one wants to see the comet clearly, __you should__ travel at least thirty kilometres away from city lights.

Choose the best version of the underlined portion.

A) NO CHANGE
B) we should
C) one should
D) they should

Answer: C

A) ✗ Wrong: Shifts from *one* to *you*.
B) ✗ Wrong: Shifts from *one* to *we*.
C) ✓ Correct: Keeps *one* throughout the sentence.
D) ✗ Wrong: *They* has no clear plural noun to refer to; *one* is singular.

Worked example 3 — active to passive

Passage: The students built a model bridge out of wooden sticks, and __it was then tested by them__ with heavier and heavier weights.

Choose the best version of the underlined portion.

A) NO CHANGE
B) then they tested it
C) then it was tested
D) then testing it

Answer: B

A) ✗ Wrong: Unnecessary switch to the passive (*was tested by them*) while the same students keep acting; wordy.
B) ✓ Correct: Active voice, same subject (*the students … they*), clear and concise.
C) ✗ Wrong: Still passive; it also hides who did the testing.
D) ✗ Wrong: *Testing* is not a main verb, so the second clause after *and* has no verb.

Worked example 4 — a necessary shift (NO CHANGE)

Passage: The Suez Canal opened in 1869, and today it still __carries__ a large share of the world's sea trade.

Choose the best version of the underlined portion.

A) NO CHANGE
B) carried
C) had carried
D) was carrying

Answer: A

A) ✓ Correct: *Today … still* moves the sentence from the past (1869) to the present, so the present tense is required.
B) ✗ Wrong: Past tense ignores *today* and *still*.
C) ✗ Wrong: Past perfect means "before another past action" — there is none here.
D) ✗ Wrong: Past progressive ignores *today*.

Classic traps

Judging the sentence alone: all four tenses sound fine until you read the sentence before. Always check the non-underlined verbs.
The "fix" that breaks a correct shift: changing *still carries* to *carried* because the sentence started in the past.
The sudden *you*: an essay about *visitors*, *students* or *one* that switches to *you* or *we*.
The *by them* passive: an active sentence that turns passive halfway through.
The *would* in the if-clause: "If it would rain…" — never on the ACT.
The command switch: instructions that change from *Mix … Stir …* to *you should …*.
The fancy tense: past perfect or future perfect offered without a time reason. More complicated is not more correct.

Fast strategy for test day

When the choices are one verb in four tenses, read one sentence back before choosing.
Circle (in your head) the verbs that are NOT underlined — match them unless a time word gives a reason to change.
In a narrative essay, expect past tense; in an informational essay, expect present.
For pronoun choices, find who the paragraph is about and keep that person and number.
Prefer the active version unless the doer is unknown.
If the shift has a clear reason (*today*, *still*, a general fact), keep it — NO CHANGE.

Practice

Two short ACT-style essays with five questions each. Every question refers to the numbered underlined portion. All ten items test shifts in tense, point of view, voice or mood — read the surrounding sentences before you answer.

Remember

Read beyond the underline: the non-underlined verbs and pronouns set the tense and point of view you must match.
Narrative essays usually stay in the past; informational essays usually stay in the present — shift only when the time really changes (today, still, since, a general fact).
Do not switch between one / you / we / they, or between singular and plural, for the same people.
Keep active voice when the same person keeps acting; avoid an added *by them*.
Keep commands as commands, and use the right if-pattern: never *will* or *would* in the if-clause.

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