Tenses to use when writing minutes?

Question

I understand that you must use past tense when writing minutes. However, there are some instances when I am not sure if past tense should be used as it would either change the meaning of the sentence or sound weird. Below are some situations which I have trouble with: 1.When something is in progress. Example: - The team is checking on the machine. (Should it be: The team was checking on the machine) - Checks on the system are being done. (Should it be: Checks on the system was being done) 2.When Something is not Certain. Example : - If there is sufficient data to support the efficiency of the new system... (Should it be: If there was sufficient data to support the efficiency of the new system...) - If the project is successful... (should it be: If the project was successful) Thanks for helping.

Answer 1

Hello!

In your examples:

1) When something is currently in progress, you use present tense. So it would be "The team is checking on the machine". Using "was" would indicate that it happened prior, not in the present moment.

2)Likewise, this is talking about what is currently happening, so you would use present tense. "Checks on the system are being done"

3) When something is uncertain: it depends on when the experiment you are talking about is taking place. If you already did the experiment and know it failed, use "if it was successful". If you do not know the results, use "if it is successful".

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Dear Student:

In writing minutes (of a meeting, I presume), you are reporting what was discussed during the meeting. So in some of your examples, you can use present tense when speaking of ongoing activities when that present-tense verbiage is embedded in a statement using past tense. Or you can just use present tense throughout, such as "Mary/Jane/Sally reports that sales are increasing (have increased, will increase, etc.). The determining factor is the style used in your organization; you can either follow the style used in previous minutes or discuss how you want to change that style with those above you.

Example 1. The team is checking on the machine. (Should it be: The team was checking on the machine)?. You could say: Nancy (or whoever is stating this information during the meeting) reported/stated/said [choose one] that the team is checking on the [operational status of the] machine [and will report back at a later date]. {or something to that effect}

Example 2. Checks on the system are being done. (Should it be: Checks on the system was being done). This is a restatement of the sentence above and the same answer applies--i.e., Nancy reported that checks on the [operational status of the] machine are being done. Please note that "checks" is a plural subject, so the verb must be plural (not "was").

Example 3. When something is not certain. Example : - If there is sufficient data to support the efficiency of the new system... (Should it be: If there was sufficient data to support the efficiency of the new system...). You need to complete the rest of the sentence and rewrite it to know what tense to use. Are you saying that "John reported that if sufficient data are generated that support the efficiency of the new system, then [more funding will be committed to the project]"? {or something to that effect?}. You are stating a conditional and therefore usually you should use "were."

Best regards,

Louise

English/ESOL tutor

Answer 3

Hi:

I was the minutes taker in hundreds of meetings over the years. I use the past tense when the action was completed, e.g. "Andy got the quote from the insurance company." I used the present tense when the action has not been completed or is ongoing, e.g. "Jim is checking on the status of the boiler repairs and will report back at the next meeting."

I would never use the past tense if the action had not been completed. The risk of doing that is that someone might say or do something or make an important decision on the assumption that a particular action was completed, e.g. if you said that "Jim checked on the status of the

boiler repairs" instead of "is checking on," Joe might assume that since Jim never got back to him, the boiler repairs had been made and went ahead and ordered a new million dollar computer system.

Hope this helps!