Verb tenses in your thesis

In different chapters of a thesis, you use different verb tenses. For example, you usually write the method chapter using the completed present tense or imperfect past tense. In the conclusion and discussion, you use the unfinished and completed present tense. What exactly do these tenses mean? When do you use one verb tense or the other? We use concrete examples to explain this to you.

You probably don’t use terms like "imperfect present tense" and "past perfect tense" on a daily basis. What exactly are the verb tenses you can use in your thesis? We'll show you through examples.

Incomplete present tense (OTT)

• Company X is currently experiencing a personnel shortage.

• In short, it is difficult to draw a conclusion. 

• One suggestion for follow-up research is to...

• Students can visit the student psychologist for psychological complaints.

Completed present tense (VTT)

• The survey was completed by X respondents.

• First, the results were entered into SPSS.

• This research revealed that...

• A focus group was set up for this study.

• Previously, Jansen and Pieters conducted research on...

Incomplete past tense (OVT)

• World War II ended in 1945.

• Until August 2022, Company X did all personnel acquisition itself.

• A total of 24 people did not answer this question in the survey.

• Semi-structured interviews were an appropriate way to research this. 

In general, you use three verb tenses in your thesis: the unfinished present tense (OTT), the completed present tense (VTT) and the unfinished past tense (OVT). Generally, these are the verb tenses you should use in each chapter of your thesis:

• Summary: OTT or VTT and OVT

• Introduction: OTT and OVT

• Theoretical framework: OTT or VTT and OVT

• Method: OTT, VTT and OVT

• Results: OTT and VTT

• Conclusion and discussion: VTT

As you can see, you can use multiple verb tenses in each chapter. The choice of the specific verb tense depends on what exactly you are discussing in a sentence. For example, are you discussing previous research? Then, use a different verb tense than you would if you are presenting general factual information.

Note: some educational institutions or thesis supervisors have different rules for verb tenses in your thesis. Therefore, always check with your thesis supervisor which guidelines you should follow.

To make it even more concrete, we highlight appropriate verb tenses and examples for each chapter in your thesis. 

Summary

In the summary, you present information about the research you have completed. You put that information in the completed present or unfinished past tense. For example, it looks like this:

• Completed present tense: This research has proven that...

• Imperfect tense: A total of 190 respondents completed the survey.

In addition, you present conclusions and factual information. You put these in the imperfect present tense (unless they are facts from the past):

• Imperfect present tense: The answer to the research question is as follows: ...

• Unfinished past tense: Until 2022, company X achieved annual sales of at least €3,000,000.

Introduction

In the introduction, you usually put information such as the problem statement, the research questions and the outline of your research in the imperfect present tense. You also use that verb tense for the reader's guide at the end of the introduction. It looks like this:

• Diabetes has been a major problem for many years. (factual information)

• This research highlights... (research description)

• The problem statement reads: ... (description research)

• This research answers the following research question: ... (present research question)

• Chapter 3 discusses X. Chapter 4 discusses Y. (reader's guide).

In addition, when discussing background information or past events, use the imperfect past tense or sometimes the present perfect tense. See the following examples:

• Unfinished past tense: Previous research on diabetes found that...

• Completed present tense: Back in 1990, the Dutch government took measures to...

Theoretical framework

The theoretical framework is primarily a summary of information already known about your topic from previous research. In the theoretical framework, you summarize research findings from others, discuss theories, and share a conceptual model when appropriate. 

In this chapter, you primarily use the imperfect present tense to share factual information or describe a conceptual model. To discuss outcomes from previous research, you usually use the past present tense.

• Imperfect present tense: About 4% of the Dutch have dyslexia.

• Imperfect present tense: The premise of this theory is that...

• Imperfect present tense: The conceptual model shows how...

• Completed present tense: Earlier, Willems and Van Dijk conducted research on...

• Completed present tense: Previous research has shown that...

Do you go into more detail about how a particular study is set up? Then you sometimes use the imperfect past tense, as in these sentences:

• The researchers took a survey of 985 young people from Groningen.

• One caveat is that this study took place in a laboratory setting.

Methodology

In the method chapter, you describe how you conducted research and justify the method choices you made. You usually write the method primarily in the unfinished or completed present tense. 

Note that sometimes thesis supervisors have their own preferences for this. In general, the past present tense is most common. 

These are a few examples of verb tenses in the method chapter:

• Completed present tense: Previous studies have shown that surveys are a good way to conduct this type of research. 

• Completed present tense: To answer the research question, 35 people over sixty-five were interviewed.

• Completed present tense: The survey was completed by X respondents. X surveys were not included in the results. 

• Imperfect tense: It took participants an average of 10 minutes to complete the survey. 

• Unfinished past tense: The interviews took place in a library. 

Results

In the results chapter, you address the results of the study. In particular, you share factual information. That's why you usually use the imperfect present tense. For example, it looks like this:

• The majority of respondents (68%) were not satisfied with current services. 

• Eight interviewees said they do not use social media. 

• The interviewee says the following about this: ...

In addition, you sometimes use the past present tense when talking about the research conducted or other things that have already taken place:

• The respondent indicated that he had not encountered Company X on social media before. 

• The survey, conducted through Qualtrics, shows that...

• Using X's theory, it was investigated whether... The study showed that....

Conclusion and discussion

In the conclusion and discussion you usually use the same verb tenses as in the results chapter. You often choose the imperfect present tense when drawing conclusions as well as when making possible comments in the discussion. These examples show that:

• The results show that...

• Based on the results, it can be concluded that...

• Most people in the target audience are not happy with the new system. 

• However, the caveat that...

• A recommendation for follow-up research is...

In addition, use the past present tense when discussing the research conducted or referring to things that have already taken place. For example:

• Surveys were conducted for this study. In a subsequent study, focus groups may also be an appropriate research method. 

• It is possible that the results were influenced by where the survey was taken.

Having doubts about whether you used the correct verb tenses in each chapter? Our experienced editors will gladly check your thesis for you. They can also correct other mistakes in your thesis. 

Curious about the possibilities? Read more about reviewing your thesis.