Final answer:
To talk about past actions in relation to other past actions in English, the past perfect tense is utilized. It indicates an action completed before another past event, and maintaining verb tense consistency is crucial for clarity in writing. Proofreading helps to ensure appropriate tense usage according to prescribed style guidelines.
Step-by-step explanation:
To talk about actions that occurred in the past in relation to another action, past perfect tense is often used. This tense indicates that an action was completed before another took place in the past.
For example, 'By the time the students arrived, the lecture had already started.' In this sentence, 'had started' is in the past perfect tense, which shows that the start of the lecture occurred before the students' arrival.
When writing, it is important to maintain verb tense consistency to avoid confusing the reader. If the main narrative is in the past tense, keeping all actions in that time frame helps the reader follow the story coherently.
An exception is when layers of time within a narrative are being expressed, such as a character reminiscing about the past while the overall story is in the present tense. In such cases, different tenses are used to indicate the time difference clearly.
Practicing with examples and proofreading carefully are key steps to avoiding tense inconsistencies in writing. It is also necessary to follow style guidelines, such as MLA or APA, which may have specific rules for verb tense use in different genres of writing.