Questions tagged [sequence-of-tenses]
for questions about the agreement between the tenses of verbs in related clauses or sentences.
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He could feel yesterday that his mother would/will bombard him with new information. - which one?
When the main verb is a modal verb such as "could" or "was able to", does the principle of "sequence of tense" still apply?
Example 1
He could feel yesterday that his ...
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The day after/before - the choice of tenses
I've a question regarding the tense choice with the phrase "the day/night/minute... after/before + clause.
As we all know, after some words only the Present Simple is possible. Some of such are ...
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Betty took two lumps, then saying, 'Well,Happy Birthday again'
Betty took two lumps, then saying, 'Well,Happy Birthday again'
This is from the book Desperate Measures by Kitty Neale.
I don't understand the usage of then saying. The first part is past tense and ...
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Sequence of tenses (the present perfect and the past simple
1 And now that a month has passed, she decided to write a review.
2 And now that a month has passed, she has decided to write a review.
3 And then that a month had passed, she decided to write a ...
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Is "I heard old war drums beat." from the Eric Bogle's song "Welcome Home" grammatical?
In the Eric Bogle's anti-war song "Welcome Home" (about the Vietnam War) there is a line "I heard old war drums beat.". Is it grammatical or is it licentia poetica? I think I ...
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sequence of tenses and will
I'd like to know if my understanding is correct.
She said "I will leave for the U.S."
This sentence can be rephrased in two ways, i.e.
She said she would leave for the U.S.
She said she ...
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Is this sentecne correct? 'It was only after I started studying for a BA degree in Sociology that I became interested in...'
It was only after I started studying for a BA degree in Sociology
that I became interested in how people from dysfunctional families
become parents.
Is 'studying for a BA degree in smth' a correct ...
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The fact that she "would/will" come to see me on Friday bothered me. - "the fact that..." follows the rule of sequence of tense?
Assume the time of speaking is on Wednesday and the time of action of bothering happened way back, last week.
Example 1
The fact that she would come to see me on Friday bothered me.
Example 2
The ...
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Does "all morning" mean that the morning is over?
'I don't know. It _____ (4) (be) there all morning.' The man replied.'Well, we can't leave it there, it's too dangerous. He might have an accident. What should I do?' The cashier suggested, 'you ...
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What to use "Have or Did"
I am confused. Could anyone explain the difference between the two.
If you want to find out whether or not your coworker has met the boss. Are you going to respond,
"Have you met the boss?" ...
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Confused about tenses in conditionals
I've been told that the following examples of conditional sentences are wrong because the tenses don't match the structure of any of the four types: zero, first, second, or third. I'm very confused ...
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". . . don’t remember saying I will/would do . . ."
Which of the following is correct?
I don’t remember saying I will do such a thing.
I don’t remember saying I would do such a thing.
On the one hand, the logic behind the sentence reminds me of ...
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Which tense I do have to use if a main clause is in past simple tense and a subordinate clause is linked by the word before?
I have the following situation:
at first, I wrote a comment;
them Martin wrote a comment
then, after some time, I've seen the Martin's comment.
So would it be correct to describe this situation with ...
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Sequence of verbs: present perfect after past simple
For a while I have been using this table of sequences of verbs as a reference. Today I found this sentence, which doesn't correspond to either of the rules form the table:
You didn't answer the ...
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Past perfect tense or passive
The Rescue Service said it WAS CALLED to support the coastguard to look for missing people.
The Rescue Service said it HAD BEEN CALLED to support the coastguard to look for missing people.
Which is ...
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What does "The collected statistical data have been analysed and interpreted thoroughly" mean?
Does this sentence mean that some data was collected (in the certain point in the past), then has been analysed and interpreted (in the period of the time in the past)?
Should this sentence be written:...
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I thought he would have been [closed]
a. I thought he would have been sad before I entered the room and seeing me would make him happy. Actually, he was happy and seeing me made him sad.
b. I thought he would have felt sad before I ...
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I realized half an hour ago that it ____ time to go to my home country [closed]
I realized half an hour ago that it was time to go to my home country.
I realized half an hour ago that it is time to go to my home country.
If I say that I will do this trip next month, I can't say &...
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Are the tenses of the verbs well chosen
I ve been watching this film for 30 minutes and I (have) already cried so I was happy when I received your message for my birthday.
Do the tenses fit here? I think so
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Can we mix tenses in this example?
My order has just been cancelled but I can't find the refund. When did you refund me ?
I think "was cancelled" should be better because the refund happens obviously after the cancellation....
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The past perfect tense when using time clauses
I was taking a course about time clauses when I got confused about when I should use the Past perfect tense in the main clause.
According to the lesson, we should use Past Participle in the main ...
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Should we check the 'tense agreement'? If so, what' the difference in the meaning?
When we rewrite the passive-reporting verbs from one structure to another, should we check the tense agreements? **'⇒'**are answers in text book, however, considering the tense agreement, '*' also ...
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The order of actions with WHEN CLAUSE
1 He said to me his name when I gave him the money.
1 I gave 2 he said
That is clear. The next are not clear.
2 When I met him he knew the news.
Does it mean that he learnt the news after I met him ...
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The sequence of tenses
Ali was enjoying his weekend at the sports center in Manama. He was
playing in a local pool championship. Ali 1 had played/had been
playing well for half an hour and 2 won/had won three of the
first ...
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Sequence of tenses with while
Are the sentences grammatically correct?
He hadn't been cleaning Suzi's room while she was ill.
He wasn't cleaning Suzi's room while she was ill.
PS: I think I should have added a request for ...
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I can't understand how this sentence is grammatically correct: "I miss my dad more than I will miss anything."
The following sentences are given as correct examples regarding Sequence of tense
I miss my dad more than I missed anything.
I miss my dad more than I will miss anything.
I can't really understand the ...
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Do you always put the conjugate in the same tense when using "and"?
when is this right ?
for example : i eat and ... (sleep) a lot .
in this case i m going to conjugate sleep in the present simple since the verb before and is conjugated in the present simple . but i ...
user466932
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"I thought we could go to the lake this weekend." Is this sentence ok, if "going to the lake" did not take place?
As far as I know, the structure "I thought we could/would do....." can be used for 2 purposes:
1-When you found that something was unexpectedly different from what you thought it was. For ...
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Accordance of the tense of an independent clause with a relative clause
In the following example, the act of giving prize took place in the past. But the fact that the grade of some of students is A is not confined to the past and is still true at the present and also ...
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Do you use the past tense in a subordinate clause in past subjunctive?
I wish I had a robot which helps me do my homework.
I wish I had a robot which helped me do my homework.
Which sentence makes more sense? Does the tense in the subordinate clause need to agree with ...
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"I am looking for a good doctor before meeting you." Is this a correct sentence?
I am concerned about the sequence of two works. Can I use present continuous tense (am looking for) like this?
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"I usually go to school by bus but today I went on foot." "I usually go to school by bus but today I am going on foot." Which sentence is wrong?
"I usually go to school by bus but today I went on foot." "I usually go to school by bus but today I am going on foot." Which sentence is wrong? I think both of them are correct. ...
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I decided I've had enough vs I decided I'd had enough
Today I heard a native English speaker teacher use We decided we have had enough while telling a story. I am somewhat familiar with the notion of Sequence of tenses and thought the correct usage was ...
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What is the correct tense to follow "I've known"?
I'm unsure about what tense should be used in a clause that follows 'I've known'. I've seen it followed by the present perfect, the simple present, and the simple past. I don't know which of the ...
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"I've just finished packing your package and {ordered/ordering} a courier..." -- which is correct "ordered" or "ordering"?
I'm having a discussion with my partner about the use of correct wording in the sentence. As we are both foreigners and quite stubborn, we can not decide which version is more native and natural.
I’...
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Has or Had in this example?
So today I had to write this sentence and it came to me with this little doubt:
Fixed multiple bugs when a task has/had no date.
I'm more convinced by had, I'm saying that the bugs occurred when the ...
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Is "candidates WERE neither able to build...nor SUBSTANTIATED it with facts" grammatical?
I am learning English as a second language. I was going through the feedbacks of examiners, who conduct/mark CSS exams (this is a competitive exam conducted to appoint Government officers in Pakistan),...
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Tense and meaning of, oh, also
I’m wondering about the progression of the tense and about how this shows time for the object moving in time.
Oh, Also, I took all of the paper out of my office and put it in the middle room so that ...
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I told him and now he KNOWS or I told him and now he KNEW?
I told him and now he knows.
or
I told him and now he knew.
If I have now in the sentence. Does it mean that the following verb needs to be in a present tense? Or it is not necessary?
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"it IS near your house" or "it WAS near your house"? [closed]
Here is the sentence:
I don’t get how they arrange the place. You should go to the one I went to yesterday. It’s near your house.
However I am in the middle of confusion whether I should say "...
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What is the correct word to the song that kept telling me its okay or that keep telling is correct
Like something I've been listening for a year and want to express that the song was the one that keep me going and what should be the correct word for me to post with kept telling or keep telling what ...
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"Set the tone" I learn a lot, I enjoy my class [closed]
I received some instructions which I believe sound a bit strange but I can't find the exact arguments to prove myself wrong or right.
The slide is called: SET UP THE TONE. Afterwards, I have to ask ...
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Had or has or simple past in this context?
Due to an objection letter, the book launch was cancelled. the main
concern specified in the letter was that in his works the author has/had/…
underestimated the role of the organization.
So there is ...
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Has understood or had understood?
I'm doing some essays to prepare for the C1 writing test. I wrote this sentence:
"after a student had understood a formula, it would be more efficient if he was able to apply it through ...
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Sequence of tenses with past perfect
if a first sentence is in the past perfect and a second is in the same time with a first should a first be in past perfect too or in past simple?
E.g: Alex said he had been there when that happened or ...
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Why is "It is" incorrect in "It is because he was jealous..."?
It is because he was jealous that John lied about his sister's prize.
I don't know why 'It is~' is wrong in the sentence.
In a text book, they say the sentence is wrong. What is the difference ...
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Why does this grammar book say there is a tense problem in "No one...wishes that we had...homework each night"?
No one in my history class wishes that we had more homework each night.
This is from a 4th grader's grammar book and says it doesn't have a proper verb tense.
I don't get it. Can anybody help?
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You {did not move/have not moved} your car... there {would not/will not} have been... - which choice is correct?
I have these examples:
Given you did not move your car away from my garage door by next weekend as you promised there wouldn't have been any change in your behaving.
and
Given you have not moved ...
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If clause in a conditional sentence: didn't have vs hadn't
I have a sentence in an exam that says:
[1] I WOULD COME if I DIDN'T HAVE other plans.
Is it right to say the sentence:
[2] I would come if I HADN'T other plans.
I am having trouble deciding.
Mary
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Is the change in the tense of "do" understood when "done" is omitted?
I've always wondered about this kind of sentence:
You can't do (it); you have to wait for it to be (done).
Is the "done" necessary? Without done, is it allowed so in any other type of ...
