Questions tagged [tense]
Tense is location in time by grammatical forms and constructions rather than by semantics.
2,198
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Why do we use “used to” to form a past tense?
To propose a deed happening in the past, we can exercise the past form of the verb of that action or state. I know one of the usages of "used to" is for the construction of a past sentence.
How is ...
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1answer
14 views
What are the grammar rules when making questions using auxiliary verbs combining all the three tenses or either of them in a single sentence?
Should I repeat the main verb after every auxiliary verb or can I simply skip it after the first or second auxiliary verb and use it after the last auxiliary verb in a sentence? For example, can I say ...
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23 views
I have or just I without the “have”
I came to the conclusion that I use "I have" too much and I think I'm making a lot of grammar mistakes when doing so.
For example, I write " I have sold " a lot. and " I have told " etc.
Is it right ...
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1answer
18 views
Is it grammatically correct to use present tense to refer to something happened in the past?
From a tutorial
"February 9th, 1964. Beatlemania hits primetime in the United States."
From a post
At 8 o’clock on February 9th 1964, 73 million people gathered in front their TV sets to see ...
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0answers
30 views
Can the present perfect continuous say anything about the future?
The present perfect continuous is a tense that relates a past action to the present, but does it say anything about the future?
I have read that the present perfect continuous often suggests that ...
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Past Tense or Not? [closed]
You may be gone, but my love never died
You may be gone, but my love never dies
Which one of these makes sense?
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1answer
27 views
The event happened in the past. My interest is still there. “is” vs. “was”
When I talked with a native speaker, I said
SpaceX Demo-2 was scheduled for launch to the International Space Station on 27 May 2020. NASA live streamed at launch. I off work early to specifically ...
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20 views
Which Is correct? Time Question? [closed]
Time was cruel it took everyone and left me on my own
Time is cruel it took everyone and left me on my own
Are both of these incorrect?
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31 views
Sentence choice
He is one of the greatest men who have ever lived.
He was one of the greatest men who ever lived.
Sentence 2 looks wrong to me because we cannot use ever with past tense in this case as people are ...
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1answer
17 views
Has been/was— which tense to use here?
As it turns out your assuptions were true, as has been evidenced by her conviction for murder last week.
Here using has been is wrong and we should be using was, right? Since when we mention a time ...
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9 views
would have done
In the following dialogue, why did Tom use the tense "would have made"? Can we say "would make" or other tense instead?
Ann: So what time should we pick you up on Friday? Can you be ready by noon ...
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2answers
68 views
If I am a future teller and made a prediction yesterday about something two days in the future, how do we use tenses here?
I happened to imagine this particular situation, which is quite unreal.
But I am curious how we use verb tenses to describe the situation.
Let's say I am future teller. I can tell the future.
One ...
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1answer
34 views
Does sequence of verb tenses also apply to phrasal verbs and multi-word verbs?
Does sequence of verb tenses also apply to phrasal verbs and multi-word verbs?
Down below, we can see a phrasal verb in bold in each sentence.
According to sequence of verb tenses, the subordinate ...
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1answer
25 views
Could we form commands with “we, he, she, it, they & you don't”: “we/they do it”, “he/she open the door”, “You don't do it”?
According to Cambridge grammar
We use imperative clauses when we want to tell someone to do something
(most commonly for advice, suggestions, requests, commands, orders or
instructions).
...
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1answer
24 views
Have you told him?/Did you tell him?
A: I already know what's going to happen.
B: You do? (to C) Have you told him?/Did you tell him?
C: No, I haven't said a word.
Are "have you told him?" and "Did you tell him?" equally natural here?
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2answers
81 views
Do we use past tense in a subordinating sentence when talking about a thing that a non-specific person might have done in the past?
When we use when or if or any other subordinating conjunctions (unless, because, and once, etc) to talk about a thing a non-specific person might have done in the past, do we use past tense?
Example ...
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1answer
21 views
Should I use past perfect in this sentence?
Should I use past perfect in this sentence? I've come up with three options:
I forgot to add them on Sunday, so I added them today.
I've forgotten to add them on Sunday, so I added them today.
I ...
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15 views
What is the difference between She has won vs she won [duplicate]
I would like to know what is the difference between these two examples?
She has won some money.
She won some money.
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1answer
30 views
WILL or Present Continuous
In Solutions Advanced (2nd edition), there is a tricky sentence in the Grammar Builder and Reference part of the chapter 1B:
My sister often gets annoyed with her husband, he ___ .
Option A: is ...
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2answers
84 views
“Marissa did not realize that she _______ at work until she _____ home.”
Marissa did not realize that she _______ at work until she _____ home.
a) forgot the keys / was getting
b) had forgotten the keys / got
c) has forgotten the keys / gets
d) forgot the keys / got
...
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1answer
22 views
“before I got there” or “before I get there”
Excerpt from Tim Powers' 'The Anubis Gates':
"How could I know, before I got there, whether or not the world in 2116 is a radioactive cinder?"
Context: Guy1 asked Guy2 why didn't he go to 2116 ...
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1answer
15 views
The past in the future reported speech
When I'm telling about the future but refering to the past which is not the past yet, which tense should I use? Please, tell me, what you, as a native speaker would use, and what do other people use. ...
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1answer
27 views
Difference between Have to and had to
I just watched episode one of Rick and Morty. Rick said “ I had to make a bomb” why would he used had to instead of have to when he has not yet make a bomb?
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1answer
17 views
did + present-continuous form
A conversation between me and my friend:
Friend: I was sleeping when you called. And I do that everyday till 13:00.
Me: ok
~3 days later he replies to me at 10:00 already~
Now my question: Is it ...
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1answer
30 views
Can cause and effect be used in the same tense? [closed]
Are these tenses used correctly in these sentences?
The prospects of self-isolation and the implementation of quarantine have brought about the need to accumulate food supplies, which has resulted ...
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0answers
15 views
past perfect tense vs past tense usage
I am sorry that you left your book in the library when you came here last time.
I am sorry that you had left your book in the library when you came here last time.
My grammar book is saying that ...
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1answer
22 views
What is the difference between is losing and has been losing? [closed]
I would like to know the difference between these to sentences.
My company is losing money this year.
My company has been losing money this year.
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0answers
40 views
Past perfect (earlier past)
The basic meaning of the past perfect is "earlier past". We use past perfect to talk about something that happened before another action in the past, which is usually expressed by the past simple :
...
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1answer
19 views
would be a good time if
a. Now would be a good time to play the guitar if my hand wasn't broken yesterday.
b. Now would have been a good time to play the guitar if my hand wasn't broken yesterday.
c. Now would have been a ...
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2answers
49 views
Rewrite the sentence, using the noun form of its verb: [duplicate]
"Oscar Wilde wrote the novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray."
(Rewrite this sentence, using the noun from of the verb "wrote".)
[1] Oscar Wilde was the writer of the novel, "The Picture of Dorian ...
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0answers
19 views
Can “FOR + period of time” be used in all tenses?
Can "FOR + period of time" be used in all tenses?
(1) Anna and Peter talk for two hours daily.
(2) Anna and Peter have talked for two hours.
(3) Anna and Peter have been talking for two hours.
(4)...
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1answer
23 views
What is the difference between “I thought John would go to your place” and “ I thought John would've gone to your place”?
What is the difference between
I thought John would go to your place.
and
I thought John would've gone to your place.
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0answers
44 views
Past Simple vs Past Continuous - interrupted past. IS IT THOUGH?
I was always confused by the fact that they call it "interrupted". Let's look at the sentence "The sun was shining when I went out". Nothing is interrupted, is it? Or, say, in this sentence: "When I ...
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28 views
Why did the author use present tense in this sentence, when it seems like it should be past tense?
I am learning English through self-study, and nowadays I am trying to improve my English grammar. Sometimes I can't find out why the writers use specific tense instead the other. As you know, books ...
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2answers
81 views
What's the difference between “lived”, “have lived”, “used to live”, and “would live”?
What's the differences between the below sentences and which of them is correct or more correct?
It seems that all of them have the same meaning. If it's true, then which of them is more common in ...
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1answer
17 views
What is the difference between these two sentences in Past perfect continuous and past continuous?
I have learned English tenses but I get confused sometimes when I use them. And now I would like to know the difference between these two sentences.
I was playing football when Ali came to join me.
....
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4answers
306 views
Is this Past perfect sentence correct?
I have learned past perfect recently, and I am trying to test myself with it.
I was having a shower at 7pm yesterday, because I had worked very hard, and I got very dirty.
Is this past perfect ...
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0answers
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Function of Past Perfect in this excerpt
The following text is an excerpt from Roald Dahl's "The Minpins". I highlighted bold all occurrences of Past Perfect in it.
I find it confusing to find "the next moment" directly in front of a Past ...
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1answer
66 views
Sequence of tenses and conditionals
This question is about my understanding of the nuances about sequence of tenses and conditionals. I provide some examples and my interpretations down below.
If my interpretations are incorrect or ...
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0answers
25 views
“Forced” or “Was forced”
I am wondering which option is the correct one in my made-up scenario below and why?
Tom: I really didn't want to take part in this ceremony; I just came because my wife asked me! Everybody knows ...
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1answer
107 views
“I would say I didn't/don't want to join his team if I were you.” - didn't or don't?
The bounty description should have been:
Since the question has not been answered officially, I think it would be nice to have an answer for it.
Enter the question of mine:
I am wondering what ...
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0answers
17 views
Past + Present Sentence [duplicate]
Once I read a rule on the internet that if the second part of a sentence is a universal truth then don't change it to past.
For example: My teacher told me that the sun rises from the east.
But I'...
2
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1answer
52 views
“I have lived…” talking about the past
My student said "My sister has lived in China", and of course I thought she still lived there, but then he said "now she lives in England", I said, "but you said she has lived in China, which means ...
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2answers
271 views
Is the following present perfect tense correct?
I have been to Madrid in 1990.
Is the above present perfect tense correct?
Why or why not?
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3answers
68 views
Is it ok to write I go to USA for three days?
I am wondering if it is grammatically right to say "I go to USA for three days or I went to USA for three days"
"go" or "went" is not a continuous word and should not be followed by a duration "for ".
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1answer
18 views
How to use' Future Continuous Tense ' for parallel actions in future?
For example
I am going to be cooking food and he is going to be washing dishes in the next month party.
OR
I am going to be cooking food while he washes dishes in the next month party.
Are both the ...
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1answer
31 views
“This happened” or “This happens”?
Here is my sentence
She wanted to show us something, then this happened/happens.
I used grammar checker but it doesn't tell me which one should I use. Which one is correct?
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1answer
26 views
Can “could have had to” be possible to use in the past?
We use “have/has to” in the habitual Present-Tense that the subject doesn’t want to do an action willingly.
For instance:
I have to go to the market.
She has to get up in the morning.
So ...
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1answer
24 views
What's the rule of using “After” as conjunction in different tenses?
I am having confusion in this gramatical part.
Which Sentence is correct here?
1/I shall inform you after I have had the news
2/I shall inform you after I have the news
What's the gramatical rule ...
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2answers
24 views
Difference between these sentences?
When she left, she realized that she ate his snack
When she left, she realized that she was eating his snack
I am writing about a situation where she already ate his snack before she realized what ...
