用英語講述小說中的故事時應該用現在時還是過去時？

01-29

Quora 上有類似問題：Should I use past tense or present tense when describing the plot of a book, film, etc., and why?

其中 Mike Mendis 的回答如下：

You should use the simple present tense because the events in the plot are always true. We use the simple present tense for facts that are always true—e.g. "The sun rises in the East," or "Tea contains tannins."
In the case of the plot of a book or film, every time someone reads the book or watches the film, the same events take place in the plot. In a sense, the events in the plot are timeless, and this timelessness is expressed through the simple present tense.
Another reason we use the simple present tense rather than the past tense is that we want to distinguish the events in the plot from actual historical events, that is, events that really happened at some fixed point in the historical past. The events in a novel or a film did not take place in historical time but in fictional time.
We use the simple present tense even if the novel is a historical novel or the movie is based on actual historical events, such as the movie The Theory of Everything, which is based on the life of Stephen Hawking, or the movie The Imitation Game, which is based on the life of Alan Turing, or the movie The King"s Speech, which is based on events in the life of King George VI of England. We do this because the historical novels and movies are not histories, but literature. So to differentiate between history and literature, we use the simple present for literature and the simple past or other past tenses for history.

When a writer writes the novel, he or she uses the past tense to create the impression that the events are happening in historical time. This gives the novel a feeling of reality. Novels are set in some historical period. This is part of the "setting" of the plot. Because of this, novels are written in the past tense, but the plot is described in the present tense. There is a difference between the novel itself and a description of the plot of the novel. Plots are always described in the present tense, even though the novel itself is written in the past tense. This is how we differentiate the text of the novel from a description of the plot.
The description of the plot of a novel is like an artist"s sketch. When making a sketch for a painting, the artist uses rough outlines and does not include all the details that will appear in the final painting. The sketch does not look exactly like the finished painting. It lacks the details and colours and so on. Similarly, the description of a plot must be differentiated from the novel itself. The way we make this differentiation is by using the present tense for the plot and the past tense for the text of the novel.

關於對於已故角色曾經的動作該怎樣描述：

If you are talking about the death of the character, you say "X dies." For example: "On his way to the top of the mountain ,Tom falls off a cliff and dies."

if you are talking about the actions of a dead character that took place earlier in the plot in relation to the point in the plot that you are discussing, you use the present perfect tense. For example:
"When Alice hears that Tom has fallen off a cliff and [has] died, she is heartbroken."
I hope that answers you question.
If you give me something specific I can give you a better answer.

關於為什麼作者用的是過去時態及為什麼有其他回答說應用過去時態：

The reason that writers use the past tense is that they are writing an original story (that is, their own story), which is supposed to have happened at some specific time in the past. When you describe the plot, you are not writing your own story but reporting on what the writer wrote. That is the difference between you and the writer. You use the present tense to show that the story is not your story, but that you are simply retelling what the writer has written.
The writer is the writer. You are not the writer. You are the reporter who is reporting on what is in the book or film or play. That is the difference between you and the writer. To show this difference you need to use the present tense. If you write your own story, then you can use the past tense.
As a reporter, you need to show that you are reporting on what is (present tense) in the book (or film, or play), not what happened (past tense) at some time in the past. The plot is in the book (or film or play). It is always in the book. Therefore, you need the present tense.

The answers by Varun Khullar, Abhinaya Hari, and Elena Ang-Nigmand are not correct. The past tense is not the correct tense to use in describing a plot. Describing the plot has nothing to do with reading and experiencing the story. You are not describing what you did (past tense). You are describing what is (present tense) in the novel, film, play, etc.
There is only one correct tense to use and that is is the present tense. I am telling you this as an English teacher and and editor who has been teaching and editing for 38 years in the United States and Canada. I know what I am talking about. Do not be confused by wrong answers from people who do not know what they are talking about.

挺簡單的呀，首先在http://wikipedia.com輸入任意英文小說名稱這裡呢我用的是On the Road

仔細看看用的都是一般現在時

然後呢谷歌關鍵字 synopsis tense

這個說的是總是用現在時態造成一種正在發生的感覺

這個哥們說的事別人的用現在時，自己的可以用過去時

Should I use past or present tense when writing about my book in a query letter?
When discussing events in a work of fiction use present tense. This is called 「literary present tense.」 A few lines of summary might read like this:

Julie takes her mother to the ballgame and finds their seats are right next to Ron and his family.

In a summary, you would only use past tense if there were a shift in the time frame within the events you』re describing. For example:

Julie refuses to acknowledge Ron. How could the same man that slammedthe door on her fingers dote on his children with peanuts and soda?

The verb 「slammed」 is in the past tense because the event happened before the baseball game.

This literary present tense applies to discussions of the fiction only. When describing your own qualifications or the writing of the story, use past where appropriate:

I received my MFA in fiction from Writing University. My stories have beenpublished in . . .