Skip to main content

Questions tagged [present-tense]

Present Tense uses the base form of a verb to describe current actions, events and states-of-being. Ex: I answer to no one.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
0 votes
1 answer
55 views

"Shop has been open all day/the whole day" " I have been awake all day/the whole day"

"Shop has been open all day/ the whole day (for the whole day).Does it mean shop is still open or shop has recently closed? "I have been awake all day/the whole day(for the whole day)" ...
Bilal Zafar's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
31 views

past tense vs present

Why in this sentence "called" has been used instead of "call"? (I think it should be "call") Someone close to you will try to tell you what to do, but it’s time you ...
Mohamad Mohseni Ahuii's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
92 views

Present for a habit

I am asking you to sell me this record and I ask you this every year until you accept. I am asking you to sell me this record and I will be asking you this every year until you accept . I think both ...
Yves Lefol's user avatar
  • 7,693
0 votes
2 answers
32 views

Ok to use simple present tense after now? | "Now, we look at one more."

A British speaker, who teaches English on youtube, is telling about some usages for socializing. He gives examples, tells about differences, etc. Before he moves on to another one, he says: "Now, ...
Yunus's user avatar
  • 8,101
0 votes
1 answer
76 views

"Many English words ARE derived from French." VS "Many English words WERE derived from French." [closed]

In my native language, the translation of the following a- and b-variants has the same meaning. Tell me please whether they have difference in English or not. britannica.com: (1a) Many English words ...
Loviii's user avatar
  • 5,371
0 votes
2 answers
51 views

I am requesting or I request Mr David to come on / up to the stage. Which expression is correct in the native context?

While inviting the guests to the stage, In India, it is usually said that now I request Mr David to come on to the stage. Some professors I know say that it should be come up to the stage. My point is ...
Jvlnarasimharao's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
31 views

Use of tense in a completed project description

I am preparing a project portfolio for a job application in which I describe some of my completed projects in my current role. While the software is still in use today, the projects themselves are ...
Bird Saurus's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
42 views

Can we use Present Perfect Tense for actions that happened years ago, but I want the listener to focus on the result that is still relevant?

Can we use Present Perfect Tense for actions that happened years ago, but I want the listener to focus on the result that is still relevant? for the context, let’s say, I created a website a year ago....
hwkal's user avatar
  • 649
0 votes
1 answer
49 views

Has been vs has gone vs went

An example from Burlington English - Choose the correct answer He has been/ has gone to the village to see his grandmother. The correct answer is 'has gone.' Why is 'has been' incorrect here ? I know ...
James Mathai's user avatar
  • 2,241
1 vote
1 answer
54 views

Using present tense with dates

I am translating an historical text with really simple language (from French into English) and they used the present tense, that I'd like to keep. But as I started translating I realised that I wasn't ...
Mathilde Da Silva's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
112 views

"He usually goes to school on time" or "He goes to school usually on time."

Which is the correct Sentence? a) "He usually goes to school on time" or b) "He goes to school usually on time."
carve's user avatar
  • 11
0 votes
2 answers
27 views

How to use if clause with present perfect

If you have drunk too much milk, you might have been taller. Is this sentence grammatically correct?
sedat yıldız's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
146 views

Why is present tense used on past hobby

Gomez’s grandfather paints very well too but cannot do so now. Why is “paints” used here and not painted? I thought it should be painted as the grandfather could not do it now. I thought his ability ...
Orange Zhan's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
156 views

What does "It has to have been done" mean?

I was watching this clip. In the clip, they say that study has to have been done. Here's the link to the video I am a little confused. What does it mean? Does it mean something that happened in the ...
Aarsh Pandey's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
50 views

He had problems reading without glasses. In the above sentence is 'reading' a present participle or a gerund in this sentence

He had problems reading without glasses. In the above sentence is 'reading' a present participle or a gerund in this sentence.can anyone explain, please 🙏
Erica Gogoi's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
15 views

Present or future in this context?

Would it be possible to email me on a basis of every 2 months the latest records you have for sale . I was wondering if I wrote "will have" instead of "have" what would be the ...
Yves Lefol's user avatar
  • 7,693
-1 votes
1 answer
143 views

What is the difference between "someone had dinner" and "someone has had dinner"?

Which one is correct? The patient had dinner. The patient has had dinner. The patient has eaten dinner. Have you had your dinner?
marie's user avatar
  • 1
2 votes
2 answers
63 views

Place of a time expression in a negative sentence

Is it possible to put the time expressions before or after the negative word? Or is there only one way? For example : The students usually don't like eating fish The students don't usually like eating ...
שבי לוי's user avatar
-2 votes
1 answer
75 views

Approaches or is approaching? [closed]

Apparently approaches is more used than ‘is approaching’. Why? In most cases approaching is a continuous action so ‘is approaching’ should be more common.
Yves Lefol's user avatar
  • 7,693
0 votes
0 answers
35 views

anyone could guess you write/wrote/had written it

In a classroom, one student (A) to another (B): A: I'm surprised! How did you know I wrote it on the board? (The writing is still there on the board) B: It's pretty simple. Looking at the handwriting, ...
Mr. X's user avatar
  • 946
1 vote
1 answer
56 views

By the time and When

By the time I arrived at the scene, the meeting had been over. When I arrived at the scene, the meeting had been over. Are the two sentences correct?
Ben Yao's user avatar
  • 11
1 vote
1 answer
155 views

'yesterday' in present tense

I understand that 'yesterday' talks about things in the past and usually uses past tense. However, I saw some sentences in present tense like Yesterday is gone. Yesterday is a history. But I didn't ...
Zelin's user avatar
  • 91
0 votes
1 answer
120 views

What is the difference between “always tells” and “is always telling”?

I was doing Destination C1 and C2 grammar and vocabulary exercises when I came across this: My dad ———————(always/tell) jokes, they’re mostly rubbish, though. I thought the answer is "always ...
sina's user avatar
  • 25
1 vote
1 answer
37 views

What is the tense of this word and why?

The sentence: You see, I have dumped my iPhone and bought myself an old-style, internet-free dumb phone (or “feature phone”, as the new branding would call it). What is the tense of the word "...
user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
41 views

"it turns out" in the narration of a past event

Very often I see "it turns out" used in the description of a past event. One veteran user said "it turns out" is okay when we are describing a recent event. But can't it be used ...
Apollyon's user avatar
  • 6,004
2 votes
1 answer
85 views

How to choose between "can" and "might" in "The service {can/might} be surly"

I'm learning modal verbs now using a grammar textbook. There are different topics. One of them is a topic about possibility. I went through the rules part and now I'm doing exercises after it where ...
Artem Malyshev's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
38 views

V+ing Vs. is v+ing? [closed]

What's the difference between those two sentences? Why don't they equal each other? Robert is eating launch. Robert eats launch. Does one expresses continues action and the other don't?
user8437733's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
23 views

Is it natural to say "my electric bill is paid" when you are reporting a bill's status?

Can you please tell me if it's natura and correct to say my electric bill is paid when you are telling someone it's current status, not that it's regularly paid. If doesn't sound natural, I would like ...
Dmytro O'Hope's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
18 views

Is this sentence, which mixes present and future tense, grammatically correct? ("Until the call to war resounds/when they shall face their bane")

Is the grammar in the third stanza valid or faulty? The preceding two stanzas are included only for context. His hall has held the highest host the dead in battle slain Who dwell within to feast and ...
user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
94 views

Can you say someone "never [VERB]s" if they used to in the past?

If you say "never swears" as an example, can this include if someone has done it in the past but doesn’t do it consistently nor in recent time?
Ryan DiMingo's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
227 views

Why using the past tense when one parent is dead but the children and the other parent are alive?

John met Mary in 2000. He died in 2023. They had three children. Marc met Ann in 2001. He is alive. They have two children. What are the grammatical reasons for the last verbs to be in past and ...
WoJ's user avatar
  • 805
0 votes
0 answers
84 views

I don't trust vs I'm not trusting

What's the difference between I don't trust and I'm not trusting (anymore) The present simple vs present continuous is obvious. I just lack experience to build a number of examples with the continuous ...
Burglar's user avatar
  • 175
0 votes
1 answer
102 views

what tense to use when summarizing an episode of a TV show [closed]

I don't know whether to use present tense or past tense to make a summary of a TV show episode. MasterChef is an example
Khánh Bùi's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
28 views

Past Tense or Present Perfect [duplicate]

He placed an order OR He has placed an order. He has now be waiting for three weeks but no goods have arrived. My question is: Does the first sentence denote the starting point of the following ...
user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
250 views

If he loves God, he will sacrifice his son. - is this correct usage in a review article?

How do we use conditionals in a review of a story? Example 1 God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son to test him. If Abraham loves God, he will sacrifice his son. And he is going to, so he loves God. ...
VinceL's user avatar
  • 2,343
0 votes
1 answer
61 views

What Is the Scope of the Past Perfect?

(Post copied, with minor alterations, from English Language & Usage on suggestion from a user.) Recently, I’ve been editing a piece of writing written in first-person present tense. The narrator ...
MJ Ada's user avatar
  • 277
1 vote
2 answers
366 views

Present Continuous+never for emotional tone

As we know Present Continuous is used with always / constantly to express some emotional nuance (often negative). e.g. My sister is always borrowing my clothes without asking! Can we similarly use ...
Aynat's user avatar
  • 91
1 vote
3 answers
205 views

Difference between "I'm the one who..." and "I was the one who..."

Let's say I collected my mummy's money two hours ago and she asked this question: "Who collected my money?" Which would be the proper way to respond: "I'm the one who collected the ...
John Obukohwo's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
89 views

they thought it is or was important for the US to elect a woman president

Most Democratic voters in the state, 72 per cent, said they thought it is(was) important for the US to elect a woman president in their lifetimes, and that included roughly two-thirds of men. What's ...
Jones's user avatar
  • 660
3 votes
1 answer
100 views

Present Continuous expressing future

One of my grammar books says: The future use of the present progressive is limited to actions brought about by human endeavour. Therefore sentences such as "It's raining tomorrow" or "...
Lajos's user avatar
  • 31
0 votes
2 answers
65 views

When/After I am scolded by my mother, I go to bed and fall asleep late, usually past 10 p.m. - differences in meaning?

I understand "after" can express habitual or repetitive events, but I still feel like "after" is different from "whenever." When "after" is used, it makes me ...
VinceL's user avatar
  • 2,343
4 votes
1 answer
210 views

Can we use “had” in present tense

I’ve got confused by this sentence from “A Study in Scarlet” by Arthur Conan Doyle: “You had better clean it and load it. He will be a desperate man, and though I shall take him unawares, it is as ...
Emir Sahedov's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
66 views

Is it correct to use the word 'made' in the present continuous or simple present tense?

I am studying the English tenses and came across the following quiz: Fill in the correct verb form: PRESENT SIMPLE or PRESENT PROGRESSIVE. The delicious chocolate is ____ by a firm in Switzerland. (...
fff's user avatar
  • 111
-1 votes
1 answer
30 views

Combinig past and present tenses together

I've made a discovery that a phrase to be out of the question is an idiom, meaning to be an event that cannot possibly happen. In a book (Charlotte Bronte - "Jane Eyre") I approached the ...
Stone Paul's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
47 views

use other tenses when talking about general truth? [duplicate]

I know that we should use present simple when talking about general truth like The Sun rises in the east. However, if I add a time frame for it, will it still be used for present simple? For example: ...
Zelin's user avatar
  • 91
0 votes
0 answers
31 views

When to use past tense after reported speech and when to use present tense after it? [duplicate]

He said that he had visited Paris last year. She said that she is currently working on a new project.
Adam's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
1 answer
41 views

See and seeing with different implications

I am seeing my guitar teacher this Monday. (means that I have an appointment) What if I do it regularly. Should it be I see my guitar teacher on Mondays. OR I am seeing my guitar teacher on Mondays. ...
user1425's user avatar
  • 4,490
0 votes
1 answer
130 views

Is "studying" correct in "The students studying the hardest…"?

I am an ESL teacher online and had this question from a student. She said she researched it and found one grammar site that said it was correct. The students studying the hardest have the best ...
Janice's user avatar
  • 41
-2 votes
1 answer
33 views

Are the tenses well chosen?

Question to a seller over the phone 1 Could you let me know when this book will be in stock? Answer It will be in stock next Monday So I will order it on Monday when it is in stock Question to a ...
Yves Lefol's user avatar
  • 7,693
1 vote
1 answer
182 views

"I (will) send the book on Monday so you (will) get it on Tuesday."

my sentences: (1) I will send the book on Monday so you will get it on Tuesday. (2) I will send the book on Monday so you get it on Tuesday. (3) I send the book on Monday so you will get it on Tuesday....
Loviii's user avatar
  • 5,371

1
2 3 4 5
19