three forms of verb

Hoa Thai wrote:

Jackson6612 wrote: Question 2: CB has written: Many scholars also call the second form preterit[ e]. This may be because it doesn't always indicate past action: It's time we went out! Preterite means bygone or former. This means preterite is synonym of past. I don't understand the part where CB said: This may be because it doesn't always.... It's same as saying, This may be because it (preterite=past) doesn't always indicate past action, which is wrong because it is contradictory to itself. Then, why did CB said that? Because it is an unreal past. In this case, the peterite (a.k.a  another beautiful name for past as you said) is used to convey a wish for things to happen. For example:  You see two friends arguing (present tense). You wish to break up the heated argument,so you say to one of them, "It's time we went." With that statement, you mean, "It's time [I wish] we went." This 'I wish we went' is the same as 'I wish I won a lottery'. You express a wish for an event to happen in the future and you are in the present. Nobody can tell what will happen in the future as you would not know if your friend will go with you, or you will win a lottery. Therefore, past tense is used. (unreal past). Make sense? I understand what you said. I believe you misunderstood my question. I request you to review my question. Question 3: CB wrote: I know of no other reason than the preterite having been idiomatic in that context for a long time. These are synonymous: It's time for you to say something. It's time you said something. This use of the preterite has been discussed recently in another thread  -  I forget which one  -  and I have learned that some Americans say: It's time you say something. 1: Would it okay if I say: I know of no other reason except that the preterite...? Yes. The form having with a past participle can be used to introduce a clause in which you mention an action which had already happened before another action began. e.g. He arrived in San Francisco, having left New Jersey on January 19th... [Collins COBUILD Dictionary]         CB said: I know of no other reason than the preterite having been idiomatic in that context for a long time. 2: How does the above sentence fit in the context of the above definition? Please review my explanation above. Where is your explanation? CB said: I forget which one. 3: Why didn't she he say, ''I forgot which one''? He now forgets which one. John: Where did you place my notebook? Michael: Oh, so sorry, I forgot about it - let me think. Is Michael's reply grammatically incorrect because he forgets now but he still using the past tense? Hi Jackson, My comments are in pink.

Jackson6612 wrote:

Question 2: CB has written: Many scholars also call the second form preterit[ e]. This may be because it doesn't always indicate past action: It's time we went out! Preterite means bygone or former. This means preterite is synonym of past. I don't understand the part where CB said: This may be because it doesn't always.... It's same as saying, This may be because it (preterite=past) doesn't always indicate past action, which is wrong because it is contradictory to itself. Then, why did CB said that? I understand what you said. I believe you misunderstood my question. I request you to review my question. I think CB just thought out loud. I saw that he used the term ‘may be’ along with ‘past action’ in his sentence. As you agreed with me in my previous post, the peterite (i.e., word in past form) was used not to indicate past action but a wish in the context that we have been discussing about.

Jackson6612 wrote:

Question 3: CB wrote: I know of no other reason than the preterite having been idiomatic in that context for a long time. These are synonymous: It's time for you to say something. It's time you said something. This use of the preterite has been discussed recently in another thread  -  I forget which one  -  and I have learned that some Americans say: It's time you say something. The form having with a past participle can be used to introduce a clause in which you mention an action which had already happened before another action began. e.g. He arrived in San Francisco, having left New Jersey on January 19th... [Collins COBUILD Dictionary]         CB said: I know of no other reason than the preterite having been idiomatic in that context for a long time. 2: How does the above sentence fit in the context of the above definition? Please review my explanation above. Where is your explanation? Since you and I agreed with the usage of peterite to indicate a wish in the context we have been discussing about, and CB said that “It’s time we went” or “It’s time you said something,” are idiomatic. Therefore, what CB said should fit.

Jackson6612 wrote:

CB said: I forget which one. 3: Why didn't she he say, ''I forgot which one''? He now forgets which one. John: Where did you place my notebook? Michael: Oh, so sorry, I forgot about it - let me think. Is Michael's reply grammatically incorrect because he forgets now but he still using the past tense? No, I understand that Michael realizes that he forgot about the notebook. BTW, we cannot question the speaker about 'present' or 'past' forgetfulness. His / her mind just works that way! My nephew and I learned the same thing yesterday. I already forgot it. He now forgets it. Make sense?