0

Today in our exam I saw this multiple choice question

We......(go) to Egypt in 2016

1-We will go to Egypt in 2016
2-We went to Egypt in 2016
3-We are going to Egypt in 2016
4-We go to Egypt in 2016

Which one is correct ?

I told my friends that the answer Can be the first and the second , if we don't care about which year we are but if the sentence completed with other words like we saw many things in egypt the answer will be the second choice ... which one from us are correct because they said the answer is second choice

| improve this question | |
  • 1
    2016 is in the past. – Colin Fine Jul 22 at 12:07
0

As @ColinFine pointed out, since 2016 is in the past (we are currently in 2020), you should use the past tense. Therefore, in the context of your exam, I believe that answer (2) would be correct.

HOWEVER, each of these sentences are completely correct and each are used at different times.

1-We will go to egypt in 2016 If this sentence took place in the past, before 2016, it makes sense that the speaker is looking forward to 2016, which would be the future

2-We went to egypt in 2016 This makes sense. It is now 2020, and we went to egypt in 2016.

3-We are going to egypt in 2016 This is the same as answer (1), just written differently. It is just as correct as (1), and it refers to the future.

4-We go to egypt in 2016 This is a weird one... I hear some native english speakers saying this, however I think it is improper english -- it should be We (will) go to egypt... but the (will) is implied so it's not mentioned in the sentence. I would just avoid using this sentence structure.

| improve this answer | |
  • 1
    You could say "We go to Egypt in 2016" if you're telling an anecdote in the historical present tense, or if you're talking about a proposed plan of action ("Here's an idea. We save as much money as we can this year and next year. We go to Egypt in 2016.") But I think it would definitely be rare. – Tanner Swett Jul 22 at 16:59

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.