Question

could you read this to make sure its in past tense. i havent finished it yet though. and can you also tell me if it is any good. its about the book The Outsiders and i have to be Ponyboy's english teacher.

It was an average Thursday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The sun was glistening and it was a perfect day for teaching. As I was writing the lesson rules on the chalkboard I heard a rather large slam emanating from the classroom entrance. As I turned around I was not very surprised to see that it was one of my top students arriving late yet again for my period 5 English class.

Answer 1

. Ponyboy Curtis was his name, youngest of three brothers he told me once. He always seats himself in the front row usually at the left side of the end table.
He is an excessive introvert and prefers much more to read quietly to himself then go outside and socialize with other people. As he treads to his self-appointed seat, he passes me and I greet him with a warm welcome. “Good afternoon Ponyboy, what circumstances have affected you to arrive tardy to my English class?” I said, very concerned for the recently frequent pattern of belatedness. He gently and quietly replied just so that I could hear. “I had an encounter with someone and we had to sort it out.” His legs quivered as he whispered me that. He gave me a kind stare trying to communicate to me silently that he was alright.
He continued his short journey to his seat, the lethargy of his body showing in his heavy, sluggish steps. I return to writing the lesson rules. When I turned around I thought that I should make Ponyboy more comfortable by letting him read the first paragraph of the new book we were going to study in class. I knew from past experiences that he loved to read the prologue of any book. As he stands up, happy to read the prologue, I notice cuts and bruises right along his left arm and leg. I get worried and thought about what could have happened to him in the short 40 minutes we have for our lunch time.

Answer 2

OK, most of this is really great, but you slip into present at times. Here are the 3 places that you need to switch to past tense:

---- He always seats himself in the front row usually at the left side of the end table.
He is an excessive introvert and prefers much more to read quietly to himself then go outside and socialize with other people. As he treads to his self-appointed seat, he passes me and I greet him with a warm welcome.

----I return to writing the lesson rules.

----As he stands up, happy to read the prologue, I notice cuts and bruises right along his left arm and leg. I get worried and thought about what could have happened to him in the short 40 minutes we have for our lunch time.

Do you know how to make these past tense or is that confusing?

Answer 3

This is the finished piece but i havent changed it yet because there might be more errors but thank you very much for taking the time to read this and correct it.

It was an average Thursday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The sun was glistening and it was a perfect day for teaching. As I was writing the lesson rules on the chalkboard I heard a rather large slam emanating from the classroom entrance. As I turned around I was not very surprised to see that it was one of my top students arriving late yet again for my period 5 English class. Ponyboy Curtis was his name, youngest of three brothers he told me once. He always seats himself in the front row usually at the left side of the end table.
He is an excessive introvert and prefers much more to read quietly to himself then go outside and socialize with other people. As he treads to his self-appointed seat, he passes me and I greet him with a warm welcome. “Good afternoon Ponyboy, what circumstances have affected you to arrive tardy to my English class?” I said, very concerned for the recently frequent pattern of belatedness. He gently and quietly replied just so that I could hear. “I had an encounter with someone and we had to sort it out.” His legs quivered as he whispered me that. He gave me a kind stare trying to communicate to me silently that he was alright.
He continued his short journey to his seat, the lethargy of his body showing in his heavy, sluggish steps. I return to writing the lesson rules. When I turned around I thought that I should make Ponyboy more comfortable by letting him read the first paragraph of the new book we were going to study in class. I knew from past experiences that he loved to read the prologue of any book. As he stands up, happy to read the prologue, I notice cuts and bruises right along his left arm and leg. I got worried and thought about what could have happened to him in the short 40 minutes we have for our lunch time. Considering that he was a year below his peers he was one of the best in my class. He was always very enthusiastic about the English language and conversed with me even when the lesson had finished. If he ever chooses to peruse a career in English he could accomplish many things.

Answer 4

The last sentence is currently in present tense, as well as the things above that I mentioned. Do you feel confident changing these things so that the whole thing is in past tense?

Answer 5

Is it correct if I change the "I return to writing the lesson rules." to "I returned to writing the lesson rules." and "As he stands up, happy to read the prologue, I notice cuts and bruises right along his left arm and leg. I get worried and thought about what could have happened to him in the short 40 minutes we have for our lunch time." to "As he stood up, happy to read the prologue, I noticed cuts and bruises right along his left arm and leg. I got worried and thought about what could have happened to him in the short 40 minutes we have for our lunch time." sorry I'm not very good at English

Answer 6

That's perfect! You're better than you think you are, @HelpMePlease!!! Sorry I didn't get back to you right away, I was having technical troubles -_-

Answer 7

its okay :3