Question

Question

Which sentence has a shift in verb tense?

Responses

Have you been listening to Mozart, or have you another favorite?

Occasionally, Steve's boa escapes and startles someone in the kitchen.

David will bring the ice, and you bought the cups.

When the buzzer sounds, everyone in the plant is ready to go home.

Answer 1

The sentence with the verb tense shift is 'Occasionally, Steve's boa escapes and startles someone in the kitchen,' which switches from present to simple past tense within the same clause. The correct answer is option 2.

Step-by-step explanation:

The sentence that has a shift in verb tense is "Occasionally, Steve's boa escapes and startles someone in the kitchen." The initial verb 'escapes' is in the present tense, but it improperly shifts to 'startles' in the simple past tense within the same clause.

To maintain verb tense consistency, the sentence should be corrected to "Occasionally, Steve's boa escapes and startles someone in the kitchen."