Allie

[Allie]

Can you have first person and narration going on in the same paragraph? Does tense have to be the same in narration and first person in the same paragraph. Help.

[Tdol]

Could you put an example up for us to look at?

[Allie]

Anna sat in her garden and watched the marvelous hummingbirds bout each other for a sip of the nectar. Her attention turned as Paul approached saying, "'Danger is here, follow me, Anna."

Anna sat - past tense

Attention turned - past tense

Paul approached - past tense

Paul saying - "Danger is here, etc. - present tense.

[Jason72]

Anna sat in her garden and watched the marvelous hummingbirds bout each other for a sip of the nectar. Her attention turned as Paul approached saying, "'Danger is here, follow me, Anna."

It's correct.

[Jason72]

Are you asking if there can be more than one tense in a sentence?

[Allie]

Yes, I am asking that. I thought one complete paragraph had to be the same tense. Are you telling me that the sentence I showed was correct and you can have past, present and narative in not only one paragraph but also in one sentence?

[Jason72]

Even you have more than one tense in this sentence:
Are you telling me that the sentence I showed was correct and you can have past, present and narative in not only one paragraph but also in one sentence?
Are you telling - Present Continuous
I showed - Past Simple
You can have - Present Simple
Anyway, my answer is yes, you can have more than one tense per sentence(and therefore per paragraph too). It would be difficult to express your thoughts using only one tense.

[Allie]

What is meant by "simple" or is that too hard to explain here?

[Jason72]

How's that?

[Philly]

"Past simple" is the name of a verb tense. (For example: He saw)
"Present simple" is also the name of a verb tense. (For example: He sees)

In your text, the word 'saying' is a present participle, but it is not a "tense". In fact, in the context, the meaning is past, not present.