AJE | BEN MUDRAK, PHD
VERB TENSE IN SCIENTIFIC
MANUSCRIPTS
Choosing the correct verb tense for each section of a below. In general terms, the tense of a verb reflects
scientific manuscript can be challenging, but it is worth the timing of the action: the past tense indicates
the effort. Editorials in several journals have noted that an action already occurred, the present tense
that proper verb tense is an important aspect of a well indicates that the action is currently occurring, and
written manuscript 1,2,3
and some journals and publishers the future tense indicates that the event has not yet
specifically mention verb tense in their style guides.4,5 occurred. Verbs can also be conjugated into a past,
Here, we suggest the appropriate verb tenses to use when present, or future perfect tense, in which the action
writing your next manuscript. is defined relative to another point in time (see the
examples below).
First, some background about the verb tenses discussed
TITLE. accompanies. First, when stating a fact that is widely
For many journals, the manuscript title does not need accepted, the present tense is appropriate. Examples
to be a complete sentence, and no verb is necessary. of such a statement include “DNA is composed of
In cases where a complete sentence is appropriate, use four nucleotides” or “trypanosomes exhibit global
the simple present tense to describe a conclusion that trans-splicing of RNA transcripts.” Use of the present
the manuscript supports (e.g., “Gene X is required for tense signifies that the statement reflects the current
intestinal cell differentiation” or “Frameshift mutations understanding of the matter at hand.
in gene X cause abnormal notochord development in
Most introductions also include references to previous
zebrafish”).
research. When referring to a previous study with
INTRODUCTION. results that are still relevant, use the present perfect
The introduction often includes several verb tenses, each tense (a form of the verb ‘have’ plus a past participle,
providing a different context for the statement that is such as “have shown” or “has been shown”). This tense
1 Carraway LN “Improve scientific writing and avoid perishing.” Am Midl Nat 155(2):383-394 (2006)
2 Lin P-Y and Y-R Kuo “A guide to write a scientific paper for new writers.” Microsurgery 32(1):80-85 (2012)
3 Fahy K “Writing for publication: argument and evidence.” Women Birth 21(3):113-117 (2008)
4 Eukaryotic Cell Instructions to Authors [Link]
5 “Writing a scientific paper” in The ACS Style Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors ed. JS Dodd (Washington, DC: American Chemical
Society, 1997)
AJE is the leading provider of manuscript services to academics and researchers worldwide. [Link]
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demonstrates that the action occurred in the past but
still applies in the present. Phrases like “Johnson et al.
METHODS
have shown that gene X is part of an operon” or “unusual
glycosylation events have been observed in these cells” The methods section should use
are appropriate because the research or observation the past tense because it is a
was made in the past, but the results are still valid. This
tense is also used when the event began in the past but
report of what was done during
continues in the present (“patients with XYZ syndrome the course of the study.
have been surveyed for the past ten years”). Please note
that the present tense is used when a specific result,
figure, or paper is the subject of a sentence. Like a For example, the methods should be written in the form
movie or book, published research is still available for of descriptions such as “we tested independently derived
readers to examine, and a paper therefore continues to cultures for resistance to trimethoprim” or “cells were
express its conclusions. Examples of statements about transfected, irradiated, and assayed for DNA damage.”
previous research using the present tense include “the
When one action occurred before another, the past
results of their study indicate that the drug is highly
perfect tense can be used to indicate the earlier action,
effective” or “a landmark paper from Smith’s lab describes
with the subsequent action in the simple past tense.
the discovery of this new organelle.”
The past perfect tense is formed by combining the word
In some other parts of an introduction, the past tense ‘had’ with the past participle (typically the ‘-ed’ or ‘-en’
is needed. When referring specifically to the methods form) of a verb. Examples combining the past and past
used in a previous paper, the past tense is best. For perfect tenses include “the cells that had been irradiated
example, it is correct to say “Smith and Anderson sampled [past perfect] were assayed [past] for DNA damage”
96 swamps and found 156 distinct dragonfly species” or and “patients who had elected [past perfect] to undergo
“gene X was first cloned into a shuttle vector in 2003.” surgery completed [past] questionnaires.” In rare cases
Likewise, statements that are no longer considered true in which one action occurred while another was
should remain in the past tense: for instance, “bacteria ongoing, the past progressive is used (e.g., “while the
were believed to lack introns” or “early physicists thought cells were incubating [past progressive], the temperature
that electrons traveled in defined orbits.” At times, a was raised [past] 1°C per hour” or “while patients were
combination of tenses is necessary: “Robert Corey preparing [past progressive] for surgery, nurses collected
suggested [past] that DNA contained three helices, [past] baseline samples”). The past progressive is a
but subsequent work has proved [present perfect] the combination of the verb ‘was’ or ‘were’ and the present
existence of a double-helix structure.” participle (‘-ing’ form) of the verb.
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RESULTS. “our results demonstrate that magnesium is essential for
Because the experiments described in the text were enzymatic function,” “Figure 1 shows our fluorescence
completed before the paper was written, the results section data,” and “in this study, we report the discovery of a new
of a manuscript is also largely written using the past tense species of frog.” Note that sometimes two tenses can be
(for example, “we detected no fluorescence in the control found within the same sentence: “because no enzymatic
sample” or “all participants reported a significant reduction activity was detected [past tense] in the absence of
in pain”). In certain cases, however, the present tense is magnesium, our results indicate [present tense] that
needed. As described above for the introduction section, magnesium is [present tense] absolutely required.” The
the present tense is appropriate when referring to the present tense is appropriate for the last verb because
entire paper or to individual elements of the manuscript the observation extends beyond the specific experiment
(e.g., figures, tables, sections, results, or data). Examples referenced in the first part of the sentence; it is now
of statements for which the present tense is best include considered a statement of fact based on the results.
DISCUSSION. ABSTRACT.
The discussion section follows the same rules as the The verb tense chosen for the abstract should be based
previous sections of the manuscript. When referring to on the section of the text to which each sentence
specific results or methods, use the past tense, but use corresponds. For example, introductory statements
the present when presenting conclusions (“we conclude describing the current understanding of the issue should use
that gene X is dispensable for ornithine synthesis”). the present tense, references to previous research should
However, the discussion may include the future tense use the present perfect, and descriptions of the methods
if directions for additional research or scholarship are and results should use the past tense. Indeed, one study of
brought up (e.g., “the methods reported here will allow verb tense in English medical abstracts has revealed that the
for rapid screening in the field” or “we will publish the full three most commonly used tenses are past, present, and
results of our screen as part of another study”). present perfect6, in line with the conventions described here.
In this paper, we have offered some advice for choosing verb tense in a scientific
manuscript. Please note that these suggestions are not absolute rules, but following these
guidelines will help your text conform to the conventions of scientific writing. Above all,
it is important to be consistent with your choice of tense. If you have any questions about
your writing, please contact us at AskAnExpert@[Link]. Best of luck!
6 Salager-Meyer F “A text-type and move analysis study of verb tense and modality distribution in medical English abstracts.” Engl Spec Purp 11(2):93-113
(1992)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Mudrak is the Global Communications Manager at AJE, where he has worked since 2007.
He graduated from Duke University with a PhD in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and
performed over eight years of research on pathogenic bacteria at Duke and the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to his current position, Dr. Mudrak led a number of webinars
and workshops on academic writing and publishing as part of AJE’s Author Education program.
AJE is the leading provider of manuscript services
to academics and researchers worldwide.
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Université Mohamed Seddik Ben Yahiya
Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie
Département des Sc de l’Environnement
et des Sc Agronomiques Module: Anglais Scientifique
Option : 3eme année LMD Protection des végétaux
[Link]
Plant Disease: Pathogens and Cycles
1- Plant Pathogens
Aplant pathogensis anorganismthat causes adiseaseon a [Link]
pathogenscanbegroupedintotwo types- biotrophs or necrotrophs.
Biotrophs : invade a plant host but do notkillit, theydepend on living plant tissus for
nutrients, growth and reproduction. For example : powderymildew.
Necrotrophs : invadetheir plant host troughexcretions of enzymes and
toxicchemicalsthatdeterorate plant tissue. Forexample, Bortytis or gray moldfungus
but itkillstheir host in order to absorb the nutrients.
FungalPlant Pathogens
Most plant diseases- around 85 percent- are caused by fungi. Fungi areeukaryotic
,heterotrophicorganismsthatcanbeunicellular or multicellular and developfrom reproductive
bodies called ‘spores’. Fungican cause anumber of diseases in plants.
Somefungisecrete enzymes that are able to digest the cellwal of plant
cellswhilesomeotherscanenter via stomata. Fungi infections canalsoinhibit cellular
processessuch as photosynthesis and uptake of nutrients and water.
Symptoms or fungaldiseasesinclude :
• Wilting.
• Chlorisis (yellowing of leaves).
• Leafand stem rusting.
• Leafmildew
2- Types of Plant Pathogens
Abiotic :
Fungi
Bacteria
Viruses
[Link]
Nematodes
Abiotic :
Envirnmentalfactors
Temperature
Moisture
Light
PH
Salinity
Chemicals : herbicides.
So, a plant diseaseisdefined as “anythingthatprevents a plant fromperforming to its
maximum potential.” This definitionisbroad and includesabiotic and biotic plant diseases.
A- Abiotic or non-infectiousdiseases: thesediseases are caused by conditions external to
the plant, not living agents. Theycannotspreadfrom plant to plant, but are verycommon
and shouldbeconsideredwhenassessing the health of any plant. Examples of
abioticdiseasesincludenutritionaldeficiencies, soil compaction, saltinjury, ice, and sun …
B- Biotic or infectiousdiseases: thesediseases are caused by living organisms. They are
called plant pathogenswhenthey infect plants. For the purposes of discussing plant
pathology, only plant diseasepathogenswillbediscussed. Pathogenscanspreadfrom plant to
plant and may infect all types of plant tissue includingleaves, shoots, stems, crowns, roots,
fruit, seeds and vascular tissues.
3- Types of Plant Diseases :
• Foliardiseases : - Powderymildews.
- Necroticfoliardeseases : fireblight of apple
• Vasculardeseases : - vascularwilts
- Xylem- limitedfastidiousbacteria
- Ploem –limitedfastidiousbacteria.
[Link]
Incontrastwith the saprotrophicfungi, parasiticfungiattack living organisms,
penetratetheirouterdefenses, invadethem, and obtainnourishmentfrom living cytoplasm,
therebycausingdisease and sometimesdeath of the host.
Living organisms are permanentlycloselyassociatedwitheachother. Their interactions
canbeclassifiedaccording to the level of association of the organismsinvolved, the duration
of these interactions and theirbeneficial (or not) impact on bothpartners. All intermediate
situations exist, forming a true continuum from free organismsthatneedotherorganisms to
feedthemselves to parasites which life cycle isentirelybased on specific hosts. Symbiosis
and parasitismillustrate -beyond the extremediversity of situations- that interactions are in
all cases essential to partners’ lives.
A parasite is an organismwhichlives on or in anotherorganism and obtainsits nutrition
therefrom. Anobligate parasites an organismwhichiswhollydependent for its nutrition on
another living entity. Obligate parasites are biotrophswhichalsodependentirely on a living
host for its nutrition.
An autotrophis a plant thatcanmakeitsownfoodthroughphotosynthesis.
A facultative parasiteshas the ability, or “faculty” to adapt to an alternative mode of
living saprophytes are organismsthat gain theirnourishment by
[Link] as extremes in
weather, nutrientdeficiency or excess, toxicchemicals and othernonliving agents.
A hostis an organism (eg.: a plant) thatisharboring a parasite or
pathogenfromwhichitobtainsitsnutrients. A host isconsideredresistantwhenit has the ability
to exclude,hinder or overcome the effects of a givenpathogen or otherdamaging factor.
The life Cycleof an InfectiousDiseaseis the sequence of distinctevents, such as sexual
reproduction, thatoccurbetween the appearance and reappearance of the causal organism.
The stages of the disease cycleare the appearance, development and perpetuation of a
pathogen and the effect of the disease on the host. The life cycle of the pathogen as well as
environmentalfactors are involved in the disease [Link] are any structure,
fragment or partof an organismthatcanpropagate the organism. The propagules, such as
spores, sclerotia etc. thatoverwinteroroversummer and initiate an infection are referred to
as primary inoculum. Secondary inoculum isproduced by infections thattake place
[Link]
duringthe samegrowingseason. Inoculation is the process of applying inoculum to a host.
Inoculum must be on a part of the host thatcanbeinvaded.
4- Plants Responses to Pathogens
Plants have inherentdisease-resistancestrategies. Thesedefencesmaybe passive ( such as
physicalandchemicalbarriers) or active ( once pathogenisrecognised). If a plant
canpreventapathogenfrominvadingits tissue, or prevent the pathogenfromreproducing,
thenitwillberesistant to thatpathogen.
[Link]
