 Hello everyone, this is Mr. P. The topic of this lesson will be consistent sentences. Yes, some writing tips on how to write better, right? So let's get started. So then how to keep things consistent? Well, first you need to identify confusing shifts. Confusing shifts occur in a variety of contests. Then you're going to edit confusing shifts. So how? Make your point of view consistent in person and number. Keep your verb tenses consistent. Avoid unnecessary shifts in mood and voice. And be alert to awkward shifts between direct and indirect rotations and questions. We're going to start with editing confusing shifts. The first point will be make your point of view consistent in person and number. A writer has three points of view to choose from. First person i or we emphasizes the writer and is used in personal writing. The second person you focuses attention on the readers and is used to give them orders, directions or advice. Third person he or she eats one or they is topic oriented and therefore prevalent in academic writing. Once you choose the point of view, you should use it consistently. So how to correct these shifts in person? Writers sometimes make jarring shifts in person when they compose generalizations. One example is according to the new rules, students will be allowed computer access only if you arrive before 9 p.m. Well, do not use you unless you are addressing the reader directly. If you're writing about someone rather than to them, then use the third person. Then you would say something like according to the new rules, students, which is the subject of this sentence, will be allowed computer access only if who, only if the students, so if they arrive before 9 p.m. The next point will be correcting shifts in number. They occur when writers switch from singular to plural or plural to singular for no apparent reason. Choose the plural to avoid using his or her or introducing a gender bias. Like in this example, a person is often assumed to be dumb if they are attractive and intelligent if they are unattractive. So the alternative, changing the pronoun to the singular, would have resulted in gender bias or the repetition of he or she. So then we choose people. People are often assumed to be dumb if they are attractive and intelligent if they are unattractive. Let's take a look at the next point. Be aware that confusing number shifts can occur between logically connected nouns. As originally phrased, the following sentence suggests that the student have only one pencil among them. There are only two ways to clarify this confusion. The students brought soft lead pencils to the exam, so you would erase the just one pencil, a soft lead pencil and you will create it or you will put it in plural or you can even say each student brought a soft lead pencil to the exam. So or you write everything in plural or you write everything in singular, like on the second example. Now let's take a look at keep your verb tenses consistent. Verb tenses show the time of an action in relation to other actions. Writers are expected to choose a time frame from their work, present, past or future, and use it consistently, changing tense only when the meaning requires it. Our inquiry begins with a look at how the dramatic invasions affected the identity of the late Roman world. This sentence is about a present inquiry into past events and requires a shift from present to past tense. The following sentence in contrast refers to the past events, but it shifts confusingly from present to past tense. According to the traditional view, the medieval period begins when Rome fell. This sentence is about a present inquiry into past events and requires a shift from present to past tense. So then according to the traditional view, the medieval period began past tense when Rome fell, past tense. You may find yourself shifting confusingly between past and present tense when you are narrating dramatic events that are still vivid in your mind. Like in this example, the wind was blowing 150 kilometers an hour when suddenly there is a big crash and a tree falls into the living room. Well, what is the tense, the main verb tense used in this sentence? Is the past continuous, past progressive? So be consistent. Was blowing 150 kilometers an hour when suddenly there was, because we're talking about the past, the past situation, there was a big crash and a tree fell into the living room. You may also introduce inconsistencies when using the present perfect tense, perhaps because the past participle causes you to slip from present tense to past. Be careful. Like in this example, she has admired many strange buildings at university, but thought that the new sign center looked completely out of place. Well, the main tense in this sentence is the present perfect tense, right? She has admired. So then, we use the present perfect tense for an action that started in the past and continues up to now. So overall, trying to understand the whole sentence, she has admired many strange buildings at university, but thinks, so she thinks now, because present perfect is still present, she thinks that the new sign center looks present tense completely out of place. Therefore, you need to pay attention when you are using the present perfect tense. Yes, pay attention to what you're writing, the meaning overall of the sentence. Next point, avoid unnecessary shifts in mood and voice. There are three basic moods, the indicative used to state a question facts, acts and opinions, the imperative used to give commands or advice, and the subjunctive used to express wishes, conjectures and hypothetical conditions. Unnecessary shifts in mood can confuse and distract readers. Like in this example, if he goes to night school, he will take a course in accounting. So then, we can use the present here. So we have a condition, if he could go to night school, he would take a course in accounting. So let's take a look at the last example. The sign says that in case of emergency, passengers should follow the instructions of the train crew and don't leave the train unless instructed to do so. Well, this is not consistent, you need to be consistent even with moods. In this case, we used in the main clause should. So be consistent, use should in the second clause. So instead of don't, use should not, should not leave the train unless instructed to do so. The final point is be alert to awkward shifts between direct and indirect quotations and questions. Indirect questions report what others wrote or said without using exact wording. Direct quotations report the words of others exactly and should be enclosed in quotation marks. Let's take a look at this example. In his eulogy for his father, Justin Trudeau recalled having lunch at the parliamentary restaurant when he was eight years old. Spotting his father's rival, he made a childish joke about the man. His father responded swiftly, telling him never to attack the individual and that one can be in total disagreement with someone without denigrating him as a consequence. Shifts from one form of quotation to another within a sentence can confuse readers. So let's try not to do this. Instead, let's take a look at our examples, how to write better. Revised using indirect speech. In his eulogy for his father, Justin Trudeau recalled having lunch at his parliamentary restaurant when he was eight years old. Spotting his father's rival, he made a childish joke about the man. His father responded swiftly, telling him that one should never attack or denigrate an individual even if one disagreed, obviously with that individual. In a revised direct using a direct quotation, then we will write something like this. In his eulogy for his father, Justin Trudeau recalled having lunch at the parliamentary restaurant when he was eight years old. Spotting his father's rival, he made a childish joke about the man. His father responded swiftly, saying, Justin, never attack an individual. One can be in total disagreement with someone without denigrating him as a consequence. Over to you now. So please pause the video for this exercise. So you will need to edit the following so the verbs are consistent, intense, mood and voice. Pay attention because there might be some correct sentences. Pause the video and I will give you the key. Now that you have finished with your editing, let's take a look at the key. Many visitors who looked with amazement at the Great Wall of China did not know that its origin reached the seventh century BCE. That's for number one. For number two, in 221 BCE, the ruler of the Qin state conquered the last of its independent neighbors and unified China for the first time. For number three, it is correct. The Qin ruler ordered the walls that the states had erected between themselves to be torn down. But the walls on the northern frontiers were combined and reinforced. Number four, subsequent Chinese rulers extended and improved the walls until the 17th century CE when it reached its present length of more than 6000 kilometers. Well, that's it for today. You nailed it. If you haven't subscribed to my channel, please do. Hit the like button if you liked the lesson and share with your friends the lesson, please. I would really appreciate it. Having said that, have a great day and I see you next time.