ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: tense differences

Avangi — Sat, 17 May 2008 14:41:20 GMT

Anonymous
Why does one have the article and one doesn't in this sentence of yours?
I'd say, "published by New England etc." and "The board of directors of the New England etc. will be meeting tomorrow."

Of course, an organization may decide what it's own name is, and whether "The" is part of it. If it is, it should always be included. But often, people really don't know, and there's no penalty for getting it wrong.

In my opinion it would never be wrong to use "the," whether or not it's part of the "official" title.

Your original question asked for cases where "the" might be omitted (I believe - I can't see it right now) and to be honest I just followed my ear, that is, what in my experience I've heard people often say.

- A.

Edit. Just looking at a couple of US Federal agencies: the FED (the Federal Reserve System) and FHA (Federal Housing Administration), "the" seems to be always used when it's the subject of the sentence, but otherwise generally skipped. The FHA has been the subject of controversy lately. Applying for FHA loans has recently been simplified.

The FED has traditionally always been known as "the FED," but we would say "FED chairman Alan Greenspan recently retired." (These observations apply to the full titles as well as to the acronyms.

Re: tense differences

New2grammar — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:54:27 GMT

Hi there,

Avangi's examples are practical. I can picture when they will be used. On the other hand, the original examples are hard to apply.

Can someone tell me when you will say the follwoing?

This is the first time we will do this.

Re: tense differences

Anonymous — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:29:14 GMT

Thank you.

Why does one have the article and one doesn't in this sentence of yours?

I'd say, "published by New England etc." and "The board of directors of the New England etc. will be meeting tomorrow."

Re: tense differences

CalifJim — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:10:09 GMT

Anonymous
What is the difference?

This is the first time we will do this.

This will be the first time we will do this.

Practically no difference. In the second sentence, whatever it is that we will do seems a little less imminent.

Re: tense differences

Avangi — Fri, 16 May 2008 23:37:13 GMT

Compared, for example, to "This is the first time we are doing this." I think they both mean the same thing. ("This is the last time we will do this," would be easier.)

I believe they both could be used in a situation where people are discussing whether or not to implement a new plan. Neither one really indicates that the process has begun, but the one with (2) "wills" seems more remote. I think because "this" is present and "will do" is future you need more context about the first "this" to say for sure that there's a difference. In some cases there might be a logical difference and others not. I don't think one is built into the syntax.

I'd say, "published by New England etc." and "The board of directors of the New England etc. will be meeting tomorrow."

- A.

tense differences

Anonymous — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:40:36 GMT

Hi, What is the difference?

This is the first time we will do this.

This will be the first time we will do this.

Sorry, but do you need to place an article for this? Sometimes I see a 'the' with them, sometimes don't -- confused.

when the New England Historic Genealogical Society published the family connections ...

...the genial head of (the???) NEHGS...