Questions tagged [narration]
The narration tag has no usage guidance.
46
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Who is "we" in my thesis?
in our field (mathematics) it is somewhat standard to write things like
" In Chapter 4 we show that ..." "The experiments we have conducted (meaning: me, together with my collaborators)
or:
" ...
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1
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Is it grammatically correct to use 'now' third person past tense narration? [closed]
Here's my specific example:
Puffing, Ralphie rested her elbows on the guardrail. Body Woman was now talking to a bald super spy.
(For context, Ralphie is on a balcony looking at Body Woman and ...
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We decided that if they do not leave the place in one day, we would surely force them out. To use 'do not' or 'did not' in this sentence?
We decided that if they do not leave the place in one day, we would surely force them out.
We decided that if they did not leave the place in one day, we would surely force them out.
Difference ...
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1
answer
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Does "could" always mean something less likely than "can", even in backshifted subordinate clauses?
Does the could version always show more uncertainty/doubt than the can version in each of ⑴, ⑵, and ⑶?
You can/could get very nasty skin diseases from bathing in dirty water.
You can/could get into ...
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2
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What are the real rules for choosing between the simple past and past perfect when both actions are in the past? [duplicate]
What are the real rules for choosing past perfect versus choosing past simple when you have two different past actions?
I ask because the English sequence of tenses rules I was taught would have ...
3
votes
3
answers
226
views
Word that would mean "to make a narrative out of"
I have a question about a potential word that may or may not exist.
I'm trying to find a word that would basically mean something like "to make a story out of" or turn into a narrative.... ...
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3
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1
answer
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Word for one character explaining to another character some important points for benefit of the audience
This is not apostrophe (no, not that kind of apostrophe) or anagnorisis; this is when a character communicates a exposition on some aspect of the story's background or context (e.g. how FTL travel ...
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1
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How can the preterite in the second clause place its event BEFORE that of the past perfect’s event in the first clause?
Here the chronology seems inverted as regards to the proper use of the past
perfect and the preterite to order two different events that both occurred
in the past:
He had not been[past perfect] happy ...
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2
votes
2
answers
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Is "thinks I" in Melville's Moby-Dick used in the sense of "thought I"? [duplicate]
The following is just one of the examples of thinks I being used by Melville:
When, at last, his mind seemed made up touching the character of his bedfellow, and he became, as it were, reconciled to ...
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2
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2
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past/present tense when telling a story in spoken English
I've noticed that, in daily conversations, when people are telling stories in the past, they often shift the tense back and forth between the past and the present - even they're native speakers. For ...
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2
votes
1
answer
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Using 'said' as part of a compound verb [closed]
I am working on proofreading a first-time novel. The author repeteadly uses 'said' as part of a kind of compound verb (dropping the subject after 'and'):
"I don't understand," he said, and ...
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1
answer
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What do you call a sentence that is not narrative or non-narrative?
I am not sure if I framed the question right. I will explain, say I have two sentences that describe services provided by a company as below:
We provide good quality of service.
1-year warranty on ...
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2
votes
2
answers
281
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Use of modal verbs when writing in past tense
I'm trying to write a story in past tense (I'm using deep POV).
I have two characters who parted ways. One of them is regretting not spending more time with the other before leaving. Since he is ...
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2
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Does Caesar and Augustus refer to the same person? [closed]
In this recording of a Documentary about Dark Age
For three days, the great capital of Caesar and Augustusis ravaged by its unwelcome guests, the stunning architectural marvels that stood for ...
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2
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Fictional writing: Beginning sentences with a verb
Would the structure of the following text be linguistically correct in a fictional write-up:
Her beauty arises to action. Pierces my camera lens. Stabs the prism.
Please take note of the latter ...
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2
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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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2
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“Thanksgiving was in four days”: something sounds funny!
Can you tell me if this sentence is correct? Here it is, in context (bold emphasis added):
...mother and sister to let them know she was deploying. Thanksgiving was in four days, and Peyton had a ...
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2
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Is there a difference between storytelling and narration?
I'm preparing a university homework on Foer's "Eating Animals" and I'm supposed to analyse "the use of storytelling to make food meaningful".
However, I have a hard time finding definitive references ...
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1
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How to describe narrated action?
Let's say we have a poem that has a first-person point of view and then goes like:
I have eaten the cookies
Now, when I write about this poem and want to describe the action in the poem, would it ...
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1
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Irony in "Every dog should own a man" by Corey Ford [closed]
In the text "Every dog should own a man" (http://thevizslaksentinel.com/index.asp?ID=249), the roles of the dog and the man are reversed; as in this sentence:
There is nothing like a well-behaved ...
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3
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Subjunctive Mood in Past Tense, Historical, Narratives
I have a question about use of the subjunctive in past tense narratives.
The quoted passage is from Keith Thomas’s Religion and the Decline of Magic, a sort of cultural history of England in the ...
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0
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Is it correct to say "rushed into my ears"? [closed]
I'm trying to describe the chirping of birds can be heard once I opened the door and my sentence is:
The chirping of birds that last incessant rushed into my ears when I was opening the old oak door.
...
0
votes
1
answer
51
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How do you understand the sentence's structure?
Chinese athletes had a disappointing 2018-19 season, with the country's only gold medal coming courtesy Sui Wenjing and Han Cong in the pairs competition at the World Figure Skating Championships.
...
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1
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What is the historic present tense?
I learned that the historical present may be used to create an effect of immediacy in narratives. I have a question about the historic present tense. Why don't we use the progressive tense instead of ...
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2
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Which verb tense do I use for a secondary but perpetual action mentioned in a sentence that happened in the past?
I’m trying to write a sentence in which the primary action occurred in the
past, but within that sentence is another subject–verb pair in which the
verb describes a perpetual state of being.
Here is ...
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1
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710
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how to change Narration from direct to indirect [closed]
The young girl said," if fashion do not change, many manufactures will have to sit idle."
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1
answer
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direct speech to indirect speech [closed]
Zia said to Ria, "What a crisis this man has created!"
what will it be in indirect speech?
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1
answer
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Reported Speech: He said, "I was sad"
He said, "I was sad"
In indirect speech, the past tense changes to the past perfect. What will be the past perfect form of “was sad”? Is it “had been sad”? But that is past perfect continuous, right?...
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1
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118
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Do I need "had" in the following examples (past-tense narrative)? [closed]
"It's okay. Minding people's business sometimes means care." She
flashed me a gleaming grin.
I smiled back. Great, I had solved the mystery of Sumire's bruise.
That was what I had thought.
...
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0
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3
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In a story written in past tense, is using present tense grammatically correct in the narration?
For example, just something quickly made up:
Sam started to run from the house to the nearby forest. The freezing weather caused him to shiver, but the warmth from running very rapidly heated up ...
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1
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552
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Question about narrative mode
So I am reading an essay by George Orwell. The essay is written in first person (I) but what I
cannot understand is whether that is Orwell speaking in the essay or some random speaker that speaks in ...
user94588
0
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1
answer
872
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A question on narration in the past
This is a bit of a complicated question. The context is that someone gave advice to someone else. The whole situation is narrated in the past. I fear that by using the past tense, the reader may ...
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1
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352
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Shift in tense and starting a historical account with the present tense
I was just writing a historical overview of a battle and decided I'd write the introduction in the present tense--the present tense being a narration of a specific event during the war. I just ...
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0
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Zero article usage before countable nouns [duplicate]
I came across the following sentence while reading "A Clash of Kings" book by George R. R. Martin:
He liked to watch the windows begin to glow all over Winterfell as
candles and hearth ...
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votes
0
answers
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Direct and Indirect speech
What would be the indirect speech for this sentence: Mina said, "Let's go for a walk".
In my opinion it should be 'Mina suggested that they should go for a walk' but according to my book it is 'Mina ...
0
votes
1
answer
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'A book is not always a good book just because it is written by a famous writer.' Is this acceptable?
When I read the following sentence, I was filled with uneasiness. Is this construct possible?
A book is not always a good book just because it is written by a famous writer.
The original sentence is ...
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2
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Converting direct speech to indirect speech
Please tell me what will be the indirect-speech form of this sentence:
The boys shouted, "Don Bosco Public School well played?"
The question mark confuses me.
Here is the original question:
...
0
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2
answers
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Must + present perfect in a narration about past events
As far as I understand, the construction must + present perfect is used to make presumptions about past events with the connection to the present:
Look, somebody must've been here - the stove is ...
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2
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How do I write out a list as a narrative?
How do I write this out as a narrative in a small amount of words?
"Add reagent A to each of four test tubes, then
To test tube 1 add H2O
To test tube 2 add urea standard solution
To test tube 3 add ...
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0
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1
answer
153
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Perfect tense with knowledge only up to that point?
I'm trying to find out if there is a term to describe the style of literary narration where you tell the story in the perfect tense, but you only have the same knowledge that the character in that ...
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Direct speech to reported speech with Hush! [closed]
Please change the sentence from direct speech to reported speech. I cannot solve this problem. Can anyone solve this?
He said, "HUSH! The headmaster is coming."
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1
answer
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Change narration in the given sentence [closed]
The sentence is : He said ,"Get out of my way."
This question was asked in an examination. It is a standalone sentence, not constituting a part of any passage. So in this case, I do not know ...
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2
answers
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Change in indirect speech
What is the Indirect form of -
He said, "The teacher usually does not ask any question."
He said that -
1). the teacher usually does not ask any question
2). the teacher usually did not ...
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2
answers
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How to change the narration of this sentence? [closed]
"Going to marry a banker's daughter ,are you,jimmy?" said Ben to himself.
Source - "The Retrieved Reformation"
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1
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Changing from indirect to direct speech [closed]
Change into Direct speech:
He said that he had started a job.
Two possibilities:
He said, "I have started a job".
He said, "I started a job".
Which of the above is correct?
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1
answer
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Is the sentence ' GRASS IS GREEN ' a universal truth? [closed]
I want to know the correct indirect statement for this sentence:
He said," grass is green."
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