Tagged Questions
3
votes
2answers
79 views
Wording an 'If-Then' Statement Tense
I need help phrasing the last part of this conditional sentence (assume I can't change the first conditional statement):
If I died tomorrow, I would have wanted to go skydiving.
or
If I ...
0
votes
1answer
92 views
“I been” or “I’ve been”?
In the famous song Every Breath You Take by The Police, Sting sings:
Since you've gone I been lost without a trace…
I admit that I am not some expert in English Grammar, but this "I been" ...
0
votes
1answer
122 views
Using 'will' vs. 'would' in this sentence
I'd like to know which one of the following is correct:
I would like to have a job which I will like and which will earn me a lot of money.
I would like to have a job which I would like and ...
0
votes
1answer
148 views
Tense agreement in reported speech
Jack didn't tell me that he __ my chocolate.
eats
ate
had eaten
has eaten
I have a hard time figuring out which one to choose and why.
1
vote
2answers
71 views
“Until you apologised” vs. “until you have apologised” vs. “until you apologise”
What is the most correct way of saying to someone that I won't speak to him before he has apologised.
I won't speak to you until you have apologised for what you have done.
I won't speak to ...
1
vote
2answers
155 views
What tense is “have been are”?
Here are some examples:
Meanings have been are still in constant flux. (Source)
I'm afraid to say that in the past the police have been are too keen to caution people. (Source)
That's ...
2
votes
3answers
217 views
Answering past simple question with past continuous
For example,
— What did you do yesterday?
— I was working.
I presume this is not grammatically correct; however, I often reply in this way (I'm English). Also vice versa: "What were you doing ...
3
votes
4answers
224 views
I often use “is being” and “are being” in my sentences. Is it correct grammatically?
For example "lasers are being used to treat different skin conditions". It is a passive form without a subject. Please guide.
0
votes
2answers
302 views
Is “have been being investigated” in the following sentence grammatically correct?
I need to know whether the following sentence is grammatically correct or not. Specifically, I am unsure about have been being investigated part.
Do the times that I am using match each other?
...
4
votes
2answers
120 views
Is the usage of “will” proper in “Usually on Saturday, I will go to the store”?
Is the following usage of "will" grammatical?
Usually on Saturday, I will go to the store.
0
votes
1answer
84 views
“He was so desperate that he would have given anything” vs. “that he did give anything”
A: I heard he promised to buy her anything she wants.
B: Right. He was so desperate that he would have given anything to win her over.
In sentence B, instead of "would have given," is "did ...
1
vote
1answer
100 views
American native speaker and perfect tenses
Yesterday I sent my friend a useful gift in online game. Today I can see he has not accepted it yet. Which sentence is grammatically correct and most natural in American English?
"You didn't ...
2
votes
4answers
137 views
Is “On January 17th our team had represented” correct English?
My team recently posted a status update,
On January 17th, our team had represented [organization name] at [place].
Though I am unable to explain why (I have never formally learned tenses), I am ...
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 ...
0
votes
2answers
146 views
Oddness of sentence containing “since”
The considerable debt of gratitude I have incurred to Mr X since I have known him, has continued to grow during this last period.
Is the use of since in the above sentence grammatically correct? ...
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
4answers
118 views
“Would” in a reported statement
I am teaching some students changing original quotes into reported speech. Well, one of my students asked how the following quote can be changed into reported speech:
I would like to swim.
From ...
0
votes
1answer
260 views
“Had spent” vs. “has spent” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
where should we use has/have been and had been?
[Company] had spent previous years a few blocks away from the new location.
This sentence uses "had spent", but to ...
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
208 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 ...
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, ...
-1
votes
1answer
341 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
232 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 ...
5
votes
2answers
333 views
“The author wrote” vs. “the author writes”
What is the rule for the following examples?
In the passage, the author writes. . . .
In the passage, the author wrote. . . .
I’m trying to explain to my son that both are correct, but I can’t ...
1
vote
6answers
338 views
Usage of past participle in “He said he thought it having had seen my medical record” [closed]
I'm trying to work out if this sentence is correct, especially the usage of "having had seen".
He said he thought it having had seen my medical record.
-4
votes
2answers
149 views
“It will turn into water” vs “it turns into water” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Scientific article style: present or future
Which sentence is correct between these two:
If you heat ice, it will turn into water.
If you heat ice, it turns into ...
-2
votes
1answer
346 views
Is the usage 'was to have done' correct
... Washington intervened Tuesday and “advised” NAM participants as
well as Ban to turn Tehran down on its nuclear tour, which was to have
included the suspected nuclear-related explosives ...
-2
votes
1answer
210 views
Past or present perfect tense for event happened last night [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another?
Since watching TV is a completed action which happened last night, which one is correct?
Last ...
-3
votes
2answers
131 views
Using verb continuous for living abroad for a period of time [closed]
Suppose that a friend of mine is Thai and he usually lives in Thailand. Now he is in Australia and he is going to live in Australia for only a few years.
Should I say “A friend of mine is living in ...
7
votes
1answer
194 views
Tagged question and perfect tense
I've just passed one of numerous English grammar online tests. And I agree with all the mistakes I've made except this one:
You ______ put it back before the boss comes ...
2
votes
2answers
190 views
What is the correct usage of 'formerly' as time adverb?
PLEASE NOTE: JDK6 [is|was] formerly known as Project Mustang
In the previous sentence what is correct 'is' or 'was'? and why?
While reading a bug report I found this sentence with 'is' and now I'm ...
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 ...
5
votes
2answers
715 views
I will (have the package sent) vs (have sent the package) by next week
I'm aware that:
I will have the package sent by next week
is correct. But what about:
I will have sent the package by next week
Is it completely wrong to say it or is there some ...
1
vote
4answers
308 views
Which tense to use with “whole last year”?
I would like to say that I worked whole year for my company on one specific project but I am not sure about the tense and word order. I still work for them and had worked before.
My idea is:
The ...
1
vote
1answer
467 views
Is “I asked many questions that I had before” correct? [closed]
I would like to ask whether this sentence is grammatically correct or not:
I asked her many questions that I had before.
I think it sounds better if I say "I asked her many questions that I have ...
8
votes
5answers
2k views
Future tense in conditional clauses
All the textbooks I have ever come across during the course of my studying English emphasize that future tense should not be used in conditional clauses.
For example,
If it rains in the evening, ...
0
votes
0answers
64 views
Past or Perfect [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another?
What is the difference between the following statements if I was reporting about a device, bank ...
0
votes
2answers
162 views
Present Perfect with “that”
I came across the sentence "It's been thirty years since my parents first met." I am sure that if I heard "It's been thirty years that my parents first met", I would accept it as grammatical, but I ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
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 ...
3
votes
1answer
530 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
569 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 ...
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?
1
vote
5answers
389 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
7k 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 ...
0
votes
2answers
409 views
Until + tense / “since” or “for”
Is any of these sentences correct?
Until I played again 2 months ago, I had not played to this game for 5 years.
Until I played again 2 months ago, I had not played to this game since 5 ...
1
vote
3answers
190 views
“when spring arrives”
I often told you we'd go there when
spring arrives.
That sentence seems funny to me. It means that in the past the speaker would often promise the listener that when spring arrives they would ...
0
votes
1answer
77 views
Are these sentences grammatical?
Are both of these sentences grammatical?
It was starting raining.
He was contemplating creating a problem.
