By Clauses, Present perfect

Re: Tense questions

"1. Please tell me why it has to be in the present tense. Please look at 'says' at the Final Line." It doesn't have to. Another possibility could be to use Past Simple. It is allowed to omit tense shifting when the subordinate clause contains...

conditionals

Dear respectable English experts, Please check the following sentence and explain your answer: "She would live in new york if she had stayed." I'm really confused about this sentence as we know in conditional form when if clause is past perfect we write the result clause in...

Re: Please, help me with this question

The difference is subtle. The present perfect is conceptually a step removed from the real action of the simple past. The present perfect is indirect compared to the direct simple past.I read a magazine today expresses what happened. It tells what I did directly. I have read a magazine today...

Re: when

Hi, He -- a book in the garden when I -- there. A) will read / have got C) was reading / gotThe answer to the question above is C. << Yes. I wonder why A is wrong. As far as I know it is possible to use present perfect after when and will in the main clause. This is what Swan has to...

Re: Past perfect

Yes. It is totally wrong. The past tense of a verb of mental activity or opinion (e.g., thought, believed, knew, understood, hoped, felt) is virtually never followed by a subordinate clause in the present perfect tense. The combination sounds exceedingly awkward to a native speaker. ...

Re: correct sentences 24/11

They won't smoke ever since they saw a film on lung cancer. What does "won't" mean here?

Re: correct sentences 24/11

http://forums.eslcafe.com/student/viewtopic.php?t=22113&highlight=

Re: Present or future tense after &quot;by the time&quot; in subordinate clause?

Sorry. Completely wrong.After by the time use the present (or present perfect) if speaking from the viewpoint of the present:By the time I arrive at the hotel, ...By the time I have arrived at the hotel, ...Use past (or past perfect) if speaking from the viewpoint of the past:By the time I...

Re: attempted diets...

No. It does not say that most teenagers have attempted a diet. It is, in fact, restricting the discussion to only certain teenagers. If the teenager has not attempted a diet, then this sentence is not about him. Perhaps most teenagers have not attempted a diet. This sentence says...

Re: since + present perfect tense

I may also wish to add that if the main clause makes clear what kind of time we’re talking about, it’s usually unnecessary to repeat it in the subordinate clause. Use appropriate time in the main clause and use simpler (simple past instead of past perfect) tense structure in the subordinate.