Questions tagged [tense]
This tag is for questions about tense, or location in time by grammatical forms and constructions rather than by semantics.
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what does the combination of the present progressive tense and as of three hours ago mean?
The community is reviewing whether to reopen this question as of 3
hours ago.
What does it mean?
Did reviewing happen 3 hours ago? if so, why use present progressive tense? or is it happening?
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since she lived in Glasgow
a. Jane has been getting headaches since she lived in Glasgow.
b. Jane has been getting headaches since she has lived in Glasgow.
Do these imply that she is still in Glasgow?
Do they imply that she is ...
- 2,993
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views
AmE_ I worked/ have worked with 3 different tech companies
In an interview, when I introduce myself, I would say:
(1) I worked with 3 different tech companies, so I have a lot of experience in IT
(2) I have worked with 3 different tech companies, so I have a ...
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Be going to used in the past
I'd like to check if I know how the structure "be going to" works.
I am going to help when she arrives
As I understand 1 means it is my plan to help once she finally is with me. What about ...
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I never left vs I have never left ( convey the meaning until now)
see the clip here
In the movie Mother of the Bride, A bellman talking with the customers:
(1) I came over here on holiday 32 years ago, and I never left
So, how about this sentence using present ...
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I’ve already called her four times ________. Why not before?
I’ve already called her four times ________.
today
again
before
yesterday
Why is the answer today not before?
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Past Simple or Past Perfect? "We [finish] eating our lunch and we were taking the plates out to the kitchen"
Here's my question:
We ___ eating our lunch and we were taking the plates out to the kitchen.
A finished
B were finishing
C ’ve finished
D ’d finished
It seems that this should be Past Simple (...
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views
How to understand the need for so many tenses in, some kind of, logical way?
I'm a native Polish speaker. I'm 31 and I speak English since I was, probably, 7 or 8. I still don't "get" tenses. I read in English. Fiction and non-fiction. I speak and write. I watch ...
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Can I say "I'm not now" to mean "I'm not keeping a pet now" when the asker used the present simple earlier?
Q: Do you keep a pet?
A: No, I don't. I don't feel responsible enough for it. If I kept a pet, I would want to give it proper attention, but my current lifestyle doesn't allow for that. So I'm not.
...
- 3,410
1
vote
4
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Did you read vs Have you read to refer to life experience
*Context 1: I saw this dialogue in a movie.
A: You acted like a character in X novel. Did you read X novel?
B: No, I haven't.
A: Let me tell you about that novel, the main character is a nice
girl.......
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views
When you tell a story in the past, when is the suitable time to switch to narrative tense?
I know people use the present narrative simple tense to tell stories happening in the past. However, I have never figured out when I should switch to this tense.
I'm gonna tell you about my grandpa. ...
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3
votes
1
answer
252
views
If something happened in the past but I feel that it's still true now, can I use either past simple and present simple?
A: I once bought a laptop for half the original price, but it broke the very next week.
B: Did the shop owner time it or something?
A: I don't know but it's crazy bro. I was so pissed.
A says "...
- 3,410
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David thinks if he can/could grow taller, he will/would attract more attention from others. - what is the difference?
Example 1
John: My friend David thinks [if he can grow taller, he will attract more attention from others.] However, I don't think he can grow taller anymore because he is a grown adult.
Does this ...
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"it would be" in reference to something that someone else did or does
I find conditionals quite difficult to understand in English. That's why sometimes, here or elsewhere, I quote conditional sentences written by native speakers and ask questions about them to ...
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How did you know I ran/ have run a marathon?
I encountered a sentence like this in a story, B ran a marathon quite a long time ago:
A: I tried/ have tried a training for a marathon, but I failed. Could
you give me some of your experience?
B: (...
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