Questions tagged [present-tense]
The present tense is a grammatical tense that locates a situation or event in present time.
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Simple Past vs. Present Perfect: "was" vs. "has been" [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Did it close” vs “Has it closed”?
As a English non-native speaker it is difficult for me to understand when I must use present perfect or past simple ...
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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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"I am tired and doing my homework." Is it grammatically correct?
Is the sentence in the title absolutely grammatically correct? I recently had an argument with a fellow student, and he said that the sentence is incorrect. I do not think he is right, because I saw ...
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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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"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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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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What is the name for the grammatical figure, where the present tense is substituted for a past event?
I am preparing a book for publication which contains the following passage:
Stromberg in Religious Liberalism in Eighteenth-Century England
(1954) noted that 'the critical moment in the emergence ...
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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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"Why don't they help him?" Why do we use simple present here?
CONTEXT
You are walking in the street and you see an old man on the other side stumble and fall to the ground. He tries to get up but he can’t. Nobody is helping him.
You say, to no-one in ...
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To tell the name of a person I met in the past
I have a basic grammar question about the past tense. If I met a guy yesterday, which tense should I use about his name today?
For example,
"Yesterday I met a guy, his name is/was John."
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You won't catch the train if you don't/won't leave in time [closed]
You won't catch the train if you don't leave in time
You won't catch the train if you won't leave in time
I'm pretty sure the correct version is "You won't catch the train if you don't leave in ...
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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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"Why are you asking?" versus "Why do you ask?"
Why are you asking Tom? He does not know the answer. Ask me instead!
versus
No, I have not seen Tom for quite some time. Why do you ask?
Is it correct? And if it is, why the difference? Is it not ...
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What tense is "If I were a bird, I could fly"
The sentence is not referring to any time past, present of future. It's just referring to an imaginary condition which has never existed and seemingly will never exist. Still, the sentence and other ...
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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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"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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Why are the past and present tenses of "read" spelt the same?
and only have different pronunciations?
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Tense usage with dead writers' work
My friend and I discussed some books and their authors the other day. And the question arose. Is it possible to say
Do you like what he writes about?
using Present Simple, although writer did that ...
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How to use the UK verb "reading" to mean studying/majoring in some university subject in the present tense?
I’m not a native speaker. I was told that if I’m currently studying something at university I should say:
I’m majoring in [subject].
But how can I say this in the present tense but using the ...
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She's always knowing something she's not supposed to
She's always knowing something she's not supposed to.
Is this sentence correct? Why? Why not? Are we dealing with a so called "present progressive"?
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When describing a detail of an ex, is it correct to use past or present tense?
To start, would it be correct to say
"My ex-girlfriend used to eat at Red Lobster."
or
"My ex-girlfriend eats at Red Lobster."
Another example:
"My ex-girlfriend used to be into karate....
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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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In what regions is "Do you work tonight?" clear and acceptable usage?
In my answer at ELL regarding a question of whether someone is working that evening, I suggested the alternative:
Do you work tonight?
There was a comment about this being incorrect usage, because &...
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What brings you here? What has brought you here?
Why do we ask people "What brings you here?" instead of "What has brought you here?"
According to Oxford Dictionary, "bring" here means "cause someone to come to a place." The cause of the visit ...
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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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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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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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"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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Is it correct to say "We start tomorrow"? Shouldn't it be "We are starting tomorrow"? (present simple vs continuous for future event)
Here's an example of a short conversation between me and a native speaker via text messages:
A: I'm so exited for this app
B: Yeah, me too
A: We start tomorrow
B: OK
Shouldn't it be "We are ...
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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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"Is used" vs. "has been used" vs. "was used"
I have three sentences of which I'm not sure which one is grammatical, and why.
It refers to the Eiffel Tower.
It is used as the symbol of Paris and of France for over a century.
It was ...
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Present continous and present simple
Why do we say, "Who is that man? What does he want", but, "Who is that man? Why is he looking at us". If the second is okay, which I am sure it is, why can't we say, "Who is that man? What is he ...
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Headed or heading?
This is more of a claim than a question. I claim that a construction like "I am headed home (which you will hear a lot in America) is wrong. The present progressive must utilize the ing-form. Try ...
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"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 tell ...
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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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Why is "the test is failed" acceptable?
In software interfaces, technical documentation, scientific documentation and legal documents, I see phrases like:
The build is failed.
The test is failed.
If the test is failed,...
It seems more ...
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Why does English use the present continuous so often?
Why is the present continuous used in English so often in comparison to the simple present?
For example
I eat
is possible, but the preferred way
I am eating
meaning roughly the same thing, is ...
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"I don't understand you" vs. "I'm not understanding you" [closed]
Which sentence is correct?
What are you talking about? I don't understand you.
or
What are you talking about? I'm not understanding you.
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Is every sentence in a tense?
I know that "tense" indicates time. If that is true, then not every sentence can be indicated of its tense.
Please review these sentences:
"If I could go to the market , I must have taken breakfast (...
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Tense used with statistics
I would like to place a statistics in front of the sentence, followed by the agency that has reported it. The findings and reports were done many years ago. Which of the two is correct and why?
...
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Verbs not normally used in the present continuous
I found the information below in a grammar book:
The following verbs are not normally used in the present continuous :
like, love, hate, want, need, prefer, know, realize, suppose, mean, ...
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I quote/ I am quoting
This is the last paragraph of a book review:
"To conclude, I quote the concluding paragraph from the..."
Is this correct English? Why is it "I quote"? Can "I am quoting" be used insteand?
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"Did you like what you saw/see?"
So I heard this in a movie and I'm not sure if it's grammatically correct . . .
Should it be:
1.) "Did you like what you saw?"
or
2.) "Did you like what you see?"
Which one is right, you guys? I'...
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Present simple on temporary action
Mary is sleeping in the living room while we redecorate her room.
Why is the present simple "redecorate" used? Present simple is used when there's something permanent, but they don't want to ...
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Should I reply in the past simple or in the present perfect? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Present perfect for past action with present effect
Is this sentence correct? What exactly does it mean?
Person 1: Where did you hide my keys?
Person 2: I put them on the table.
...
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"I came from Italy" or "I come from Italy"
If I originally lived in Italy and then moved to the United States and currently live in the United States. Then somebody asked me where I am from. I say:
I come/came from Italy.
Should it be ...
user37142
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"By clicking submit you agree..." or "By clicking submit you are agreeing..." [closed]
By clicking submit you agree to the Terms and Conditions.
By clicking submit you are agreeing to the Terms and Conditions.
Which is correct? Why?
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Why present perfect in “When the night has come”?
In the song “Stand by Me”, we see a sentence like “when the night has come.”
I was taught that in a when clause, we use the past tense, yet the present perfect has been used in the sentence cited ...
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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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