Questions tagged [tense]
This tag is for questions about tense, or location in time by grammatical forms and constructions rather than by semantics.
2,650
questions
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1answer
32 views
When the enrollments were done?
For example,
Staff members who enroll in courses related to business over the
summer will have their tuition fees reimbursed in September.
The current problem for me of the above sentence is totally ...
0
votes
0answers
20 views
i bought/ have bought is before
If someone suggested, ‘You try to buy this.’
Then I answered, ‘I have bought it before.’ or ‘ I bought it before.’
before use past tense or present perfect tense?
0
votes
1answer
24 views
I'm asking you to
This is crazy. So as your friend I'm asking you to stop.
Hi. Could anyone please tell me if the present continuous ("I'm asking") is completely correct and natural here if it's the first ...
1
vote
0answers
41 views
"If I had known" structure
There's a video that the person says:
If I'd known meeting you would have led me here...`
My question is that the last part of the sentence seems wrong to me. Isn't it supposed to be If I'd known ...
0
votes
1answer
18 views
I'd just/I had just/I just expected
Woman: Haven't you heard? I got fired last month.
Friend: What happened?
Woman: I snapped at a customer. He tipped me two dollars, and I don't know why, but I'd just expected something more. So I ...
1
vote
1answer
21 views
"Ordered every time", "have ordered every time" or "order every time"
There is a restaurant where you always ordered Caesar salad before. But one day you decide to have something else. When the waitress asks you if you want Caesar salad again before you say anything, ...
-1
votes
1answer
35 views
Mixed tense "In this case, it is killing my blood platelets, and they fell to a dangerously low level."
I have been diagnosed with an auto-immune disease, meaning that my
immune system will act on its own and attack my own body. In this
case, it is killing my blood platelets, and they fell to a ...
-1
votes
1answer
27 views
Mxing Present and Past Tense to describe a location
Please check the below sentence where I want to talk about a conversation with my friend about a place or building, to a third person. Should I mix present and past tense in this case as Eiffel Tower ...
3
votes
1answer
39 views
Usage of past progressive "were being used" vs past perfect "had been used"?
In my English book, there's a text that talks about how rainforest plants being used as remedies. More specifically, it talks about how they become more and more common in modern medicine, while the ...
0
votes
1answer
21 views
Can you use "any" with other tenses?
I have looked through many websites and know that when "any" is used as a determiner, it can be used with countable or uncountable nouns. I also read in my textbook that when "any" ...
0
votes
1answer
55 views
Why does the following sentence uses present participle "teaching" instead of present tense "teach"？
Several months ago, a trade association invited me to be its keynote speaker on networking and teaching people to be better conversationalists.
I have read the above sentence in a book. In my ...
0
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0answers
14 views
Once conjunction for future events in the past
Say I have a first-person past-tense narration of a character. This character is narrating a scene where they're about to eat candy and thus will need to brush their teeth, but this event is occurring ...
0
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0answers
19 views
present continuous for a short action is it possible in this case
After waking up today I received a phone call of a friend I had not seen or spoken for years .
Can I say: "my day is starting very well" or "my day has started well" or "my ...
0
votes
2answers
34 views
Arrange it that someone + tense
What tense do you think would fit the following sentences?
Jake has arranged it that his daughter will go on a trip next week.
Jake has arranged it that his daughter is going on a trip next week.
...
0
votes
0answers
27 views
Why is this the simple past despite the previous sentence with past perfect tense?
The United States surpassed 700,000 deaths from the coronavirus on Friday, a milestone that few experts had anticipated months ago when vaccines became widely available to the American public.NY Times
...
1
vote
1answer
36 views
Why is it "I can make it come true" instead of "I can make it comes true"
Since "it" is singular, why is the correct form "I can make it come true" instead of "I can make it comes true"?
0
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0answers
33 views
Please kindly advise which tense should I use?
Please help me with the tenses here.
She has been seeing a psychiartist since Jan 2020. (How would you say if she saw a psychiatrist regaulry in the past and she is continuely seeing him?).
She had ...
2
votes
2answers
86 views
Use of The Invariant Be
Recently the habitual be has gained wider recognition* among many English speakers as in Max and them boys are drinking way too much. (Montgomery and Mishoe 1999).
(*Edit: By ''recognition,'' I do not ...
0
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0answers
33 views
What tense is this sentence in from Selena Gomez's emotional monologue? [duplicate]
The music video for The Heart Wants What It Wants opens with Gomez's monologue: ''...But I didn't realize that feeling so confident and feeling so great about myself ...and then it just be completely ...
0
votes
1answer
50 views
Present perfect (has/has been) [duplicate]
Just when I think I have understood Perfect tenses, something comes up and I just can't get my head around it.
In my book it says that:
We can also use the present perfect for states.
1. The shop has ...
1
vote
1answer
50 views
Can I use present perfect tense here?
Suppose, I've been fasting for a few hours. Can I say "I have not eaten since breakfast"?
Or should I say "I have not been eating since breakfast"?
Which one is grammatically ...
0
votes
2answers
28 views
Past Continuous or Past Perfect Continuous? What is wrong with my logic?
My Exercise: Fill in the gaps by putting the verbs in the correct tenses
Harry looked great. He ______ (wear) his new suit.
Key: Past Continuous - was wearing
My Question
I think "Past ...
0
votes
0answers
14 views
Be staying or to stay what is the difference in meaning
I'm going to be staying.
I 'm going to stay.
Is there a difference in the meaning?
May the first one indicate that it won't be for a long time?
0
votes
2answers
14 views
Is it right to say “This group has been created …?”
Which question is right?
1- This group (a WhatsApp group) was created to enable its members to buy and sell … .
2- This group has been created to enable its members to buy and sell … .
Taking into ...
1
vote
0answers
31 views
'Can be' or 'could be'
I was talking to a friend about a family event I had attended the preceding night, and I wanted to say something to this effect: "I forgot just how much fun family gatherings could be if they ...
1
vote
1answer
41 views
is it possible that "any of the miners would survive" is used, instead of "any of the miners had survived"?
On October 13, 2010, thirty three Chilean miners who had been buried
inside the San José mine for 69 days were finally rescued. It was a
triumph of engineering and a victory of faith. The miners ...
0
votes
0answers
17 views
Verb tense when a time clause is inside an (implied) conditional clause
I've been re-studying some harder conditional sentences recently to be able to use all the different variants correctly. Yesterday I was watching a clip from a TV series (Star Trek), and the clip is ...
0
votes
1answer
35 views
When Talking about a specific time frame in the past, should have or had be used?
In the statements given below, since the activity is happening in the past, I thought past perfect tense would be used, but 'have/has' feels more natural to me. Please clarify the usage of has/have ...
0
votes
2answers
44 views
Does "I am renting a house" mean I am negotiating with the landlord or I has signed the contract and am living in the house now? [closed]
When we say "I am wearing a Tshirt" (might last a day), we mean "I have that Tshirt on my body"
When we don't say "I am wearing a Tshirt" to mean "I am putting on a ...
1
vote
1answer
20 views
Difference between "feels" and "is feeling" in the following case
I'll ask her to phone you as soon as she feels better.
I'll ask her to phone you as soon as she's feeling better.
Personally the first one sounds better, but the second sentence is found in a grammar ...
1
vote
1answer
25 views
The usage of "recently" in the present tense
The word "recently" occurs mostly with verbs in the simple past tense or the present perfect construction. But I found the following example in Grammar for English Language Teachers. Is it ...
1
vote
0answers
33 views
'thought it was" or "thought it would"
I thought it was cheaper to send it airmail but in fact when the postman told me the price it was very expensive.
I thought it would be cheaper to send it airmail but I was wrong it was very ...
0
votes
1answer
24 views
What tense should I use after "after" to describe something in the future if the sentence is past tense?
Is it correct to use either present tense and present perfect tense after after?
Here's the sentence:
I borrowed his laptop but promised him that I would give it back later
after I finish typing my ...
0
votes
2answers
38 views
Is this statement grammatically correct? - Did you add another piece of code [closed]
I want to say that to someone that have they added a new piece of code in their existing code. So is the below code fine or it can be said differently.
Did you add another piece of code.
I am kind ...
14
votes
5answers
5k views
Why can’t we call a person who taught students a “previous teacher” in this situation?
I don’t know if it’s restricted to English.
If someone won a Grammy Award, even if he doesn’t win a Grammy Award, we can describe him as “He is a (previous) Grammy winner.”
But If someone taught ...
2
votes
1answer
35 views
Why is it "what they think" and "when they hear" instead of "what they thought" and "when they heard"?
Why are the two phrases "what they think" and "when they heard" not written in the past tense in the text below? I know that 'leaders' can still think in the same way in the ...
-1
votes
1answer
49 views
"I ______ the bus home every day this month."
I got this MCQ in Fiverr English Test. I don't know whether option 1 or 3 is correct. I prefer 1, but I am not confident of my answer being correct. Hence, I have shared it with you so that I can be ...
0
votes
1answer
20 views
the reason why he chooses past tense
In a movie, there is an expression which I can understand. The situation is like following.
There are two men(A and B) in the car calling to the other over a speaker-phone while driving.
A: I don’t ...
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votes
1answer
26 views
Their eyes looks identical or their eyes look identical? [closed]
Their eyes looks identical or their eyes look identical? Which one would be grammatically correct?
2
votes
2answers
33 views
Run vs Ran question
I know this has been asked. I understand that ran is past and run is perfect past tense. However, I am still somewhat confused on what is correct in this case:
This report section contains data for ...
2
votes
2answers
42 views
Is it correct to say "She is not always washing hands before eating" to express a present annoying habit?
We often use the present continuous tense with "always" to express present annoying habits,
"She is always losing her keys" (her present habit that annoys me)
"She is always ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
Is it correct to say " The teacher said that London is the capital of England "? [closed]
https://znanija.com/task/43770790
On the above address you can see that "The teacher said that London is the capital of England" is mentioned as a correct sentence. Is it grammatically true? ...
0
votes
0answers
15 views
Is it possible that the simple present tense and the past perfect tense are used in the same sentence?
Why does the author write the past perfect had discarded instead of the simple past discarded? Is it possible that the simple present tense and the past perfect tense are used in the same sentence?
...
0
votes
1answer
35 views
Do I use "I" and "I have" for skills I gained and still possess?
When discussing skills I gained from a past job but still possess, do I use "I" or "I have?"
In my work as a Communication Specialist, I/I have developed communication and ...
0
votes
1answer
22 views
Question about subjunctives in formal text
I am in the process of writing my dissertation (in maths/physics), and for some reason constructions like these come naturally to me:
We impose that the background be symmetric.
We also require that ...
0
votes
1answer
35 views
Using the proper tense
He mentioned that he ........ problems at home, but he didn't explain. However, reading between the lines, I guess his relationship with his wife is not as nice as it used to be.
a. has (while he ...
0
votes
1answer
30 views
"The book is still read after three hundred years." or "The book is still being read after three hundred years."
The book is still read after three hundred years.
Or
The book is still being read after three hundred years.
0
votes
0answers
14 views
Telic /atelic verb phrases
What is the best way to identify the verb phrase as telic/atelic apart from adding durational adverbials(such as in-adverbial and for-adverbial) and using such lexical verbs as stop/finish?
1
vote
0answers
22 views
Using imperative form as a Product Feature
I am preparing my RGB Keyboard Product's features. Is it okay to use imperative form? and Are the following sentences correct?
Change the colors from the app on the phone by connecting via Bluetooth.
...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
Past tense VS Past Perfect tense(relate to If-clause)
While I read an article, I came across the following expression that I can't still understand.
"If the wind picked up real bad to go in the bathroom and close the door, I had been so out of touch ...