Tagged Questions
0
votes
2answers
72 views
'I knew you are John's brother' vs 'I knew you were John's brother'
Suppose you are John's brother, and I talked with you several days ago. I knew that when I talked with you. Now I'm meeting with you again and want to tell you I knew then that you are John's ...
1
vote
3answers
117 views
Tense choice in “the strategy was exploited so frequently before, that it has long lost its originality”
I am not sure if the Past Simple and Present Perfect tenses in the second part of the sentence are used correctly:
Surely, we can experiment with various styles, combine genres and produce ...
4
votes
2answers
136 views
“Decided to do X the next time she went for a walk” vs. “…the next time she goes for a walk”
I came across this sentence in the book Grammar Essentials for Dummies which confused me.
The lion with a thorn in her paw decided to wear sneakers the next time she went for a walk in the jungle.
...
2
votes
1answer
757 views
Questions in indirect speech and verb tense change
Today I had another English lesson and all students were instructed by teacher to ask each other few predefined questions and then to report them. I got the following questions:
"What kind of ...
0
votes
2answers
184 views
“Had been engaged when they married” vs. “were married” vs. “had married”
Which of the sentences below are grammatically correct?
The couple had been engaged for five years when they married.
The couple had been engaged for five years when they were married.
The ...
2
votes
3answers
73 views
“U.S. stocks were modestly higher at the opening bell Wednesday” vs. “… are higher …”
Here's a news heading from CNN:
U.S. stocks were modestly higher at the opening bell Wednesday as political wrangling over the fiscal cliff continues to dominate the market.
The author used ...
2
votes
2answers
209 views
“He was telling me that he is going…” vs. “He told me that he is going…”
Is it right to say
He was telling me that he will go on a vacation next week.
while recounting your experience?
Even though "he told me that he is going..." seems more appropriate, I would still ...
3
votes
3answers
450 views
Why don’t people ever say “I have wanted to ask”?
Why do people never say the following:
I have wanted to ask. . . .
Maybe it would be better to ask whether it’s correct to say:
I have wanted to ask. . . .
But really I think I’ve never ...
1
vote
3answers
296 views
Correct use of tense
Can you please confirm which of the following three is correct?
I shared some ideas with Jon, which he agrees is a good solution for the problem we are facing.
I shared some ideas with Jon, ...
2
votes
5answers
411 views
“I knew him for…” or “I had known him for…”?
I'm writing a short story, and I'm unsure about the right tense to use. The first two sentences are:
I knew Mr. Brown for exactly 15 minutes. He had met me at the
entrance and was now ...
1
vote
1answer
56 views
Does “ran to” have a specific ending point in time?
Consider the following sentence:
Sam ran to the university pool.
Does the running action have an ending point in the past?
-1
votes
1answer
342 views
“was” vs. “had been” [closed]
At the end of "Fear is the Key," Alistair MacLean wrote
And so it had been with my red rose, before it had turned to white.
When I tried to recall that line, though, what I got was
And so it ...
5
votes
1answer
180 views
Tense used with statistics
I would like to place a statistics in front of the sentence, followed by the agency that has reported it. The findings and reports were done many years ago. Which of the two is correct and why?
...
1
vote
1answer
233 views
“I was wondering what time it is” or “I was wondering what the time has been”
Can you tell me which option is more natural in this English sentence?
I'm sorry to trouble you but I was wondering what
(A) time it is
(B) the time has been
The whole story is that ...
3
votes
3answers
4k views
“Lept” vs. “leapt” vs. “leaped”
After reading this discussion, I'd like to know what example sentences distinguish the meaning of the words lept, leapt, and leaped from each other?
2
votes
4answers
478 views
Past simple vs present perfect in this example
Could you explain to me please what is the difference between these. It is meant to express that I will let him know AFTER I picked/have picked a car.
I'll let you know which one I picked
...
3
votes
4answers
5k views
“I have received” vs. “I received”
The option of using simple past vs. present perfect in situations like the following has been bothering me for quite some time.
I sent you a letter a few days ago; I was wondering if you have ...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
Which is correct: “has died” or “died”?
To me, using Present Perfect form means the event can occur again. So, saying
someone has died
may not be grammatically correct.
Also, I noticed (it might be just co-incidence):
passed ...
1
vote
3answers
233 views
Present Perfect in reviews
When explaining an experiment from a paper which one of the following seems more suitable and natural.
In this paper they study the genetic structure of human body. They have examined over 100 ...
2
votes
3answers
5k views
“I had a dinner” vs. “I was having a dinner”
A friend of mine showed a video on her Facebook wall post. She posted this:
I had a dinner with Chinese friends, I was happy at that moment!!
Should it be "I was having a dinner" instead of "I ...
