If a book is written in past tense, how do you describe something which was in the past? For example: I was waiting in the back of the line because I “punched” the son of the principal. The verb “punch” happened in the past of the past. Should I use past perfect tense here just … Read more
I’m trying to understand why the plural is used in this case instead of the singular. The sentence uses the plural version of the past tense of “be” when referring to “the flow”. Why is the sentence written this way “If the flow were working” instead of “If the flow was working”? If this was … Read more
In a sentence like, “I saw him run,” what is the rule that explains why “run” is in the present tense when “saw” is in the past tense? A similar construction, “She said he swam,” requires past tense for both. I suspect the pronoun is governing verb tense. Is there a term for this? Answer … Read more
“I opened the door. Then, there was a friend standing outside.” I know how to make the sentence more natural but I was wondering if this particular sentence is grammatically alright. Answer Yes, it is grammatically correct because, technically, the tenses used in this sentence are correct. However, using “then” implies that the friend was … Read more
I work in a company that sells simple children’s books. A customer complained that the book changes tense randomly, and they’re right. This book was created years ago and needs updating to ensure it uses correct grammar. The book starts out like this: Once upon a time in a faraway land, Princess $Name$ lived in … Read more
1. “I hope you are doing well” Will be it polite, if I write it in an email to Proff/start an email with it? He was ill, and we wrote me about it 2. Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to meet with me How to use this sentense in past tense? … Read more
I would like to understand the following (because Google returns suspiciously low number of records for this form): A: I saw him there. B (joins the conversation): Hey, have you seen John lately? C: He has just said he had seen him there. Is it OK to use present perfect and then reported speech shifted … Read more
I have a telegram convention, where whenever an action must be taken, it uses a verb in its name. I then use the imperative for the request and past tense for the reply, e.g.: orderStart to start an order, then reply with orderStarted. The trouble I have now, is what to do with the verb … Read more
I am confused about the use of tenses in describing an event in the past. I went to a Funfair and I played several games. (a) My favorite game is Ring toss. I like tossing the rings to the cones. OR (b) My favorite game was Ring toss. I like木 tossing the rings to the … Read more
‘When he told me it was finished it felt like all hope from my life had gone – it was overwhelming,’ she says. Please help me understand this usage of PP. If we look at the timeline of this sentence it will look like this: He told her it was finished then she lost her … Read more
