improvement of sentence

Thanks for that bit of information Goodman.

Ant_222 wrote:

«You can say the same thing in different ways. “Distant event” or “event from years ago” is a matter of choice of rhetoric.» No problem with it, I just used it to make my sentence shorter. «You forgot what you ate last night – active What you ate last night was forgotten – passive You see a problem in that context? But I don’t.» Hmmmm. There are times... when you can (present simple) but what you ate... was (past simple) forgotten — is it ok, shouldn't it be "is forgotten" or "have been forgotten"? I mean my problem is not concerned with active/passive, but with past/present... I thought sentences like that require a present tence: "There're times when I _feel_ bad." "There're times when I remember things that happened long time ago while yesterday's everyday activities have been forgotten". Still can't get why Past Simpe was used.

Ant2222,

There are times (when)  you feel so helplessly alone that you want to cry! When - sometimes is omitted.  

I am making a contrast at the present time of  something in the distant past to something happened last nigh which was the dinner I ate.  I could make this statement passively or actively: To enrich the context, I added:

Passive-

"Does it occur to you that there are times we can recollect / remember events from / happened years ago but what you ate last night was forgotten?"

Active-

"Does it occur to you that there are times we can recollect / remember events from / happened years ago but we forgot what we ate for dinner last night?”

I also like to point out that “distant event” could be someone’s birthday next week. There is no direct tie to the past. On the other hand, “events from years ago/ pasts” clearly directed the time to the past.  What you may say is "distant past".

I hope this logic is acceptable to you.

Ant_222 wrote:

No help from your last post, but after re-reading our little conversaton over I have come up with a reolutionary hypothesis! The problem is that there're two possible omisions: 1. There are time when... (and one has to use present tenses, as I argued) 2. There are times which... (and that seem to be your case, right?) Plus the "from" from your original sentence ("you can recollects event from"), I didn't interpret it correctly, having ascribed it to the following "(from) years ago", which I hope is incorrect. Hope I have now understood you. My incorrect understanding of your sentnce was this: There're times _when_ we can recollect events that took place long ago but what we ate last evening is forgotten. — It does sound ridiculous, one may hear it form a person periodically suffering some memory problems. While you sentence says: "There are times _which_ we can recollect events from..." I should have understood it much quicker! Thanks! P.S: Does the number of 2's in your spelling of my nick indicate the level of excitement?

1. There are time when... (and one has to use present tenses, as I argued) - When is always relating to time, not "which".
2. There are times which... (and that seem to be your case, right?)   No! You are actually making a case bigger than it need be.

"There are times" and "it happens sontimes" are general adverbial clause often follwed by the main sentence body. They are often expressed in present time; except when specified by the verb tense.  i.e. if I say "There are times you don't feel like getting up in the morning". I am making a general statement.

If I said "When I was working for XYZ, I hated my work so much that there were days when I felt like calling in sick". I am referencing to pthe past and this context definetely required past tense.

Oh, about the extra "2" on your logon name, My typing fingers have a tendency of misfiring sometimes!

Ant_222 wrote:

Let me greet you, Goodman! ...I had already written another long (and probably boring) post when it occured to me that the following two questions will help me more: 1. Is the "what you ate two days for luch was forgotten" part parallel to "you can recollect events from years ago", or is it _not_ subordinated to "There are times when"? 2. Can I modify it as "what you ate last night for luch is (or has been) forgotten"? Would it be grammatical? If it would, then would the meaning be preserved? «Oh, about the extra "2" on your logon name, My typing fingers have a tendency of misfiring sometimes!» Your fingers fire and, sometimes, misfire. You must be touch-typing, and very, very quckly... Qwerty or dvorak? Asking that because I am trying to touch-type too.

<<,<1. Is the "what you ate two days for luch was forgotten" part parallel to "you can recollect events from years ago",  I am not sure what you meant by "paralell". But the 2 parts were not meant to "complement" each other, rather to contrast their dissimillarity. 

<<<2. Can I modify it as "what you ate last night for luch (that's a late lunch!)is (or has been) forgotten"? Would it be grammatical? If it would, then would the meaning be preserved?

Let's look at another scenario: Mike got in a fight with his buddy, Paul , last night after having a few drinks. Next day, Mike called Paul to apologize. Mike: "Hey man, I want to apologized for last night. I had too much to drink..". Paul replied " Don't worry about it. It was /is / has been all for gotten". They all are acceptable answer because depending on Paul's frame of mind, each is a grammatically possible answer. I can't emphasize enough, context and tone dictate the use of word choice, tense , and contruction. 

This horse is dead, let's not keep beating it!