Search results for 'tag:Definite articles tag:Present perfect' matching tags 'Definite articles' and 'Present perfect'

Re: Questions on sentences in article

Susankay — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:32:29 GMT

When we talk with biblical precision about the resurrection, we discover an excellent foundation for lively and creative Christian work in the present world--not, as some suppose, for an escapist or quietist piety.

Here, the word 'piety' seems to be uncountable, yet seems that the article 'an' is for that. Why? This is a general question but "Can a person use an indefinite article like 'a' when he thinks an instance of something or a type of something in his mind? I think it should be "or for quietist piety.'

No single individual can attempt more than a fraction of this mission. That's why mission is the work of the whole church, the whole time. Paul's advice to the Philippians ~~even though he and they knew they were suffering for their faith and might be tempted to retreat from the world into a dualistic, sectarian mentality~~was upbeat. Might just means "there was the possibility for them to be tempted"

Here, I think it is right to say that in 'might be tempted', the 'might' is used to convey the sense of the past, putting his indecisive intention in the past-time setting; but I think it is safe to say that the word 'might' can be used the same or similarly in the present-time setting. But here, I think it is used in the in the past-time setting. I think you can see a similar use with the modal verb 'would'.

It is the anticipation of the time when God will fill the earth with his glory, transform the old heavens and earth into the new, and raise his children from the dead to populate and rule over the redeemed world he has made.

Here, I think 'he has made' is used because eventhough the reference is to what was made a very, very long time ago, the happening carries a current relevance to what the writer is tryng to say and that is why the present perfect was used. Right? Why do I see 'heavens' in plural, not 'heaven' in singular? The redeemed world he has made - yes it denote present perfect.

This is another question: Can you use a present perfect to refer to a historical figure who happened to live very, very long ago or his legacy?

Yes, if your believe that historical figure is God who lived, is living and will live forever.

Questions on sentences in article

Believer — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:49:28 GMT

Hi,

I gotthe following sentences from the ChristianToday magazne, a magazine of evangelical conviction, by N.T. Wright on March 25, 2008, and hope you would answer some questions on them.

This is another question: Can you use a present perfect to refer to a historical figure who happened to live very, very long ago or his legacy?

Sorry for many questions

Re: Check my mistakes,please

CalifJim — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 02:23:47 GMT

<<Do we have to use the definite article "the" for each tense or not? >>
To be very strict about it, yes, but we frequently write telegraphically and leave out the the, especially on this site, where we use the names of the tenses so often.

<<1.In the use of the Present Simple. I would use the here, yes.
2.The Present Perfect Tense or Present Perfect Tense. Either, as explained above.
3.Translate the following sentences into the Past Unreal Conditional. With the is better.
4.Complete the sentences using Past Simple or the Past Simple. Either. >>

Adding the the sounds better when the tense name comes after a preposition.
_____________

<<Check the following sentences,please:
   A: Why didn't you prepare anything yesterday? OK.
   B: Because I didn't know they ~~will~~ would come. (Sequence of tenses. did - would)
       If I had known that they would come, I would have prepared everything. OK.
    - If they had told me they would come, I would have prepared everything. OK.
>>

<<1. This program is on the air ~~everyday~~ every day except on Sundays.>>

<<Which one is correct?
1. Why ~~I couldn't~~ get in touch with you yesterday?
2. Why couldn't I get in touch with you yesterday? >>

Only the second. You have to invert subject and verb for a question unless the subject is being questioned.(Which came first? or Who did that?)
____________

In the future it would be more convenient if you made separate posts for each of your questions instead of putting so many different ones all in one post.

CJ

Check my mistakes,please

Kittixay — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 02:09:32 GMT

There are twelve tenses in English grammar. Do we have to use the definite article "the"
for each tense or not? Can you give me some explanations,please?

In the below examples, Do we have to use "the" or not?
1.In the use of the Present Simple.
2.The Present Perfect Tense or Present Perfect Tense.
3.Translate the following sentences into the Past Unreal Conditional.
4.Complete the sentences using Past Simple or the Past Simple.

Check the following sentences,please:
   A: Why didn't you prepare anything yesterday?
   B: Because I didn't know they will come.If I had known that they would come, I would
      have prepared everything.
    - If they had told me they would come,I would have prepared everything.

1. This program is on air everyday except on Sundays.

Which one is correct?
1. Why I couldn't get in touch with you yesterday?
2. Why couldn't I get in touch with you yesterday?

Re: Sentence questions Thank you

Demetrius — Sun, 05 Mar 2006 19:52:33 GMT

WANG CHUN wrote:

1. Ancient and modern human beings use their great intelligence to invent machines that help people lead a comfortable and convenient life.

My problem with this sentence is that it is not possible for ancient human beings to do anything any more, so using the present tense just doesn't sound right. Other than that, there is nothing wrong with the grammar. It could be fixed by changing to the present perfect "have used", but not without changing the meaning.

WANG CHUN wrote:

2. What is a colossal distinction between humankind and machines is that former is learning animal and latter is like a robot.

"One colossal distinction between humans and machines is that the former are learning animals and the latter are like robots."

1) You cannot use "What is" here.

2) "Humankind" is a singular collection. A collection cannot be "an animal" or "animals".

3) You must use the definite article with "former" and "latter".

4) As "humankind" has changed to "humans", the number of "is" and "animal" changes to plural. By the way, it would have to have been "a learning animal", not "learning animal".

5) "machines" is plural, so "is" should be "are", and "robot" should be "robots".

WANG CHUN wrote:

3.It is James Watt who had the intelligence to invent the use of steam for power and improve a steam engine that began the Industrial Revolution in which people saw these machines as a tool that enabled them to improve all aspect of lives.

"It was James Watt who had the intelligence to invent steam power and improve the steam engine, which began the Industrial Revolution in which people saw these machines as tools that enabled them to improve all aspects of their lives."

1) It must be "It was James Watt" to agree with "who had".

2) "to invent the use of steam for power" sounds unnatural and clumsy. It is better to simply write "to invent steam power".

3) It should be "the steam engine".

4) It should be ",which began" not "that began", because we are not trying to restrict steam engines to specify the one that began the Industrial Revolution.

5) "a tool" must agree in number with "machines".

6) "aspect" must be plural to agree with "all".

7) You need a possessive pronoun "their" to refer back to the "people" whose "aspects of life" were changed.

WANG CHUN wrote:

4.All technological innovations can be described as an implement of human intelligence, helping people to live a comfortable life.

"All technological innovations can be described as implementations of human intelligence, helping people to live a comfortable life."

1) "an implement" must agree in number with "innovations".

2) "Implements" is the wrong word. I'm not happy with "implementations" either really, but it is the closest in sense.

Re: Earlier/before

CalifJim — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 03:54:52 GMT

Neither of your natural-sounding examples has an indefinite article followed by a time unit followed by "before" within an "if" clause. It seems to me that one or more of these factors must be contributing to the difference we sense.

"I think we have met before" has no article and time unit, so I think it's a different case of "before" meaning "on another (previous) occasion". There's no attempt to say how long before this utterance the meeting actually occurred.

"I think we have met a week before" is impossible (a definite time together with the present perfect tense), and "I think we had met a week before" again sounds strange in the way that "if you had left there an hour before" does, especially when contrasted with the better-sounding "I think we had met a week earlier" or "if you had left an hour earlier".

"It had been fine the week before" also differs from the strange examples. This time the difference is in the use of the definite article "the" rather than the indefinite "a(n)". "the week before" indicates a certain period of time during which it had been fine. Changing to "a week before" gives "It had been fine a week before", which indicates a point of time at which it had been fine.

Now "it had been fine a week before" may or may not sound as strange to your ear as the other examples. If not, then it may be due to the change from dynamic verbs (left, met) to a stative verb (been). Another puzzle to solve!

Generally, it seems to me that "the [day / week / ...] before" and "a [day / week / ...] earlier" are the pairings that work best, i.e., "during the previous period with a length of one [day / week / ...]" and "at a point in time one [day / week / ...] before the reference time".

This analysis has now, I think, reached the point of diminishing returns.

Re: correcting mistakes

maj — Wed, 25 Jun 2003 21:27:43 GMT

where are you from vincent?. I would say yes it is possible to indentify certain mistakes Spanish people usually make and I have a long list of them somewhere in my files, for example one of them would be the use of the definite article. We use articles a lot more than English people do because we do need them in Spanish, so Spanish students tend to overuse the article when they learn English. ( except for The Internet, Internet no article in Spanish).

The same would apply to the use of certain tenses. The present perfect is my favourite. I don't think American people use correctly either from a British point of view. Students try to use it the way it works in their own language.

However, there are some structures which are completely different and which have to be learned from scratch. Some of these are easier to teach because they present no interference with their mother tongue.