Bilgewater: Grammar
Task D - Our answer
Pronouns
Up to S 14, narrator references to the candidate are in the third person
('she' etc). In the middle of S 14 and in S 15 the second-person pronoun
'you' is used to refer to the candidate. From S 16 to S 32 no direct reference
to the candidate is made by the narrator. From S 33 onwards the narration
refers to the candidate using the first-person 'I'. Hence we can see a
movement, probably not explicitly noticed on a first reading, from a 3rd-person
to a 1st-person narration via a brief 2nd-person stretch. This brings
us closer to the candidate, helping us to sympathise with her in the stressful
situation she is in. Effectively the 1st-person narration begins towards
the end of the second interview.
Tense
The passage begins in the past tense (referring to what is present time
for the candidate). Within that default past tense set-up here are some
instances of the past perfect (e.g. S 14) when reference is made to what
is past time for the candidate. In S 32 (i.e. within in one sentence of
the shift to the 1st-person pronoun) the default tense shifts to the present.
The shift to the present has the effect of making us feel 'closer to the
action', helping us, like the pronoun shift noted above, to sympathise
with the candidate.
It is also interesting to note that the position of the speech presentation
in the second interview and the extent of the ellipsis we noted in Task
B helps to disguise the tense shift, making it more subtle in its effect.
The ellipsis often involves the omission of verbs, and so many sentences
do not have explicit tense. Before the conversation presented in sentences
22-31, the base narrative is in the past tense. But in sentences 16-21,
only one sentence is tensed, and that one (S 19) is actually in the past
perfect tense, referring to what is past time for the candidate.
Note that once the narration has become both 1st-person and present
tense, the distinction between narration and direct thought presentation
becomes rather hazy, helping to move us even closer to the candidate's
perceptions.
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