In Tenses^x, Modal verbs^x

Hello Eladio So, I've concluded that passive voice doesn't change OR AT LEAST it's preferable not to change it in reported speech IF what we're reporting has no confusion or ambiguity (as in the case cited by paco: "the yesterday British invasion to America"). Am I right now? Noop! You are...

True? "Yesterday President Bush said that America was dominated by British soldiers." Huurm.. English is a quite queer language. Hi Paco, Again, if you want to believe that the sequence of tenses "rule" describes how language actually works, then you're going to be severely disappointed....

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20050311_190923_1488 1. James says if the NDP gets elected in the spring, she would increase the number of residencies for foreign trained doctors to 25 annually. (Is this a conditional wiht a modal verb? Is the modal verb acting as a...

Hello This is a garbage-like posting written by a poor English learner who has been and still now is agonized by subjunctive things which supposedly underlie English collocations. My way of understanding English grammar The English language uses two moods (indicative/subjunctive) and two...

Hello Cacarr I am probably being extremely obtuse, but I still don't quite understand what you require, to demonstrate tense. For instance, what is it in an ordinary verb that shows tense, that is lacking in modal verbs? MrP

tense has no bearing on the semantics of modals I'm trying to analyze this sentence, especially in terms of its ramifications. Which of the following are consistent with that sentence? No modal verb expresses tense. No modal verb expresses a relationship in time. When determining the meaning of...

Hello Jack 1. If your garage is very small, you would be well advised to hang as much as possible on the walls. 'Would' is often used in the main clause, when we want to give advice, or make suggestions. The 'would' in a type 2 conditional denotes 'the unreal'; but the 'would' in an 'advice'...

1. 'Last week, I may go sailing.' I find this sentence baffling: it seems to contradict itself. The contradiction seems to reside in the opposition of 'may' and 'last week'. I myself would describe this as a conflict of context (past) and tense (non-past). How would you describe it? The...

Hello Equivocal, welcome to English Forums. It will take me a little time to read through and understand the implications of your posts, which look very interesting. In the meantime, I'd also be interested in your thoughts on the following: 1. 'Last week, I may go sailing.' I find this...

1. If the car breaks down on you, you would have to pay for the repair, if you didn't buy the warranty. You can think of the conditional as a contraint. So in the above there are two conditions: 1) IF the proposition (the car breaks down on you). Because you have two if-clauses in your...