Questions tagged [tense]
This tag is for questions about tense, or location in time by grammatical forms and constructions rather than by semantics.
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Why is the phrase "COVID-19 pandemic" not followed by its verb to be?
With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging and with little
indication of it going away soon, countries all over the world are
striving to put in place policies and measures to ensure people’s
safety from ...
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Is the future continuous correct here? "I'll be studying there for a year"
Is the following sentence correct? Why it's not in the future simple form.
I'm going to London. I'll be studying there for a year.
Can anyone explain its grammar?
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Present perfect mixed with simple past tense in the same sentence
“Alongside my job, I have also found a longing to help others and became a volunteer at the homeless shelter.”
Is this sentence grammatically correct? While it sounds okay, I’m concerned about the ...
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had been living/was living/lived
He quit his job in 2000, he lived there from 2000 till 2002. Now it's 2022.
1 He had been living there for two years since he quit his job.
2 He had been living there for two years since he had quit ...
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Should it be "didn't" or "don't" in the blank in the passage? [closed]
It's from an English exam for Chinese students. And here's the passage. I wondered what word should be filled in the blank: "didn't" or "don't"?
When people meet each other for ...
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I got two questions both are on tenses [closed]
1: there ________ four excellent restaurants in the center of the town
A: is
B: are
C: was
D: being
2: the difference between "have fallen", "fallen", "would fallen" ...
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Simple past / present perfect / present simple for a general statement
I would like to make a general statement as an advice or a general truth. Which tense should I use in these sentences?
The term “No problem“ used after someone (says)/(has said)/(said) thank you.
If ...
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The last time we [have seen] [saw] [had seen] it, it was a gate
The last time we've seen it, it was a gate.
The last time we saw it, it was a gate.
The last time we'd seen it, it was a gate.
I'm not certain about the aforementioned sentences, namely, which is/are ...
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"would have thought" and "would think"
In Longman dictionary, it says that:
"you would have thought (that) "(also you would think (that)) used to say that you expect something to be true, although it is not
Here are my examples,...
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what is the tense of "will been given"?
What is the tense of "will been given" in the following sentence:
This summer, Professor John Lienhard will been given the Donald Q. Kern Award by the American Institute of Chemical ...
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"Hopefully you find this post interesting"
I am writing a blog post and at the end of the post, I wanted to say this:
Hopefully, you find this post interesting
But I don't know here what the correct tense is. Since the sentence is at the end ...
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I'll always think of you / I'll always be thinking of you
What's the difference between "I'll always think of you" and "I'll always be thinking of you"?
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Which tense is more apposite here?
It is now clear that no such creatures as vampires have been seen and none ___ in the world.
A. was found
B. have been found
I chose B, but the answer is A. I don't see the necessity to use the past ...
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How many tenses are there in English? [closed]
I've been searching about this a bit.
Some say there are 12:
There are three main tenses: past, present, and future. In English,
each of these tenses can take four main aspects: simple, perfect,
...
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What he did is... - can this simply tell us "somebody did something"?
In my view, when we talk about someone doing something in the past, we often use "what he did was...", "what he ate was...", etc.
I think most of the time it should be used with ...
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Perfect or perfect continuous?
Perfect simple and perfect continuous are sometimes confusing for learners. I know we can use "I've worked for twenty years" in place of "I've been working for twenty years". Both ...
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Have heard that + past perfect or simple past?
If I want to say “I heard that many people died in this place in the past” with the “have heard” tense, which one of those two below is the correct one?
I have heard that many people died in this ...
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He said he will attend the party held this weekend. (mixing of tenses)
He said he will attend the party held this weekend.
In the example sentence, the main verb said is in its past form and the verb 'will' in the subordinate clause is in its present form 'will' which ...
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Should I use present or past tense?
Should I use ‘was’ or ‘is’ in the following paragraph?
“My sister saw a blue dress at the mall yesterday. She loved it very much. But the dress was too expensive for her. It was one hundred dollars. ...
Anne
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Next month, I _______ John for 20 years
Q) Next month, I _______ John for 20 years
(A) know
(B) will have known
(C) am knowing
(D) will have been knowing
Question bank says (D) is correct. Surely, (B) is the correct one, right?
Edit:
I ...
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meaning of "has been on"
In the following example:
Scott has been on holiday. He had a terrible time.
I always thought that "Scott has been on holiday" would mean "He is still on it". But past simple, in ...
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By the time I get to Khulna this evening, I _____________ more than three hundred miles
This question came in the Dhaka university admission exam in 2013-14
Q) By the time I get to Khulna this evening, I _____________ more than three hundred miles.
(a) will driving
(b) will be driving
(c)...
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What is the difference in meanings caused by using different forms of of past tense here?
He had been there when the bell rang.
And
He was there when the bell
rang.
I think the latter is correct, but where I heard the sentence it was past perfect in which the sentence was said.
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What is the answer for "Mary ____ to the USA before last year"? [closed]
Mary...........to the USA before last year.
(has been, had been, hasn't been, hadn't been)
I know that the answer is "hadn't been" or "had been".
But what is the exact answer of ...
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2
answers
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The government __________ that the projects __________ with great success
This question came in the Dhaka University admission exam 2016-17
Q) The government __________ that the projects __________ with great
success
(a) is confirming, maintained
(b) confirms, have been ...
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"hope someone/something would..." - When to use it?
Typically, people use the present tense, the future tense ("will"), or the present continuous ("be doing") in the clause following the verb "hope" in the present tense. (...
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That is/was great. - which one should I use?
Question 1
A: I won the lottery last week.
B: That is/was great.
Which one should I use?
What are the differences?
Question 2
A: I climbed the highest mountain last month.
B: That sounds/sounded ...
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Using is vs was when talking about the past
The reason why I liked "The Office" is probably because of the writing.
The reason why I liked "The Office" was probably because of the writing.
I'm not sure which one is correct. ...
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I suggested that she [buy / bought] a car?
From p. 68 of English Grammar in Use 5th edition:
Jane won the lottery.
I suggested that she buy a car.
I suggested that she bought a car.
Do the two sentences mean the same?
If not, what's the ...
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Had rained or had been raining
I was wondering what the difference in meaning is between the two following sentences (if there is any).
It had been raining when I left the house.
It had rained when I left the house.
I'm pretty sure ...
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Present continuous vs. present perfect continuous usage in context
I would like to understand the distinction in meaning between the two sentences, and the context that perhaps may require (or better fit) the present continuous or the present perfect continuous.
1: ...
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Do I need to use future perfect tense for expectation?
Which one is the correct or I mean a more formal way to tell about an expectation?
"By the 15 May, we expect everyone to already complete their tasks" or
"By the 15 May, we expect ...
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Most of his early years was or were?
If we use "is" after "30 years" then what should i use after "most of his early years", "was" or "were"??
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2
answers
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"Is written" or "was written"?
In my native language, we tend to use the present form in some situations where English uses the preterite – for instance, we say "Jag är född i maj" ('I am born in May'), rather than "...
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Present perfect or past perfect in a (specific) sentence?
I start with the assumption that the following sentence is correct.
John told me that his father had been ill since Christmas.
My question is whether the above sentence can also accommodate the ...
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4
answers
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"was the first to" VS "is the first"
One Shenzhen Bay was the first urban complex to be built in Shenzhen.
One Shenzhen Bay is the first urban complex to be built in Shenzhen.
One Shenzhen Bay is the first urban complex to have been ...
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future perfect or future simple
Should we apply future perfect or future simple here?
"But I suspect in ten or twenty years' time their situation will change / will have changed".
My language teacher says it should be ...
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"Depp wants to clear his name and receive punitive damages."
This is from The Washington Post article.
The complaint says Heard wrote the op-ed with “actual malice” (the
legal standard that public figures have to prove in defamation cases),
claiming that Heard,...
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'when you travel to Boston'
a. Tell me when you travel to Boston.
b. Tell me when you are travelling to Boston.
c. Tell me when you are going to travel to Boston.
d. Tell me when you will travel to Boston.
I am assuming that the ...
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What rule is at work here?
I don't understand the use of "did" here. I am confused whether it should be did or does.
I wonder what my speech would be. And if Bill would help me with it if he didn’t go to New York and ...
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I work / I'm working / I've been working
Someone asks us what our job is.
What's the difference between these three answers?
I'm a secretary. I work in a dental office.
I'm a secretary. I'm working in a dental office.
I'm a secretary. I've ...
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Verb tense consistency when starting a sentence with 'although'
I'm confused about verb tenses when starting a sentence with 'although'. For example: Although it rained, I went camping.
That seems to be the general grammar rule from what I can find online. All the ...
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'is been created' vs 'have been created'
In answering a question from right from of verb, I filled the gap with the phrase 'was created', but in the answer sheet the correct answer was 'is been created / has been created'.
Now I am confused, ...
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How to use the past perfect continuous tense appropriately?
Which of the following is a correct sentence?
He was waiting for two hours after she had arrived.
or
He had been waiting for two hours after she had arrived.
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She has written novels vs. a novel
When someone says "She has written a novel", the salient interpretation is that the writing is complete: the whole situation is interpreted perfectively.
However, I think it is also possible ...
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Past tense. "when Tom went [was going, would go, used to go] to high school."?
I'm confused with how to mention past habits.
If Tom is a student now, you say "Tom goes to high school", right?
If Tom already graduated, are these three all OK?
A-1) Tom went to high ...
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How can I use "should have done" at some point in the past? [closed]
For example,
"I think I should have done my homework by yesterday."
I feel like this sentence will become:
"I thought yesterday that I should have done my homework by the day before ...
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Is it possible to say "I will tell you before it will be sold out"? [duplicate]
"I will let you know before it sells out" is correct English but can we say "before it will be sold out". I don't think so because when we say this sentence we are not waiting for ...
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Using Adverbs of Frequency in Present Continuous Tense
Usually, when talking about adverbs of frequency, we put them under the topic of "Simple Present Tense". Because in this tense we consider habits and routines and adverbs of frequency are ...
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Left or had left? Older brother Tai Shan left/ had left the zoo for China in 2010
Her mother, Mei Xiang, gave birth to her first cub, Tai Shan, in 2005, but failed to get pregnant for years. Then, a cub born in 2012 didn’t survive. Mei Xiang has since had a third surviving cub, Bei ...
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