4 questions

1 2

Share on Facebook

casas

#78736 Sat, 05 Mar 05 06:27 PM

Look through the following sentences and select the TENSE and the time reference used.

first options are: past simple, present perfect, present progressive, present simple

secon options are: past, present, future

2. I wish I had more time to finish this exercise. Past Simple - Past ?

3. When you have finished, you can go home. Past Perfect - Present ?

4. 'Major calls for peace summit' (headline). Present Perfect - Past ?

6. We've got the next lesson in the language library. Present Progressive - Future ?

Thanxs

casas

Joined on Fri, Mar 4 2005

New Member (09)

Present progressive, Tenses, Past perfect, Present perfect, Past simple, Present simple

pieanne

#78739 Sat, 05 Mar 05 07:01 PM

I'd say
2. is present
3. future
4. present
6.future...
On the whole!

pieanne

Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005

South of France ...But I'm Belgian!

Veteran Member (7,512)

I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos...

CalifJim

#78847 Sun, 06 Mar 05 07:14 AM

2. I wish I had more time to finish this exercise.
"wish" Present - Present (tense - time reference)
"had" - Past Simple - Present

3. When you have finished, you can go home.
"have finished" - Present Perfect - Future
"can" - Present Simple - Future

4. 'Major calls for peace summit' (headline).
"calls" Present simple - Past

6. We've got the next lesson in the language library.
" 've got" ("have got") Present Perfect - Present/Future

In 6., if the meaning is "We have the text of the next lesson available for you to look at in the language library", then the time reference is present. If the meaning is "For the next session of this class, we will meet in the language library", the the time reference is future.

CJ

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (17,477)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Tenses, Present perfect, Past simple, Present simple

pieanne

#78880 Sun, 06 Mar 05 12:11 PM

Hello, Mr CJ,
when you write this:. 'Major calls for peace summit' (headline).
"calls" Present simple - Past
Do you means that here the Present Simple tense is used with a past meaning?

pieanne

Tenses, Present simple

Casi

#78918 Sun, 06 Mar 05 03:06 PM

Pieanne, CJ doesn't seem to be around, so I hope you don't mind if I provide a few words.

Based on the distribution of CJ's examples, I believe "Past" is in reference to when the event actually took place:

Major calls (present tense) for peace summit.
=>the event took place in the past, before the headline was written

Casi

Joined on Sat, Sep 25 2004

Regular Member (547)

Tenses, Present tenses

pieanne

#78935 Sun, 06 Mar 05 04:18 PM

Hi, Casi, of course I don't mind! I just wanted to ask a question about what CJ had written.
And your answer confotrs me in what I was thinking when I wrote the post. Thanks for your explanation! Smile [:)]

pieanne

CalifJim

#78983 Sun, 06 Mar 05 06:18 PM

Anne,
Yes. Just as Casi explained, newspaper headlines normally report what has already happened. Therefore, in real time, by the time we read the headline the major has already called for the peace summit, so it is a past event. But to make the news more vivid, the standard practice is to report this past event in a present-tense headline.
Jim