When writing technical documents, it’s always advised to focus your verbs on the present tense – right here, right now. Sure, there will be instances when shifting to past or future makes sense, but when you’re in doubt, going with the “here and now” is always the smart play.
Sequence
Staying in the present is very important when describing the operation of a machine or a piece of software. When you describe two events that succeed each other, it’s only normal to expect to move into the future tense. However, because computers and many modern electronics are so advanced, it’s more fitting to stay in the present, which helps imply the instantaneous nature of their sequence.
A Short Delay
In cases of short delays, such as the 30 seconds it will take a program to install before you can use it, you shouldn’t let the gap move your tense to the future either. Stay in real time, but do let the user know that the next step proceeds after half a minute.
Use Present Progressive
When a future tense actually makes sense, try to construct the statement using the present progressive first. If it remains accurate, then going into the future tense may no longer be necessary.
Technical Writing Software
If in doubt, consult your technical writing software (if you have one) or refer to your manual.
Tags: correct tense, technical writing, verb tense
