Present Tense Or Past Tense?

teal desk 749Hi, may I know why did the author use "churned" instead of "churn"?

Because they have been the pumping arteries, I guess.

teal desk 749Would it be wrong if I use "churn"?

Maybe, but it would take more than that to harm such clumsy purple prose. "Churn" is pejorative. Arteries don't pump anything, the heart does, but where is that in a meal? Sounds like a bloody mess. Not likely in India, anyway.

I guess it would be better for me to write the entire paragraph.

For centuries, mothers in Asia have played pivotal roles in home kitchens across the continent. From China to India to Malaysia, women have been the arteries pumping life into the heart of traditional home-cooked meals, which they dutifully churned out day after day to feed their hungry families. In many instances, this responsibility was fulfilled largely out of obligation and in response to what had become a clearly defined gender role. In Baba Nyonya communities for instance, recipes were often tightly guarded by family matriarchs who only passed them down the female line to their daughters. This gender-based hierarchical structure led to the development of old-fashioned platitudes like "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" and more derogatory expressions like "A woman's place is in the kitchen".

The paragraph was written in the past tense form.

Yeah, it is probably just an analogy describing the roles played by women in the society.

teal desk 749

I guess it would be better for me to write the entire paragraph.

For centuries, mothers in Asia have played pivotal roles in home kitchens across the continent. From China to India to Malaysia, women have been the arteries pumping life into the heart of traditional home-cooked meals, which they dutifully churned out day after day to feed their hungry families. In many instances, this responsibility was fulfilled largely out of obligation and in response to what had become a clearly defined gender role. In Baba Nyonya communities for instance, recipes were often tightly guarded by family matriarchs who only passed them down the female line to their daughters. This gender-based hierarchical structure led to the development of old-fashioned platitudes like "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" and more derogatory expressions like "A woman's place is in the kitchen".

The paragraph was written in the past tense form.

Yes. With the longer text the past tense 'churned' seems to make more sense.

CJ

I see. May I know why did the author write this essay in the past tense form?

teal desk 749

I see. May I know why did the author write this essay in the past tense form?

The author wanted to talk about traditions that were common in the past.

CJ