Question

Which answer best describes the verb tenses in the sentence?

Before she tries the lock, we went to the back door.

a.
The verb tenses are consistent.

b.
The verb tenses shift.

Answer 1

The correct answer is b. The verb tenses shift.

This is because the tenses don't match, meaning that at first you have a present simple and then a past simple. In order for them to be consistent they should be in the same tense.