65
votes
Accepted
Great Expectations [is written vs has been written] by Charles Dickens
Actually, depending on context, all three answers are potentially valid. So this is another of those "Guess which answer the teacher is thinking is correct" questions rather than a "Guess the answer ...
- 88.4k
64
votes
Great Expectations [is written vs has been written] by Charles Dickens
The one answer you've discarded is the correct answer.
The book was written many years ago - in 1861, to be precise. Perhaps the question expects you to know this information but it's definitely a ...
- 25.4k
47
votes
Accepted
Using present simple when talking about a past event in spoken English
It is a kind of historic present, and one which is fairly common in conversation when referring to what another person has said.
I was talking to my dad, and he says that you are looking for a ...
- 228k
38
votes
Difference between continuous and simple
Watch out. The answer is going to be far more complicated than you ever expected, but once you understand it, you will understand something very important about English grammar.
This year
Both ...
- 27.7k
38
votes
"We don't install..." or "We didn't install..."?
I wouldn't even use the verb "install":
We don't have Wi-Fi in our home.
- 1,127
33
votes
Accepted
"We don't install..." or "We didn't install..."?
I (British English speaker) would always use the "present perfect": We haven't installed.
I believe many AmE speakers could say We didn't install (but I'm not an expert).
If you want to ...
- 76.6k
31
votes
Accepted
Is it incorrect to say I'm 20 years old next month?
You certainly can use the present tense (I am, he is, we are, etc) about a scheduled event, and many people do so when discussing a forthcoming birthday. I am sixty tomorrow, I am fifty in March, I am ...
- 74.3k
20
votes
Accepted
"Where you going" is right?
In colloquial US English the unstressed are in wh- questions is usually at least elided to 're (syllabic /ɹ/) and often dropped completely. Did is similarly reduced to 'd, which assimilates with the ...
- 175k
20
votes
Accepted
Is the present continuous idiomatic in "I'm liking to take it easy on the weekend"?
If you just started relaxing on your weekends and are enjoying it, you might say, "I'm liking taking it easy on the weekends". The only context in which you'd use this form is one where you'...
- 5,473
19
votes
Is it correct to use "since" with the verb hate or like?
I hate math since I was in primary school!
means that being in primary school caused you to hate math. It is the same as saying, "I hate math because I was in primary school."
To say that ...
- 1,250
18
votes
Great Expectations [is written vs has been written] by Charles Dickens
Choice A - "is written" - implies that this is continuing or recurrent activity. "Examinations are written in room 408", e.g. - this happens periodically. Some people might use this in the example ...
- 1,946
18
votes
Is it incorrect to say I'm 20 years old next month?
Want to add to the accepted answer: using the present tense to speak about future events is common, but to my intuitive understanding as a native US speaker is incorrect... except that it's understood ...
- 360
18
votes
Why do native speakers sometimes use present continuous when it seems like it should be present simple?
The only one that sounds unidiomatic to me is "you're just having the right plan". That sounds more like how a speaker of Indian English would use the present continuous.
But we would say &...
- 3,596
17
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between "I am going home" and "I go home"?
Good question!
While they seem like they ought to mean similar things, the present continuous and present simple tend to be used in different situations.
The present continuous is used for the ...
- 11k
17
votes
Accepted
When I tell a story in the past, shouldn't I use past tense when the verbs are describing states?
Your version is correct. Whatever site you used to "correct" the sentence is incorrect... changing the tense in this way creates a tense mismatch, and is simply wrong in English.
...
- 7,193
16
votes
Accepted
What is the difference in meaning between "I think" and "I am thinking" in the sense of having an opinion?
Verbs of inner state, unlike most verbs, do not normally take the progressive in English.
So I think (I feel, I believe) are the ordinary unmarked forms.
When they are used with the progressive, ...
- 76.6k
16
votes
Accepted
"You can sleep while I drive" vs. "you can sleep while I am driving"
It'll take us four hours to get to the coast, so you can sleep while I drive.
Here, while can (but does not necessarily have to) mean whereas.
If said alone without more context, I would interpret ...
- 662
16
votes
Accepted
What grammar should I use to talk about an action I've been doing for a long time and will definitely keep doing?
Present continuous always carries the feeling of being temporary, and usually for a short time only.
Present continuous is also commonly used with a few verbs that may take a very long time, like &...
- 51k
15
votes
"You can sleep while I drive" vs. "you can sleep while I am driving"
As has been pointed out, in some contexts, while can mean whereas / on the other hand / contrariwise. But no native speaker would interpret OP's cited example like that without a couple more words to ...
- 73.9k
14
votes
Great Expectations [is written vs has been written] by Charles Dickens
The present perfect in English (and in some other languages) is strange for a number of reasons. One of these is very famous. It is called the lifetime effect. All this means is that we don't normally ...
14
votes
Accepted
Is 'I forget how to do something' correct?
I would say #1 or #2 is fine:
I forget how to do algebra: Puts the act of forgetting in the present. Maybe you do generally know it, but you can't remember right now, so you can't help.
I've ...
- 1,041
14
votes
Accepted
Combining present with past
"Now" can mean "then". Chambers confirms this ... "now: 5. (in narrative) then".
This is partly being used as a literary device to draw the reader into that moment. I ...
- 2,292
13
votes
Is it correct to use "since" with the verb hate or like?
A native speaker isn't likely to say either of those - you'd expect to see either
I've hated math since primary school!
or
I've hated math ever since I was in primary school!
or even
I've hated ...
- 230
13
votes
Accepted
Why do native speakers sometimes use present continuous when it seems like it should be present simple?
As the Original Poster expected some of these are indeed mistakes. For example:
It's really important to make sure that you're just having the right plan.
We don't use the present continuous with ...
12
votes
Accepted
Why did the writer use present simple instead of continuous
It helps to give the context surrounding the quote and a link to the text. After some googling, I found this script for The Importance of Being Earnest:
JACK.
Do you mean to say you have had my ...
- 6,222
12
votes
Is the present continuous idiomatic in "I'm liking to take it easy on the weekend"?
From what you describe, I think most of the answers are not really conveying what you seek.
I'd suggest instead:
"I've been enjoying taking it easy on the weekend."
which (at least around ...
- 544
11
votes
Why is the present simple tense used for an event that is in the future?
Using the present tense for future events indicates certainty, consistency, and familiarity. In other words, use this to talk about events which will happen, which happen on a regular basis (or are ...
- 88.4k
11
votes
Hate or hated? Can they be used interchangeably?
The past-tense form conveys, "My experience of watching this episode was a very negative experience." The present-tense form conveys, "My feelings (today) towards this episode are very ...
- 174
11
votes
Accepted
Use of simple present and present continuous in subtitles for background sound
The effect is basically to distinguish a point in time from a span of time.
A siren wails (once); an engine is revving (for some time).
However, in practice, the real situations referred to can easily ...
- 13.2k
11
votes
Combining present with past
The author is using now to mean something like “at the point in the story where you, dear reader, at this current moment find yourself.”
The usage is a bit unusual, but not tremendously so.
- 9,821
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