Questions tagged [present-tense]
The present tense is a grammatical tense that locates a situation or event in present time.
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Using present tense in past tense narration
Is it grammatically correct to use the present tense in fiction that's narrated in the past tense? Sometimes, as a writer, you add "general statements" into your narrative. Example:
But ...
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Are These Sentences Equivalent or is One More Appropriate than the Others? (Present Progressive Tense)
These all seem equally "valid" to me:
"I have recently been reading some research papers about..."
"I recently have been reading some research papers about..."
"I ...
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What is a complex/difficult example of English tenses? [closed]
I'm a native English speaker, and while learning other languages, I've learned that English has more complex tenses than other languages. I don't know what all of the English tenses are, but the most ...
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“Is / was / has been / had been used” in a statement
I'm confused whether I should use are or were or have been or had been in the following statement when describing the use of language in a passage
In paragraph 6, detailed adjectives ____ used to ...
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“You go and dry yourselves while I polish the car.” or “You go and dry yourselves while I'm polishing the car.” [closed]
context
i/Cleaning_the_Car/Transcript
Oxford Dictionary says: "while-at the same time as sth else is happening
eg: You can go swimming while I'm having lunch."
so I am confused. Why doesn't ...
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If clause with a past tense about future for hypothetical condition
Is there any case in English were a future condition is represented with past tense?
E.g. "If I saw you tomorrow, I will do ..."
In some languages, it casts more doubt for the condition to ...
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being removed vs gets removed?
Question I: Which one is grammatically correct?
1. Does order A remain effective after object B gets removed?
or
2. Does order A remain effective after object B is being removed?
Question II: What ...
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Present Tense and Past tense in context
Present Tense and Past tense in context
There is a text/ paragraph as follows:
If I have a description at the start, say "I visited Thailand. There were a lot of nice restaurants.", then if ...
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Is it possible to use the past and present tenses in the same sentence? [closed]
Which sentence is grammatically correct?
I did not complain and tell myself to calm down and try to solve this difficult problem.
Or:
I did not complain and told myself to calm down and try to ...
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1answer
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What kind of verb phrase is it when “is” in the present tense is immediately followed by another verb that’s itself in the past tense?
Please consider this example of three sentences in sequence:
The building is destroyed.
The rubble is then removed.
The rubble is broken into smaller pieces.
What kind of verb phrase is ...
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The meaning of the sentence “Fortunately/Wisely, she consults her lawyer regularly.”
In Quirk's A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language Section 8.128 (page 624): it says
Fortunately/Wisely, she consults her lawyer regularly. [1]
= It is fortunate/wise that she consult(s)/...
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A sentence without a predicate in the middle of narrative given in past tense
From William Gibson’s debut 1984 science-fiction novel, Neuromancer:
Crossing the arcade to stand beside her, high on the deal he’d made, he saw her glance up. Gray eyes rimmed with smudged black ...
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Mixing Past & Present Tense
Original:
"These two peers would later become an advantageous support system for me personally, assisting as I struggled with the structural engineering portion of my internship project at the ...
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Is participle clause commonly used in spoken English?
I have never heard a native speaker use sentence with participle clause such as ‘Thinking about her past, she cried bitterly.’; ‘Bitten by a snake, she died.’ in their day-to-day conversation although ...
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Using the present tense or past tense for a fact
I know that we should use the present tense when talking about facts. However, in some instances I cannot decide which tense to use.
For example,
"The analysis assumes that a and b are ...
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“Hasn't been as bad as they had feared” or “hasn't been as bad as they feared”
I can't find other questions and/or information about the forms / tense I'm using in this sentence as most questions seem to be about the difference between "hasn't" or "hadn't".
...
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“Many children don't play ball” or “Many children doesn't play ball” [closed]
I'm still learning English and the topic which I learn is about simple present tense. I'm learning from channel learnenglishlab. But there is one video I don't understand why it using do rather than ...
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I've studied vs I've been studying
What's the difference from these two phrases? How would I know if keep studying or if I did it in the past?
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What does simple really mean in grammar?
Problems with explaining English grammar often reside in the terminology.
There is often a big assumption that we understand what the terms mean.
Simple is, in my opinion, one of the most important ...
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Present tense Used for Past event [duplicate]
I saw a news headline that reads: he admits accident was caused by drunk driving.
My question is why they use present tense (admits) instead of past tense (admitted). The news was written after the ...
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2answers
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Why are we using a past modal verb with a present verb in this sentence?
it is typically restricted to military aircraft except for the
legendary Concorde, which was able to speeds of up to three times that
of passenger planes today
Why are we using 'was able to' with '...
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present simple or would?
This sentence comes from Active Skills for Reading 3:
In most parts of the world, storm clouds would be greeted with a frown. But in India, it's said that when the monsoon rains come, a billion ...
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Time in past simple and simple present grammar in these sentences
I have some issues to understand these two sentences, why the first is wrong and why the second the verb didn't change.
In the sentence "Kim goes on a date with David the last night but didn’t ...
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Ungrammatical Title?
On a YouTube video titled "How Do You Die From Alzheimer's?", one commenter wrote:
"[R]ight grammar is[,] a [sic]
how did a person die from alzheimer's?
...[W]rong grammar is[,] a [...
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1answer
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Past tense and present tense in a same sentense. Tense consistent or logically correct?
I am trying to tell a thing that happened in the past. But that thing has a fact that is still true in the present. Could you tell me which one of the following is true?
I had a lesson with a tutor ...
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Using Past Simple versus Present Simple in a commentary for a documentary
I've been translating a commentary to a history documentary and I'm not sure if my choice of tenses is optimal. In Polish, just like in English, the Present Simple tense is occasionally used for ...
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Is sentence “I paint for 3 hours” grammatically correct? [closed]
Is the sentence below grammatically correct?
"I paint for 3 hours"
Google Translate translates from my native language to this sentence. Also, I checked this sentence on grammarly online ...
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using which in relative cause as an object
For example, is this sentence correct?
“If your friend isn’t reliable, he/she can use the things which your friend knows about you against you.”
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“Report” in simple present where it apparently should be either in progressive or simple past
I was going through a piece of news at B.B.C at this link, when I came across this line:
Israeli media report that the document did not include any references to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
I ...
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1answer
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Past simple and past progressive. Taught vs. was teaching
Can some one explain me. This sentence:"He taught constantly for forty-five years. ". Here's used Past simple. I would like to know, why, and can I use past continuous:" He was teaching ...
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In a novel, should a subordinate clause use present tense while the main clause is past?
Provided this is correct:
The general rule is to match the tense of a subordinate clause with the tense of the main clause. E.g. He vacuumed while I washed the dishes. However, a subordinate clause ...
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Which present tense should you use when talking about continuous pain?
The speaker can still feel the pain in the moment of speaking (he's asking if he's still able to go abroad with this back pain) & it's some sort of dialogue between some ordinary guy & a ...
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Is this sentence of Vitalik Buterin correct?
I was reading A Philosophy of Blockchain Validation of Vitalik Buterin. The following sentence strikes me as odd:
Data availability checks do rely on a very conservative assumption that there exists ...
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The Present Simple tense use
I would like to know why this tense is used instead of the present continuous in the following examples:
As we speak (instead of - as we are speaking) something is taking place
He joins us from (...
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Should I use “the” in the phrase “the check-in for a flight”, in this context?
I have this sentence in Russian I need to translate into English:
"Звучит объявление о регистрации на рейс Кабул - Гонконг."
The best I can come up with is this:
"An announcement rings ...
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Present simple vs. “Would”
Swift code has a column limit of 100 characters. Except as noted below, any line that would exceed this limit must be line-wrapped as described in Line-Wrapping. - https://google.github.io/swift/
...
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Since + Present Perfect or From + Simple Present?
I had a debate with another translator the other day. My colleague wrote "From 15 July 2020 ... is allowed..." Since she wrote this in August 2020, she was clearly referring to a specific ...
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2answers
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What's difference between “ I knew i loved you” and “ i knew i love you”?
I can't understand when i can use past and present tenses in one sentence together and when i can use only past one.
I knew you loved me
I knew you love me
they're both referring to present moment ...
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Which one I should use? Infinitive or present participle?
Which sentence is grammatically correct?
I think it is good for students to have cellphones.
I think having cellphones is good for students.
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“I am not going to use it recently” Is this technically correct?
I want to say I'm not going to use something in the recent future. Can I say it like “I am not going to use it recently”?
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usage of present perfect and past tense when it comes to people who passed away
If the persons I am referring to are no more, in that case which of these is right?
a) He has met them (they are no more) many times, or
b) He met them many times.
( Here I get confused whether the ...
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If You Look vs. If You're Looking: When advertising a Product
Is it correct to use "if you look for" instead of "if you're looking for" when promoting a product?
"If you look for creamy peanut butter spread, you may message me."
I ...
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Question concerning tenses
Lauren has coaxed her brother many times to go cinema with her but he never listens
Lauren has coaxed her brother many times to go cinema with her but he never listened
Which sentence is correct?
...
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1answer
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Differentiate between Present Simple vs Present Progressive (Continuous)
Is the following sentence in present simple or continuous tense?
I am in class.
How do you change it to the other tense?
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How do you differentiate the use of “When I asked…” and “When I have asked…”
This might be a very basic question for native speakers of English, but I'd really appreciate if you could help me to understand the difference between "When I asked" and "When I have ...
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Should present tense be always used when completed works / published books etc. make reference to their contents?
When the subject is certain creation (created in the past) where there cannot be changes, like:
The published book / The proposed plan / The play "Romeo and Juliet" / The poster that won the ...
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What is the correct way to ask about something that happened some time ago?
When I took one test I had to choose between four options:
a) Did you hear that he has been assigned to a new project last week?
b) Have you heard that he has been assigned to a new project last week?
...
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What’s a matter-of-fact tone?
I was wondering if a matter-of-fact tone was the same as a straightforward tone, and if these terms all mean “simple” or “without emotions”. (I am not a native speaker for that matter).
If I speak or ...
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What are the verbs that need a gerund after “to”?
So could someone tell me what the verbs are that must have “ing” (gerund) after “to”? (a small list)
I know we have : “look forward to”, “admit to”, “be opposed to”... but are there other verbs?
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“had spent” vs. “spent”
Which tense would be appropriate in this case - past perfect simple or past simple?
"After he had spent some of the money, he decided to find his dream house."
or
"After he spent some ...
