She’d morphed into the busy, warm, cheerful lady she'd be ...

[Maybo]

So my father went away and my thin, pained mother got fat and happy-fairly fat and extremely happy— as if she were supposed to be that way all along: a defated balloon taking in air: Within a year, she’d morphed into the busy, warm, cheerful lady she'd be till she died, and her sister said things like "Thank God the old Maureen is Luck" as if the woman who raised us was an imposter.

Source: Gone girl by Gillian Flynn

If I use the present tense to write the underlined part, is it correct as this?:

“Within a year, she has morphed into the busy, warm, cheerful lady she will be till she died”

 

[Rover_KE]

There is no underlined part, but the answer's NO.

 

[Maybo]

There is no underlined part, but the answer's NO.

I added the underline. Is it correct now?
“Within a year, she has morphed into the busy, warm, cheerful lady she will be till she dies”

 

[Matthew Wai]

The whole text refers to the past. Why do you want to use the present perfect and the future tense?

 

[teechar]

“Within a year, she has morphed into the busy, warm, cheerful lady she will be till she dies”

That's possible, but not in the above context. Your suggested sentence implies:
1- The writer's mother is still alive.
2- She will be busy, warm, and cheerful until she dies.

 

[Maybo]

The whole text refers to the past. Why do you want to use the present perfect and the future tense?

It’s because I don’t understand the past perfect of "had morphed" and the past tense "would". Does "had morphed" come from "morphed" or "has morphed"?

 

[Maybo]

That's possible, but not in the above context. Your suggested sentence implies:
1- The writer's mother is still alive.
2- She will be busy, warm, and cheerful until she dies.

If I don't backshift the underlined part, how should I write it using present tense?

 

[Tarheel]

You can replace "morphed" with "changed" and not lose any meaning.

 

[teechar]

If I don't backshift the underlined part, how should I write it using present tense?

I don't understand what you mean or what you're trying to do!

 

[Maybo]

You can replace "morphed" with "changed" and not lose any meaning.

Do you mean I don't need to use "had morphed" and use "morphed"? I asked the question because if her mother already "morphed" then why "she would be"?

 

[Matthew Wai]

If I don't backshift the underlined part, how should I write it using present tense?

You should not use the present tense when referring to the past.

 

[Maybo]

I don't understand what you mean or what you're trying to do!

I have difficulty understanding this kind of sentence:
she had finished her work before I went to school

It's easier for me to understand sentences like this
She has finished her work before I go to school.

 

[Maybo]

You should not use the present tense when referring to the past.

I understand that but sometimes novels would use the present tense for them, even if it happened in the past. I don't understand why "had morphed" is used.

 

[Tarheel]

I have difficulty understanding this kind of sentence:
she had finished her work before I went to school

It's easier for me to understand sentences like this
She has finished her work before I go to school.

I'm afraid the second one doesn't make sense.

 

[Matthew Wai]

She has finished her work before I go to school.

I think it is incorrect.

 

[Maybo]

I'm afraid your questions are confusing me. When you take the word or phrase out of the sentence
I'm afraid the second one doesn't make sense.

When I read novels, some books are written in the past tense, while some are written in the present tense.

When I read books written in the past tense, I often have problems with the past perfect and hypothetical words such as "would".

It's like reading news! Sometimes they intentionally use the present tense for something happened in the past.
It helps me understand the order of how thing has happened.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I understand that but sometimes novels would use the present tense for them, even if it happened in the past. I don't understand why "had morphed" is used.

Present Narrative Tense: Tell Your Story in the Present - SayEdit.Com

Past, present, or modal verbs? This article shows you the basics of how to use the present narrative tense in your manuscript.

sayedit.com

 

[Maybo]

Present Narrative Tense: Tell Your Story in the Present - SayEdit.Com

Past, present, or modal verbs? This article shows you the basics of how to use the present narrative tense in your manuscript.

sayedit.com

There's no past perfect tense in it.

 

[Maybo]

"Within a year, she’d morphed into the busy, warm, cheerful lady she'd be till she died"

I don't understand the sentence. If she had already morphed into a cheerful lady, why isn't it that "she was till she died"?

 

[Tarheel]

When I read novels, some books are written in the past tense, while some are written in the present tense.

When I read books written in the past tense, I often HAVE problems with the past perfect and hypothetical words such as "would".

It's like reading news! Sometime they intentionally use the present tense for something happened in the past.
It helps me understand the order of how thing HAVE happened.

My apologies! I started that, and then I responded to something else.

I wouldn't say "would" is a hypothetical word, but it can be used to describe a hypothetical situation.