5
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Sequence of tenses (the present perfect and the past simple
Yes, (2) is correct (if the review hasn't been finished yet).
(1) doesn't make sense because the past simple doesn't go with now. If the report has already been written you would have to say After a ...
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3
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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?
If the 'bothering' happened last week, presumably you mean that the visit was last Friday, so would is appropriate. (It was in the future then but is now in the past.)
We would only use will if the ...
- 49.4k
2
votes
Confused about tenses in conditionals
The idea of "zeroth, first, second, third" conditionals is a simplification made for children learning English as a second language. These are not used in lessons for native-speaking ...
- 202k
2
votes
Accepted
Does "all morning" mean that the morning is over?
The most natural option (in my opinion) is "It's been there all morning". If the couple are going out for the day, it is presumably still morning. (If it is now afternoon, the cashier would ...
- 49.4k
2
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Is "I heard old war drums beat." from the Eric Bogle's song "Welcome Home" grammatical?
The way some verbs can be used both as transitive and and (the former, in your example of beating drums) has been discussed in this case:
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/95805/this-wine-is-...
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2
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Accepted
I realized half an hour ago that it ____ time to go to my home country
Both options are possible, by the usual backshifting rules.
The past tense "it was time" is the backshifted form.
The present tense "it is time" is valid, if it continues to be &...
- 202k
2
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"Most people had come to accept that war <was> <would be> inevitable."
The past perfect refers to a time before whenever the simple past time is. That sentence would only occur in a context where that simple past time is already clear -- let's say, August 1939.
With this ...
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2
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Accepted
What Is the Scope of the Past Perfect?
You have misunderstood the use of the past perfect.
Firstly it is rare. As it is the last major tense form to be learned, some advanced learners overuse it.
The past perfect is used to mark an action ...
- 202k
2
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Accepted
The day after/before - the choice of tenses
There is quite a lot of fairly confusing tense and generally "time" in that quote. It might make more sense in context but taken out of context it seems muddled.
There is "now" (...
- 202k
1
vote
Accepted
Betty took two lumps, then saying, 'Well,Happy Birthday again'
In the sentence:
Betty took two lumps, then saying, 'Well, Happy Birthday again.'
We know from context (the word "took") that this is happening in the past. So, using the phrase "then ...
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1
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Should we check the 'tense agreement'? If so, what' the difference in the meaning?
Yes, both of your sentences are correct. In fact, your second sentence is arguably better than the textbook answer.
In this exercise, we are rewriting active sentences in the passive voice, removing ...
- 48.8k
1
vote
What to use "Have or Did"
English has several verb forms that can be used to talk about the past. The two that you mention is the perfect aspect "Have you met" and the past tense (or preterite tense) "Did you ...
- 202k
1
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What to use "Have or Did"
Colloquially, they're almost equivalent. The difference being that the continual tense would be more likely to be used while in the act of actually introducing someone.
"Joe, have you met the ...
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1
vote
Accepted
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?
OP's suggested sentence is not syntactically valid. The second verb can't be Present Perfect.
If you want to use a Perfect form, it must be Past Perfect...
My comment was written...
...before I had ...
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1
vote
Accepted
Sequence of verbs: present perfect after past simple
You're right that the sentence "You didn't answer the doorbell when I rang, so you must have gone to work early." is an exception to the typical past simple -> past perfect sequence.
...
- 36
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I thought he would have been
Each of example sentences a, b, c, and d is grammatically valid. Each is reasonably understandable by a fluent speaker. However the construction "* I thought he would have* used in a thru c is in ...
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