A tense is a set of forms taken by a verb or a verb phrase to indicate the time of the action in relation to the time of the utterance.
3
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2answers
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Tense of “lie”/“lay” in a clause
I've been using "lay" but many people have looked at my sentence dubiously.
However, while in secondary school, I abandoned my higher scientific aspirations because I became more focused on a ...
6
votes
5answers
1k views
“If I knew you're coming I wouldn't have come”
Is the statement
If I knew you're coming I wouldn't have come
correct? Should we use
If I had known you're coming, I wouldn't have come
instead? Please consider American-British ...
7
votes
5answers
514 views
What's the tense for repetitive past action?
In English, "would" usually denotes a conditional voice. "If I were sleepy, I would go to bed."
But I've caught myself using it to denote repetitive or habitual past action. "On Thursdays, we would ...
1
vote
2answers
761 views
“If I was”/“If I were”: what's the right usage and why? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“If I was” or “If I were”. Which is more common, and which is correct?
From what I have read so far both are correct and was is used in an ...
3
votes
2answers
843 views
Use of “promise”, “guarantee”, “swear” and “assure” for future and past
Can verbs such as promise, guarantee, swear and assure be used to mean convince others that something will (not) happen in the future or did (not) happen in the past? In other words, are they used for ...
4
votes
2answers
784 views
Should computer game screens show “you lose” or “you lost”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why “I win” instead of “I won”?
My friend and I are designing the "game over" screen for a game we are developing, and I'm thinking of putting ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Using “are” or “were” for warnings
Which of the following sentences is correct?
If you are caught stealing you will be fined.
If you were caught stealing you will be fined.
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vote
3answers
1k views
Must the word after “can” be present tense?
http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD04xx/EWD498.html:
We can found no scientific discipline, nor a hearty profession on the
technical mistakes of the Department of Defense and, ...
4
votes
3answers
2k views
“Manifest” vs. “manifested”
Which of the following is correct?
This idea is manifest in two influential theories.
This idea is manifested in two influential theories.
What I want to say is that there is a common idea ...
5
votes
6answers
416 views
“I had John return the video”: why do we use “return” instead of “returns” or “returned”?
I had John return the video for me.
In this sentence, why do we use return and not returns or returned?
2
votes
1answer
20k views
where should we use has/have been and had been?
Where should we use "has/have been" and "had been"? What is the difference between
them?
-2
votes
1answer
434 views
“I'm loving” versus “I love” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“I'm lovin' it”
I love the car.
I'm loving the car.
It seems both of them are correct in strictly grammatical way, but the second one sounds a ...
3
votes
2answers
122 views
(was + was) vs (was + is)
I was wondering what's the difference between these two sentences:
The person who was at the head of the demonstration is Ms. Tan.
The person who was at the head of the demonstration was Ms. ...
2
votes
2answers
431 views
Using verb tenses correctly
I'm trying to keep this descriptive essay in the past tense. I bolded the words of my concern (and italicized the ones I believe are in the right tense) in the following passage:
As a result of ...
1
vote
1answer
127 views
how can I phrase the future possible applications of a technology?
I'm writing an overview for a paper, and want to let the reader know part of the outline:
...in the last paragraph I want to mention the possible future applications one can reach/accomplish with ...
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vote
3answers
977 views
How would you use “can” in a future sentence?
If you purchase this then you will be able to do that.
How can I write the above statement using "can"?
2
votes
1answer
187 views
Is it okay to use Past Simple with Past Progressive for two consecutive actions?
Is it okay to use Past Simple with Past Progressive for two consecutive actions?
For example,
"She added some water to the flour and was mixing it until she got a lump of dough"
or should it be
...
4
votes
2answers
12k views
“Has been” vs. “was”
Should one use has been or was in the following sentence, and why?
For many years the USA has been a British colony.
For many years the USA was a British colony.
2
votes
4answers
225 views
Explanations on the tense of the expression, “XX said that…”
Here's the example that triggered me to ask this question
Sony Corp. said Thursday it wants to become the biggest player in Japan's growing Android tablet market by changing the way the devices ...
1
vote
2answers
274 views
Backshifting in the that-clause of 'make sure'
Do you normally backshift a verb in the that-clause of 'make sure' when the 'make' is 'made,' 'could make,' 'would make,' etc.?
Please take a look at the examples below. Are my thoughts on the right ...
0
votes
2answers
1k views
When should I use “is”, and when “does”? [closed]
I know this is really basic, and I know the answer internally, I just find that I can't articulate it. When would you use "is", and when is "does" more appropriate?
E.g. "The sun is green", vs "The ...
0
votes
1answer
309 views
Does the phrase “will ever be” include the past?
A colleague of mine told me that "Right now you are the oldest you have ever been and the youngest you will ever be." I don't believe this is the case.
In my mind, the idea that he is trying to ...
3
votes
1answer
511 views
“What it did was” versus “what it did is” versus “what it does is”
I feel a bit uncertain about the use of tense in the above sentence structure.
Which one is grammatically correct and sounds most natural between "what it did was," "what it did is," and "what it ...
2
votes
4answers
867 views
Explain the verb tense in “I wish I never woke up this morning”
This is from a song by Police, Darkness:
"I can dream up schemes when I'm sitting in my seat
I don't see any flaws 'til I get to my feet
I wish I never woke up this morning
Life was easy ...
0
votes
1answer
550 views
“Have this been” or “Had this been” provided
Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?
Had this been a solution that can be provided in Java 5 and above, the overloaded replace(charSequence, charSequence) may be used.
...
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 ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
I will or I would have left by this time tomorrow? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Will have” vs. “Would have”
I read somewhere that it is "I will". Which rule is this? Where can I find these rules for tenses?
4
votes
3answers
294 views
Is “lay” in this sentence in the correct tense?
I'm making a description for an app, this strikes me as a bit awkward for some reason:
"I wanted to create an app that lay somewhere between an ecosystem and a musical instrument."
Is the word ...
1
vote
2answers
812 views
Past tense vs Past participle tense [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Present perfect tense versus past tense
Here is the example:
I haven't spoken any English for more than 3 years.
vs.
I didn't speak any English over the past 3 ...
0
votes
2answers
3k views
Past tense of RSVP [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Past participle of a verb created from an acronym
Since RSVP has morphed into a verb, I was wondering the correct way of using its past tense.
"Only 1 person RSVP'd to ...
1
vote
2answers
223 views
First-person narrative of a story occurring at the moment
When narrating a story from the first-person perspective in the present tense, would the following be correct?
I wake up at 7 am and see no sunlight entering my room. Thinking I'm up too early, I ...
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votes
9answers
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Referring to past times with “hence”
From Tor.com, an interesting use of the word hence:
Minutes ago, J.K. Rowling finally announced her plans behind Pottermore, the mysterious website that appeared a week hence with only a “Coming ...
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4answers
686 views
“Were gone” vs. “had gone” [closed]
Whats the difference between:
She were gone to party.
She had gone to party.
Are they both ok?
2
votes
1answer
139 views
this is the first year + clause
In a sentence such as
This is the first year I’ve lived in a house with a yard.
Is it all right to have a clause other than present perfect? That is, can you say, for instance, sentences like ...
4
votes
2answers
197 views
“If the bowl had been stronger, my song had been longer.”
In the original version of the nursery rhyme, The Wise Men of Gotham, the word 'had' is used in the main clause of a sentence where it seems modern English would commonly use 'would have'. The full ...
2
votes
4answers
1k views
A conditional sentence with present perfect
Is it correct to say:
If you have finished it by then, I'll come and take it.
thus using the present perfect in the "if" clause to mean the future instead of the present?
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vote
2answers
281 views
Perfect Continuous tense with the verb “be”
"I have been working on a project recently" is clearly a perfectly grammatical sentence using the Perfect Continuous tense.
It is not clear whether "I have been being sick recently" is grammatically ...
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vote
5answers
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Can I use “I have asked something”
I wonder whether “ask” can be used as verb in past or present perfect tense. I used “I have asked something from somebody” in email, but this sentence sounds a little weird to me. So I want to check ...
3
votes
2answers
852 views
Is “Didn't used to have been” a valid structure?
Are the following sentences valid:
It didn't used to happen.
It didn't used to have been there.
And if so, what tenses are they?
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vote
3answers
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Which tense after 'would I… if… ?'
I am struggling on a sentence here. Let me show u what I come up with;
Would I fail if I won't study?
In this sentence I am trying to indicate a possibility but I am not sure if I use this part ...
2
votes
3answers
2k views
“Didn't check” vs. “Hadn't checked”
I text-messaged my friend on his cell phone last night and this morning I got a reply saying, "I had saved your number, ...but I didn't check my cell until now.."
Is "didn't check until now" okay, or ...
4
votes
4answers
3k views
“will be able to” vs. “can”
Consider the following:
He will be able to do it.
He can do it.
They mean the same thing, right?
Can "can" replace "will be able to" in any sentence? What is the difference, if anything? ...
1
vote
5answers
388 views
speaking about conditional past event using had (verb)… would (verb)
If the author had spent any time in China, they would know that an “engineer” in China is NOT the same as an “engineer” in the USA. This is a mistranslation. An “engineer” in China is equivalent to ...
3
votes
1answer
6k views
“Being ran”, “being runned” or something else?
The past tense of run is ran. However, you couldn't say something was being "ran" poorly i.e. the business was ran poorly. However, saying "runned" would be wrong as well. What would be the word to ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
How to correctly use the present perfect tense
This link states that:
When you use the present perfect tense you have to be talking about a period of time that you still consider to be going on. For example, if it’s still morning, you can say, ...
6
votes
1answer
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Works as expected vs. is working as expected
Which one of these is the correct one?
The registers testcase checks that the module's register interface works as expected.
The registers testcase checks that the module's register interface is ...
0
votes
1answer
73 views
“They develop skills at this age” vs. “they are developing skills at this age”
Which one is correct? If both are correct, are there any differences in meaning?
For children, the age of 3 is very
critical time, because they develop
their language skills rapidly at this
...
1
vote
3answers
920 views
“Like” or “have liked”? [closed]
Is this sentence correct?
From early ages people like travelling.
Isn't it better to say:
Since early ages people have liked travelling.
1
vote
1answer
2k views
What is the correct tense to use for a sentence like this?
The below sentence is wrong. I do not know why. It reads funny. I'm not an english expert, but...
This website was first on the list of
priorities and your feedback over the
past two years ...
12
votes
4answers
497 views
What tense is appropriate when a group includes alive and dead people?
In a recent article, I was comparing the atheism of Joseph Stalin, Ayn Rand, and Christopher Hitchens. Which of the following sentences would have been appropriate to describe them?
All three ...
