Tips to avoid common tense mistakes in English writing for medical papers

润色专家意见：“Their gene knockout can suppress lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis, and they compensate for the loss of ALOX15 activity (Zou et al., 2020; Yan et al., 2021).” Past research is expressed in present tense because it is identified as existing knowledge.

Translation: Past research is denoted in the present tense as the research content is considered to be existing knowledge.

Editor's Interpretation: A common confusion in English writing of medical papers is the choice of English tenses. Here are some of the English tense usages that are often encountered in medical papers, I hope it will be helpful to you!

1. Use the past tense

1.1 If the content described is something to do in order to obtain results, such as conducting experiments or simulations, or processing data, the past tense should generally be used. If the description is found in the results, use the past tense as well. That is to say, most medical papers, especially the methods and results sections, should be written in the past tense.

For example:

a) Record the temperature every 10 minutes.

可以写成：The temperature was recorded every 10 minutes. (Or: We recorded the temperature every 10 minutes.)

不能写成：Record the temperature every 10 minutes. (Or: The temperature is recorded every 10 minutes.)

b) The average length of the sample is 6 mm.

可以写成：The average length of the specimens was found to be 6 mm.

不能写成：The average length of the specimens is found to be 6 mm. (Or: We find the average length of the specimens to be 6 mm.)

1.2 In some cases, it may be more appropriate to use a different tense, but if in doubt, it is better to use the past tense when describing something that has already happened.

This also applies to describing what other people do. Introduction The Chinese citation part uses the past tense.

For example:

a) Smith et al. (2011) proposed a way to distinguish between these two phenomena.

可以写成：Smith et al. (2011) proposed a method to distinguish between these two phenomena.

不能写成：Smith et al. (2011) propose a method to distinguish between these two phenomena.

b) Baxter and Cumberdale (1988) studied the variation of mean sea temperature with such activities, and they concluded that......

可以写成：Changes in mean sea temperature as a function of such activity were investigated by Baxter and Cumberdale (1988), and they concluded that…

不能写成：Changes in mean sea temperature as a function of such activity are investigated by Baxter and Cumberdale (1988), and they conclude that…

2 Use simple present tense

2.1 State facts or describe general conclusions, most appropriately in the simple present tense. Some of the contents of the Introduction are also expressed in the simple present tense.

For example:

a) This article presents the results of a study examining… (本文介绍了一项研究的结果…)

b) The intensity of an electromagnetic wave is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from its source. (电磁波的强度与其源距离的平方成反比。 )

2.2 Although the results presented in the manuscript charts are obtained in the past, they are always present in the paper at present, so the simple present tense is used.

For example:

a) The results of the analysis are shown in Table 2.

可以写成：The results of the analysis are listed in Table 2.

不能写成：The results of the analysis were listed in Table 2.

b) Figure 6 shows a number of results.

可以写成：Figure 6 shows a lot of the results.

不能写成：The results were plotted in Figure 6.

2.3 Once you have summarized your results, you can draw broader conclusions, which should also be in the present tense.

例如：From these results, it is clear that the pressure in such a system decreases with increasing volume. (从这些结果可以清楚地看出，这种系统中的压力随着体积的增加而降低。 )

3.0 Simple Future Tense

3.1 The simple future tense is used when describing the future work to be carried out, usually in the conclusion or discussion section.

例如：In future experiments, we will examine the relationship between… (在未来的实验中，我们将研究…… 之间的关系)

3.2 The simple future tense can also be used occasionally to describe known facts or predictions.

例如：By 2030, it is expected that nearly 76% of electricity will be generated using… (到 2030年，预计近76%的电力将使用……)

In a medical paper, the main content is the research that was conducted at a certain point in time before the paper was written, so the past tense usually dominates. Sometimes the present tense needs to be used, while only occasionally the future tense is used. If you're not sure which one you should use, consider the following:

✓ Have you described something that happened or was done in the past (e.g., the methods used, the results obtained, or the work done by others)? If so, you should use the simple past tense.

✓ Are you stating known facts, describing general conclusions, or citing parts of the paper itself (such as what it describes or graphs)? If so, you should use the simple present tense.

✓ Are you writing about unfinished work, or are you predicting what might happen after the current time? If so, you should use the future tense.