A Matter of Timing

While we don’t want to run down a complete grammar lesson on tenses, there are a few things contributors should keep in mind when making submissions.

Past Tense

Refers to things that have taken place in the past. “He was a major league baseball player.” “She received the Best Actress Award for her role in “Miss Smith” in 1994.”

Past tense should be used to refer to people who have died. It can also refer to events that are done and over with, or people who have retired from that part of their career.

Past tense is used most frequently in biographical material, since Star Biographies and Trivia should focus on what the person has already done. It is also by definition something that isn’t going to change unless new material is discovered and added.

Present Tense

Refers to things that are currently taking place. “He is a major league baseball player.” This material inevitably becomes outdated and incorrect once something changes: the person retires from major league baseball, dies, takes on a new career, etc.

Since TV.com lists up-to-date information on what a person is currently doing when it comes to TV-related issues, it is rarely necessary to list their current TV projects. Present tense is best suited to giving readers a career overview in a biography.

If the information listed under Appearances isn’t up-to-date, please submit to the show, TV movie, etc., that they appear in so it is up-to-date, rather than edit the biography or add more trivia.

Future Tense

Refers to things that will or may take place. “He will join the Cardinals next year.” This material always becomes outdated and incorrect once the event occurs, and needs to be rewritten to say, for example, “He joined the Cardinals in 2008.”

Because things change, plans alter, deadlines are missed, movies are delayed, people die before projects are completed, rumors prove false, etc., TV.com no longer accepts Star Trivia for future events. Please wait until biographical trivia facts actually occur to submit them. For movies, wait until the movie is released. For awards, please don't submit prenominations. Otherwise people often make an ongoing and pointless series of submissions and revisions.

Joe Bob is slated to star in Hog Wild 2 in 2008.
Joe Bob started pre-production on Hog Wild 2 in 2008.
Joe Bob finished pre-production on Hog Wild 2 in 2008.
Joe Bob entered final production on Hog Wild 2 in 2008.
Joe Bob completed production on Hog Wild 2 in 2008.
Joe Bob starred in Hog Wild 2 in 2008.

Date References

When entering time-specific information (movie premieres, weddings, deaths, current locations, etc.), please be as specific as possible when providing date references. At a minimum, provide a year. Other events, pets, hobbies, interests, etc., do not typically need a date reference.

Bad Submission: Joe Bob starred in Hog Wild 2.
Good Submission Joe Bob starred in Hog Wild 2 (2008).

Please keep in mind when submitting that the reader doesn’t know when you submitted the information. They don’t know if you submitted the information five years ago, or two minutes ago. For this reason, terms like “currently,” “recently,” and “now” are not helpful or informative. When submitting time-specific information, the best approach is to provide a start date and speak in the past tense.

To put it another way, always keep in mind that you are writing for today, tomorrow, five years from now, ten year from now, etc. Does what you write now going to make sense in five years? Does it give the reader a clear picture of the person's life, both when you're writing it and in two years?

Bad Submission: Joe Bob is currently starring in the off-Broadway production of Hogs Gone Wild.
Good Submission: Joe Bob joined the cast of the off-Broadway production of Hogs Gone Wild in 2002.

Once the event has come to a conclusion, update the entry and continue to use past tense.

Good Submission: Joe Bob starred in the off-Broadway production of Hogs Gone Wild from 2002 to 2008.

Next time: Homophones and You

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Previous columns:

Write Like You Talk
Sourcing Your Material
Know Your Capitals!