Mister Micawber  +  639703 Mon, 12 Jan 09 08:46 AM . HERE'S 18 that you could print out from right on line. . Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,760 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'

	CalifJim  +  679449 Tue, 24 Feb 09 06:05 AM sitifan “Perfect progressive aspect is normally not expressed in the passive voice.” Well, you would know what is normal in English, I suppose! FYI.  Actual utterance of a native speaker: The economy is getting worse and worse.  More and more employees have been being laid off every month. I would say that the passive perfect progressive is less commonly used than some of the other tenses, not that it's not normal.  There is probably a frequency count available for all the tenses, and we could say of almost any tense that it is more likely or less likely to be used than any other given tense we might choose.  The fact that there are differences in frequency of use really doesn't make the passive perfect progressive any less a tense than the others. CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,380 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Tenses, Perfect Progressive, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Languages

	Sadeem  +  925900 Sat, 03 Oct 09 05:09 AM as far as i know through my studying there are 3 tenses ; past present future     Sadeem Joined on Thu, Jun 29 2006 Full Member 190 "I am bigger than anything that can happen to me. All these things, sorrow, misfortune, and suffering, are outside my door. I am in the house, and I have the key."... Tenses, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Languages

	CalifJim  +  925918 Sat, 03 Oct 09 05:30 AM Sadeem “ there are 3 tenses ; past present future ” That is a simplified version of the tense system of English, regarded by many teachers as good enough for all practical purposes.  It may be all you need to learn to master English if you're not interested in the subtleties of linguists.  CJ CalifJim Tenses, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Languages

	Sadeem  +  925935 Sat, 03 Oct 09 05:46 AM and that's what i need :) you know it's a forgin language here in Saudi Arabia :) take care !! Sadeem Tenses, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Languages

	Bob M  +  928009 Sun, 04 Oct 09 03:55 PM It depends on how you want to define "tense", at what level you want to explain things and the model you are using to explain things .  At one level there are clearly only two: the present and the past.  After that, as others have said, you can consider other things, call them tenses, and multiply the number. It must be said though that the idea that English has a "future tense" is a bit hard to defend under any but the most basic model. English has many ways of talking about the future, but no real "future tense".     Bob M Joined on Thu, Oct 1 2009 Spain New Member 27 Bob Tenses, Future Tenses, Writing, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Speaking, Chat, Friendships, Languages, Numbers