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present and past tense.

If a paragraph starts in past tense it should stay in past tense, Right?

Re: present and past tense.

Oooh, that sounds wrong to me. Can you give an example? A paragraph can be a pretty big ol' thing.

Re: present and past tense.

My example: Considering that he lived to be 41 years old, Fred is the oldest goldfish on record.

Re: present and past tense.

Mmm, I see your point. I do not think a general rule fits here. Your example looks fine to me. If you envisage these words describing a stuffed goldfish in a museum, they work quite well. Keeping Fred in the present tense carries a connotation of effection, in my view. From a mathematical grammatical approach, it's also fine. Check this:

Considering that he played cards for a living, Fred is not that good at poker.

I think your concern is with Fred being dead and not with the past-tense/present-tense issue.