In Past tenses^x, English grammar^x

I always thought it was a remnant of the French (Norman Invasion, 1066). There is a handful of verbs in French conjugated with "to be" rather than "to have" in the passé composé (past) tense. Rise, born, arrive, leave, go (all "coming and going" verbs) are some examples. We also sing "He is...

CalifJim wrote: But what if one of the actions did not occur at all? To express this situation, the past perfect in the before -clause is available. This pattern implies the non-completion of the action in the before -clause. Here, the action in the main clause interrupts the intended action...

I think that's correct. The past perfect may have been a stylistic choice to emphasize the historic element. But I do think the simple past tense would work. English grammar can get a little squishy here and there (meaning that a lot of writers bend the rules for style), which can create a...

I think that's correct. The past perfect may have been a stylistic choice to emphasize the historic element. But I do think the simple past tense would work. English grammar can get a little squishy here and there (meaning that a lot of writers bend the rules for style), which can create a lot...

Hi Int, here are my examples of simple past tense "have" When I was a child I have so many toys. You are not forming the past tense correctly here. I had / you had / he, she, it had / we had / they had I have been in New York last year. What you are using here is Present...

Hello, I hope someone reads and helps me What are the differences between the two following sentences in meaning? Do they mean different things or is there a point where they semantically meet? Sometimes I find subjunctive constructions unbelievably complicated. In most cases, it is...

3/ What's the difference between : I would like to see it VS I should like to see it. In American English, you do not use "I should" to mean "I would like to," which translates roughly into "Please, may I see it." I'm sure you can construct a situation in which you'd say "I should like to...

Generally, you are correct, but time isn't everything in such constructions. The degree of doubt might determine which of the two tenses, the past perfect (for most doubt), or the past (for less) should be used, irrelevant of the temporal element involved. Should you have the opportunity,...

From Jespersen, historical examples of back-shifting of "ethernal truths": -- In the following instances, we have "ethernal truths" or something similar shifted to the preterit : Chaucer: I seyde, his opinion was good Bunyan: at that time I felt what guilt was Defoe:...

Thanks for your replying, but I have some questions about them: I have been writing letters all morning. This says what activity you were involved with all morning, that is, during the entire morning. It is still morning and you may still be writing letters or you may have decided to...