By Conversations, Past tenses

Re: "I would be surprised..."

CJ, I'm not quite sure I get your explanation. MH has a very good point but I remember you said a long time ago (probably a year) that in cases like this, nativespeakers tend to use the past tense throughout. I've been trying to apply that butI have to say, MH's view makes more...

Re: taking out the windows of the car

Hi Ant222, My English skill is not in the “grammarian” class but I will give it my best attempt to explain it. It may not may not be agreeable with the experts. In many instances during casual conversations, we can bet by with simple past tense and no one will flag you for errors. However, to...

Re: tenses

In fact, it's probably a mixture of both - they are still trying to solve the problem so some elements are past and some are present.Maybe he still thinks, and they still resent, but his communication with them is past. GG, thanks for the reply. I like this comment of yours because...

Re: Difference between Say and Said

This is a tricky one and I personally think there's no right or wrong, at least in most cases. It depends on the time frame the speaker has in mind most of the time. However, I have some preferences. In everyday conversation, if I use the past tense said, I wouldn't quote the speech,...

Re: was or is

Hello FH, 1. While waiting in line, the man told me that the nacho stand around the corner is great. 2. While waiting in line, the man told me that the nacho stand around the corner was great. Both forms are common. The present tense "is" in #1 suggests that the nacho stand continues to be...

Re: HOW START A QUESTION?

Those words are left out only in very casual conversation between friends. I don't recommend it. In the case of the first, the past tense is missing if you leave out did, so if you say You know how ...? it will be interpreted as Do you know how ...?, not as Did you know how ...? CJ

Re: I was hoping

.The use of the past tense adds "distance" and that makes expressions such as "I was hoping" sound a bit more tentative and polite.I would not say that it is necessarily only "formal" since I think this sort of usage of past tense forms occurs even in very informal conversation.

Re: Page 1: Please answer the following questions...

Jackson6612 wrote: 1: The TOEFL is produced and administered by Educational Testing Service, a professional test development organization in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Couldn't the above be written as: The TOEFL is produced and administered by Educational Testing Service, a professional test...

Why Did He Not Use The Past Tense Here?

Hi there, Please take a look at this conversation quoted from Seinfeld (A Comdy TV Series): Cosmo Kramer: The bus is outta control. So I grab him by the collar, I take him out of the seat, I get behind the wheel, and now I'm driving the bus. Jerry: Wow. George Costanza: You're Batman. Cosmo...

Re: How and What??

Hi Jhaeden, First of all, the first sentence is in the past tense where the second one is in the simple present tense. I think the difference between them lies in their use .. for example, consider the following conversation: A1: I think we should bring some actor to surprise him in his...