His puff but a piff, his extremeties extremely so
Verb tense is more important than you may think, especially in how you form or perceive intention in a narrative.
In recent research studied in Psychological Science, William Hart of the University of Alabama states that “when you describe somebody’s actions in terms of what they’re ‘doing,’ that action is way more vivid in [a reader’s] mind.” Subsequently, when action is imagined vividly, greater intention is associated with it. (…)
Those who read that the defendant “was firing gun shots” believed a more harmful intent of the defendant than those who read that he “fired gun shots”.
screenshot { Cowboys and Aliens, 2011 }
