# Coherence: Rules and Examples | SwaVid

Coherence: When you tell something that happened, keep every verb in the past. Rules, examples and a free quick check for Class 6 to 12.

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# Coherence: rules and examples

## The rule, step by step

## Check yourself

## Common mistakes

## Frequently asked questions

## Keep practising

### Quick reference

### What is the rule for coherence?

### Can you give examples of coherence?

### What mistakes do students make in coherence?

### Grammar checker for students

### Free English grammar test

### More in Usage, Correction and Passages

Short answer. When you tell something that happened, keep every verb in the past. A verb that suddenly turns present is a tense jump. Look for the verb that does not match the others.

1 . Pick the verb that jumps to the wrong tense. Gita woke up late. She grabs her bag and ran to the bus.

2 . Pick the linker. Kiran was ill. ___, she went to the test.

Pick one time and keep every verb in it.

When you tell something that happened, keep every verb in the past. A verb that suddenly turns present is a tense jump. Look for the verb that does not match the others.

Addition: Moreover. Contrast: However. Result: Therefore.

Wrong: Kavya packed her bag and runs to the bus. Right: Kavya packed her bag and ran to the bus. (One story, one time) Wrong: Last Sunday Dadi cooks kheer. Right: Last Sunday Dadi cooked kheer. (Past time words)

Finds the mistake and names the rule.

Your child's level and 3 topics to fix first.

All the topics in this chapter, one rule at a time.

- Past time words . Words like yesterday, last week or in 2019 mean the past. Every verb that goes with them stays in the past.
- Future and now . Tomorrow and next week mean the future, so use will. Right now and at this moment mean the present, so use am, is or are plus -ing.
- Joined verbs match too . In a sentence with and, both verbs share one time. After will, the joined verb stays in its base form. In a routine, every verb stays in the present.
- Facts can stay present . A past story may hold a fact that is always true. That fact can stay in the present. But every event in the story must stay in the past.
- Say how two ideas connect . A linker joins two sentences and tells the reader how they relate. Ask first: does the second idea add, go against, or result from the first? Then pick the linker for that relation.
- Addition: Moreover. Contrast: However. Result: Therefore.
- Kavya packed her bag and runs to the bus. → Kavya packed her bag and ran to the bus. One story, one time
- Last Sunday Dadi cooks kheer. → Last Sunday Dadi cooked kheer. Past time words
- Tomorrow we visited the zoo. → Tomorrow we will visit the zoo. Future and now
- Right now the cat slept on my bed. → Right now the cat is sleeping on my bed. Future and now

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