How to Use tense in a Sentence

tense

1 of 3 adjective

• Why are you so tense?
• It was a tense meeting.
• We sat quietly for a few tense moments.
• She was feeling pretty tense.
• My calf muscles are really tense.
• Friday’s game might have been the most tense of them all.
  — Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024
• Our smiles are tense, our necks stretched, our backs erect.
  — Alice Robb, Vogue, 28 Feb. 2023
• The game was tense throughout, living up to the big stage it had been placed on.
  — Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2024
• And the blisters themselves are tense and not soft like these.
  — Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 7 Oct. 2023
• The result is a tense and gripping series that’s hard to shake.
  — William Goodman, Men's Health, 31 Jan. 2023
• The series should capture the wild ambition and tense charms of the TV business.
  — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2023
• Things weren’t always this tense between Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
  — Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 25 Mar. 2024
• As the auction plays out, the atmosphere in the van is unbearably tense.
  — Max Olesker, Longreads, 13 July 2023
• The trial has been a lengthy, tense standoff between Trump and James, who were often in the room as their lawyers clashed.
  — Graham Kates, CBS News, 12 Dec. 2023
• Those two points would’ve been nice during the final, tense minutes.
  — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2023
• The order comes at a tense moment in U.S.-China relations.
  — Harold Maass, The Week, 10 Aug. 2023
• Like the final sequence, the game itself was tense, physical and up for grabs.
  — Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024
• In the documentary, Gypsy detailed the tense night the murder took place.
  — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 28 Dec. 2023
• The narrative on one side: UConn, which cruised to the 2023 crown for the most part — minus a few tense minutes late against the Aztecs — could be better this lap.
  — Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2024
• And then on the other side, there are women who have too much tone and their pelvic floor muscles are tense and feel tight at all times.
  — Jayme Cyk, Vogue, 2 Nov. 2023
• One of the most tense scenes in the film is when the group of scientists working on the atomic bomb witness its first explosion in a test.
  — Krystie Lee Yandoli, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2024
• Hezbollah and Israel fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a tense stalemate.
  — Compiled By Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 5 Nov. 2023
• The coming hours will be tense as Granite State voters make their voices heard.
  — John Bacon, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024
• That could lead to an awkward -- and tense -- scenario if the United States and China find themselves as next-door neighbors at the south pole of the moon.
  — Arkansas Online, 19 Jan. 2023
• After a tense few minutes, the Red Cross officials managed to transfer the women to their jeep.
  — Ronen Bergman, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024
• The premise is simple but creates a great, often tense sci-fi comedy.
  — Erik Kain, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024
• There was a long, tense moment as the referee waited for confirmation of the goal.
  — Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 6 Aug. 2023
• Some members of the far-right group were known for their involvement in street brawls and tense face-offs with left-leaning protesters.
  — Ty Roush, Forbes, 4 May 2023
• Shortly after, several users on the app pointed out that Tucker was on the Chiefs side of the field during the tense pre-game moment.
  — Natasha Dye, Peoplemag, 28 Jan. 2024
• When Timms, a tall, lean man of 55, entered the chapel on the day of his father’s funeral, his own body was tense with trepidation.
  — Eleanor Cummins, Popular Mechanics, 22 Feb. 2023

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tense

2 of 3 verb

• He tensed up and missed the putt.
• She tensed as he walked toward her.
• But Boykin seemed to tense up as the pass arrived, and the ball caromed off his hands.
  — Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, 2 Aug. 2021
• For just a beat, the air in the room seemed to tense up around us, as six hundred birds held their breath.
  — Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2023
• With DeRozan unavailable, the Spurs seemed to tense up down the stretch Sunday.
  — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 2 May 2021
• Utley tensed his leg and let the ball connect with his right foot.
  — Andy McCullough, latimes.com, 9 Apr. 2018
• As a result, muscles tense up, which will make a shot more painful.
  — NBC News, 28 Oct. 2021
• Zitterbart gripped the unwieldy tagging pole and stood tensed, one foot on the bow box and one in the boat.
  — Kate Wong, Scientific American, 13 Mar. 2023
• The sound of the gunshot, every muscle in my body tensed, the smell of gunpowder.
  — Gabrielle Union, Glamour, 18 Oct. 2017
• Morris swore, and swore again, his body tensing up in his suit.
  — Eric Boodman, STAT, 27 Mar. 2020
• The video shows Howard tensing up his body and yelling as officers try to wrestle him to the floor.
  — Christal Hayes, OrlandoSentinel.com, 16 June 2017
• But under stress her body would tense, and her mind would falter.
  — Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2022
• This can help stretch the muscles in the back of your neck that may be tensing up during prodrome.
  — Julia Ries, SELF, 14 July 2023
• But in front of the crowd of thousands at Coney Island on the big day, Sudo said, her muscles tense up.
  — Josh Peter, USA TODAY, 3 July 2023
• Firstly, cold weather can cause muscles to tense up—that includes in the pelvic floor.
  — Philip Ellis, Men's Health, 19 Feb. 2022
• Imagine the scene: Arms tensed, bow flexed, a hunter on the African savanna draws in a slow breath as his prey moves into view.
  — Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 11 May 2018
• Mike Brosseau was called a ball with one out in the third, Jameson seemed to tense up on the mound, prompting Lovullo to start barking at Morales from the dugout.
  — Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2023
• Starting with your toes, breath in and tense the muscles in that area, holding the tension for up to 10 seconds.
  — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 23 Feb. 2021
• My body hardened, my muscles tensed and tightened, even as my mind shut down.
  — Jessica Berger Gross, Longreads, 11 July 2017
• Pezzarossi should be able to control the LUKE by flexing or tensing his arm.
  — Robert Rhoden, NOLA.com, 23 Aug. 2017
• The morning of the carolers, my body tensed as a team of doctors, nurses and students stopped by on their rounds.
  — Leslie Gauthier, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2017
• And when your mind is on edge, your muscles often follow suit and tense up in response.
  — Jenny McCoy, SELF, 17 Jan. 2023
• As the engine's torque builds, the entire car seems to tense up before surging forward in a boiling burst of speed.
  — John Pearley Huffman, Car and Driver, 27 May 2020
• Lie down or sit in a quiet place, close your eyes, and tense the muscles in your toes and feet for five seconds, then release.
  — Lisa Bain, Good Housekeeping, 26 May 2023
• The men immediately tense up, but Ty doesn’t notice, and no one says a word.
  — Paula Aceves, Curbed, 9 Nov. 2021
• Alvey tossed the ball aside and turned his back to Blanford again, tensing his muscles in anticipation of the next shot.
  — Danielle Lerner, The Courier-Journal, 6 Sep. 2017
• Inhale and squeeze your hands into fists, tensing all the muscles of your arms. Exhale to release.
  — Dana Santas, CNN, 19 Sep. 2017
• Hold for 10 seconds, then tense the muscles being stretched.
  — Woman's Day Staff, Woman's Day, 2 July 2011
• Usually, I'm tensed up and my face is all squished together.
  — Bob Narang, chicagotribune.com, 21 May 2017
• Your eyes spring open, your breathing rapid and shallow, with every muscle tensed and ready to run...only to find that all is still and silent.
  — Mary Beth Griggs, Popular Science, 18 Dec. 2019

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tense

3 of 3 noun

• The sentence will read better if you change the tense of the verb.
• You should avoid changing tense in the middle of a paragraph.
• Even writing about him in the past tense doesn’t make sense.
  — Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Mar. 2024
• Even now, the Lost Girl of Ravenglass is never referred to in the past tense.
  — Elizabeth Hand, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2023
• These last two games were pretty high tense, two walkoffs.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 13 Oct. 2021
• Slumping over at your desk for hours on end can make your back hurt, your body tense, and your neck strain.
  — Popsci Commerce Team, Popular Science, 26 Feb. 2021
• Stories can be told in the present tense, and then reviewed using past tense forms.
  — Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2023
• Holin, 44, spoke about Kfar Aza, where she was born and raised and where her son and daughter were growing up, in the past tense.
  — Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2023
• House Democrats can be forgiven somewhat for being on the wrong side of the verb tense.
  — Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 7 Aug. 2021
• While her son speaks of his sister in the present tense, Crawford often uses the past tense.
  — Keith L. Alexander, Washington Post, 11 Nov. 2023
• The text next to an image of Halley’s Comet refers to its 1986 appearance in the future tense.
  — Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2023
• On Captain Wild Bill’s boat, things are getting tense as well.
  — Tyler McCarthy, Fox News, 10 July 2018
• At one point, McConnell and Schumer, whose desks are near each other at the front of the chamber, engaged in a tense back and forth.
  — The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, 19 June 2017
• Dry, earthy, with a tense, drying touch on the palate and a long lingering red fruit finish.
  — Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2021
• Working with Pete Burns and Dead or Alive was a little tense at times.
  — Fred Bronson, Billboard, 3 Mar. 2021
• This play seems to be taking place in the present tense, but also in retrospect, through Sofi’s point of view.
  — Liz Appel, Vogue, 8 Sep. 2023
• Then a muscle running forward from the tip of one rib to the skin tenses to pull the skeleton and body forward over the skin.
  — James Gorman, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2018
• Now a farmer, Mr. Mohammed, his voice tense, asked for help in making an escape.
  — Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Aug. 2021
• The present tense: to take a loveless path is to court a purple-blue emptiness, like a disco or a grotto.
  — Diane Seuss Anne Boyer, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2023
• Artists grapple with inequities in present and future tense.
  — Jenna Ross, Star Tribune, 18 Sep. 2020
• After some tense back and forth, the May Davis team excuses itself.
  — Randall Lane, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2021
• The mood turned from celebratory to tense when Crews finally dimmed the lights and got to the results.
  — Charles Trepany, USA TODAY, 15 Sep. 2022
• Biko tenses and pulls handler John Peeler to the laptop bag before the man turns the corner.
  — Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 21 Sep. 2017
• Clinton is eternally in the plural tense, just like Kennedy or Bush.
  — Alexander Nazaryan, Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2017
• Visitors can look up how to translate a word, see the plural form of the word, change the tense of a verb or add an adjective to a noun.
  — Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Aug. 2022
• After all, when the present-tense leaves little to look forward to, nothing is more addictive than the past.
  — Scott Mendelson, Forbes, 3 June 2021
• And recent teacher reviews mostly refer to both sites in the past tense.
  — Kathy Kristof, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2023
• Answers always match their clues in tense, part of speech and foreign languages.
  — New York Times, 1 May 2022
• Our whole present tense takes place in the shadows of the original, pure impressions of childhood.
  — Joe Fassler, The Atlantic, 2 May 2017
• And the continuing threat to democracy is a present-tense story, as well.
  — Brian Stelter, CNN, 17 Sep. 2021

Last Updated: 3 May 2024