Clause and use of Tenses

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Jackson6612

#327192 Sat, 10 Feb 07 08:23 AM

I remember once my teacher told me that when Present Tense is used in first clause then Present Tense will also be used in second clause. I don't know what does this actually mean? Please explain it. Thank you

Jackson6612

Joined on Wed, Dec 27 2006

Senior Member (3,235)

NOTE: When you reply to my post, please look for mistakes in grammar, syntax or punctuation, and let me know of any suggestions you have. Thank you.

Tenses, Clauses, Present Tenses

Inchoateknowledge

#327199 Sat, 10 Feb 07 08:32 AM

I do not know why (s)he said that.

I do not know = main clause 1.

why (s)he said that.= subordinate clause 2.

Inchoateknowledge

Joined on Wed, May 3 2006

Senior Member (2,541)

Beep! Beep! :)

Clauses

Philip

#327364 Sat, 10 Feb 07 05:11 PM

Jackson6612 wrote:
I remember once my teacher told me that when Present Tense is used in first clause then Present Tense will also be used in second clause. I don't know what does this actually mean? Please explain it. Thank you

That doesn't make sense. Even in conditional sentences ("if you go in there.....") three possibilities exist:

present: "you don't have good sense"

future: "you will regret it"

command: "be careful"

Philip

Joined on Thu, Jun 23 2005

USA Pacific Northwest (Seattle)

Veteran Member (6,502)

At reise er at leve! - H. C. Andersen

Tenses, Clauses, Present Tenses, Conditionals

Cool Breeze

#327396 Sat, 10 Feb 07 05:44 PM

Jackson6612 wrote:
I remember once my teacher told me that when Present Tense is used in first clause then Present Tense will also be used in second clause. I don't know what does this actually mean? Please explain it. Thank you

Hi Jackson6612

You may have misunderstood slightly what your teacher said, or his knowledge of English grammar is very imperfect. Your teacher may have discussed the sequence of tenses, but this grammatical phenomenon does not always require you to use the same tenses in all the clauses of a sentence.

Example:
I knew he lived/lives in Tokyo.

The past tense of the main clause (knew) often leads a native speaker to say lived even if the person in question still lives in Tokyo! This is one of the many inaccuracies of English, and I think your teacher had this in mind when he said whatever he said.

Cheers
CB

Cool Breeze

Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006

Helsinki, Finland

Senior Member (3,131)

The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.- Mark Twain

Grammar, Tenses, Clauses, Present Tenses, Past Tenses, English Grammar

Clive

#327429 Sat, 10 Feb 07 06:31 PM

Hi Jackson,

I remember once my teacher told me that when Present Tense is used in first clause then Present Tense will also be used in second clause.

There's no rule that simply says you can't use different tenses in the same sentence. You probably misunderstood what your teacher meant.

Consider this normal example. I live in Toronto, but next year I will move to Montreal.

Best wishes, Clive

Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (23,116)

El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

Tenses, Clauses, Present Tenses

Jackson6612

#327582 Sun, 11 Feb 07 06:27 AM

I hope this sentence is correct.

Your teacher may have discussed the sequence of tenses.

Can we use might in place of may? If we cannot do that then please let me know the reason.

Your teacher might have discussed the sequence of tenses.

Jackson6612

Tenses, Clauses

Cool Breeze

#327613 Sun, 11 Feb 07 09:20 AM

Jackson6612 wrote:
I hope this sentence is correct.

Your teacher may have discussed the sequence of tenses.

Can we use might in place of may? If we cannot do that then please let me know the reason.

Your teacher might have discussed the sequence of tenses.

Hi Jackson 6612

All defective auxiliaries or modal auxiliaries (can,coud; will, would; shall, should; may, might; must and ought) can take an infinitive. There are two infintives in both the active and the passive voices in English. As have discussed is a perfect infinitive, Your teacher might have discussed the sequence of tenses is correct English in the right context. Of course it does not mean the same as the same sentence with may.

To learn about the auxiliaries, look them up in a grammar book.

Cheers
CB

Cool Breeze

Grammar, Tenses, Clauses, Auxiliaries, Modals, Modal Auxiliaries

Jackson6612

#327635 Sun, 11 Feb 07 10:39 AM

can,coud; will, would; shall, should; may, might; must and ought are auxiliary verbs. CB, I don't think they have infinitives, such as to shall, to may etc.

CB said: ''There are two infintives in both the active and the passive voices in English.''

What are these two infinitives?

Your teacher may have discussed the sequence of tenses.

Your teacher might have discussed the sequence of tenses.

What is difference between the meanings of above two sentences?

Jackson6612

Verbs, Difference Between, Tenses, Clauses, Auxiliaries

Marius Hancu

#327674 Sun, 11 Feb 07 12:17 PM

What is difference between the meanings of the above two sentences?

Your teacher may have discussed the sequence of tenses.
Your teacher might have discussed the sequence of tenses.

Not much, perhaps more doubt/hypothetical thinking in might, but many don't accept that.

Marius Hancu

Joined on Wed, Apr 26 2006

Montreal, Canada

Veteran Member (11,673)

Difference Between, Tenses, Clauses

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