Questions tagged [present-tense]
The present tense is a grammatical tense that locates a situation or event in present time.
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Since he left, nobody cares/has cared?
I would like to say that since one of my colleagues left, nobody cares about our project anymore. Or nobody has cared?
EDIT: I want to say that nobody cares now and it started when X left.
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"He was the first person" vs. "he is the first person"
What is the correct tense to be used when talking about firsts?
He was the first person to reach the South Pole.
He is the first person to reach the South Pole.
The first one seems right, but then ...
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"I am going to bed" vs. "I will be going to bed" [duplicate]
What is the difference between saying the following?
I am going to bed in a few minutes.
I will be going to bed in a few minutes.
Or
I will be getting off here. Or, I guess, I will be getting off ...
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The Use of Present Simple
I asked this question on a different site but I didn't get an answer. Could you tell me what use of present simple this is?
They come to dinner tonight.
Is this a situation that often or ...
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"The train will leave" vs. "is going to leave" vs. "leaves" vs. "is leaving"
From the grammatical point of view all are correct, just the meaning are different, please bring your clarification, thank you.
The Train will leave at 10:00 tomorrow morning.
The Train is ...
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What tense should be used here?
Is use of present simple correct in these examples?
My daughter goes to school tomorrow [for the first time].
I go to school to talk to my daughter's teacher tomorrow [and this happens ...
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Differences between ways to express future actions
I asked this question on a different site but I haven't gotten a useful answer. Could you tell me the difference in meaning between these sentences?
Do you think you will visit them next week?
...
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"Connection to/with the server was/has been lost"
Which one is correct?
Connection to the server was lost.
Connection to the server has been lost.
Also, should to or with be used with server?
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Grammaticalization of third person singular -s
Is there any evidence that the third person singular -s can be traced back to a lexical item before it became an inflection ? I am trying to see if the theory of grammaticalization applies to its ...
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Present Continuous or Present Simple in a Meeting
Which one of the following should be used if I am asking about an event or a meeting:
Are we meeting today?
Do we have a meeting today?
Are we going to have a meeting today?
Are we going ...
user17857
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Past simple with today
For example, I want to say that I found a ball today. But "today" means action in present, am I right?
I've already searched the Internet and it seems the right way is this:
I found a ball today
...
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Can the preposition "in" be used instead of "for" in the following sentence?
English grammar books say that when you express a period of time in present perfect, the prepostions such as "for" or "since" should be used.
Example sentences:
I have lived here ...
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Is it appropriate to omit "will not be"?
Often, someone will say:
I'm not living in a senior's home!
When the intended meaning is:
I will not be living in a senior's home!
Is this acceptable?
user11550
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"Is someone covering/going to cover this event?"
Which one of the following is better or more correct?
Is someone covering this event?
Is someone going to cover this event?
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'I get it' vs. 'I got it'
When someone tells me something, how should I respond, "I get it" or "I got it"? I have a feeling that "I got it" means "I already knew the thing before you told me," and "I get it" means "Now I know ...
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Why do I instinctively want to use the present tense with a conditional?
My boss is not a native speaker of English, so he often asks me to correct his writing. The problem is, he wants me to explain why I make changes, and doesn't accept "it just sounds better that way" ...
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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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"I am gonna have to" vs. "I have to"
What is the difference between "I am gonna have to" and "I have to"?
When would you use the first one?
update: I am specifically asking about situations like the one described here.
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What's the difference between "I want" and "I am wanting"?
What is the difference between the two?
Why and where is the latter very strange sounding variant used?
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Difference between "are you done" and "have you done."
I was just wondering, how can we differentiate "are you done?" and "have you done?", and
what is the appropriate way to use each?
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Present tense for future events
Why does it sound perfectly natural to say Our flight leaves tomorrow at 6pm but weird to say It rains tomorrow at 6pm? What kind of scenario, if any, could make the rain sentence sound natural?
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"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
age.
For ...
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"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.
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Which is more correct here: "find" vs. "have found"?
I recently came across this sentence from an e-mail I received and have pondering thoughts about it:
I have completed an evaluation of your application file and find that the items listed below ...
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How to use "have been" and be-verbs -- what's the difference between them?
Consider these two sentences:
They have been disappointing.
They are disappointing.
Could you tell me how can I identify when to use have been and when to use be-verbs in sentences like ...
user6812
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"Done" vs. "did" & "seen" vs. "saw"
I am trying to find a logical way to explain how/when to use "done" vs "did" and "seen" vs "saw". The person I'm coaching uses the terms in the following manner and I just don't want to correct him, ...
user6547
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Present or Past tense to describe a past condition which is still present?
Scenario: My friend John has a personality disorder, intensely paranoid for example.
Can I say:
There were three events last year that told me John had a problem.
or can I say:
There were ...
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"They knew what mercy is" vs. "they knew what mercy was"
They knew what mercy is.
They knew what mercy was.
Mercy is something that always exists so can I say is as in the quoted example?
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Tense change: previous actions on something that's currently true
I'm describing a situation that happened in the past. To explain it, I want to use a description that is both true now and true when the situation happened.
Specifically, I want something like:
...
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Use of "I am having" on Stack Exchange sites
I use Stack Overflow a lot and have noticed a certain trend that I myself got caught up in at one time of using the phrase "I am having a problem" in place of "I have a problem."
I would use this ...
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Legitimacy of "I hear that..." when talking about the past?
I often see that people write:
I hear that …
to refer to a past event/action. For example:
I hear that Sally has won the lottery.
(If I remember correctly it is in English Grammar in Use by ...
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In which cases would you say, "I am seeing" instead of "I see"?
In which cases would you say, "I am seeing" instead of "I see"?
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Why are the past and present tenses of "read" spelt the same?
and only have different pronunciations?
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Why is the past tense used in "I was wondering if you would like to come for dinner?" and "Did you want to go to the cinema tonight?" [duplicate]
Why isn't the present tense used?
I am wondering if you would like to come for dinner.
Do you want to go to the cinema tonight?"
seem more felicitous, but the versions couched in the past are ...
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Should we use past tense in "Lugo admitted he is the father"?
In this sentence, should the is be a was?
On April 13, 2009, Lugo admitted he is the father of a child conceived with Viviana Carrillo.
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"Whenever you arrive/are arrived/were arrived"
Which one of these sentences is grammatically correct? Would it be alright if the other sentences were being used in daily conversations?
Let me know whenever you arrive.
Let me know whenever ...
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