Search results for 'tag:Definite articles tag:Tenses' matching tags 'Definite articles' and 'Tenses'

Re: from/since/own

Cool Breeze — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:35:47 GMT

1. The use of the indefinite article implies that more than one shop are involved. On second thought, I'm trying to envisage a conversation with "it's a little shop of my own"... Perhaps it could be used even if you have only one. People don't always go by the book (= the grammar book ) when they speak and write.

For example, it says in all grammar books that the combination the ... + of one's own is wrong. In other words, we shouldn't say: This is the car of my own. Yet an English pop singer called Cliff Richard sold a million records (or more, I don't know) singing:

And some day when the years have flown

darling, then we'll teach the young ones of our own.

- The Young Ones

2. You can say from Monday to/till/until Friday. Since instead of from is wrong simply because native speakers don't use it with to/till/until. It has nothing to do with tense. There is no verb in your original example.

Re: tense

Clive — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:25:05 GMT

Hi,
You said:

He lost his confidence, because he realized that this project had been undertaken with the support of the president.

He lost his confidence, because he realized that this project was undertaken with the support of the president.

Both tenses are OK.

I understand that I might have needed the definite article "the" before "support" but "the" before "president"? Can I use the title version without "the" here? You mean with the support of President. I'd use a capital to indicate it's a title. No. There are lots of people with the title of President, eg Presidents of countries, Presidents of companies, etc.You need to make a specific reference, eg with the support of President Bush, or with the support of the President (in a context where it is understood that you are talking about USA national politics.)

Also, why did you say both are OK when the undertaking has probably occurred before him realizing it? 'Had been undertaken' stresses the timing. 'Was undertaken' doesn't stress it. It's a matter of how much emphasis you want. I'd prefer 'had beeen undertaken', but you asked if both were acceptable.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: tense

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 08:46:14 GMT

Thank you.

You said:

He lost his confidence, because he realized that this project had been undertaken with the support of the president.

He lost his confidence, because he realized that this project was undertaken with the support of the president.

Both tenses are OK.

I understand that I might have needed the definite article "the" before "support" but "the" before "president"? Can I use the title version without "the" here?

Also, why did you say both are OK when the undertaking has probably occurred before him realizing it?

Looking for some tips and/or curriculum suggestions

mikesusangray — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:50:11 GMT

Hi all!

I've been giving English conversation lessons to a theology professor for about a year now. He's getting on in the years - a couple years from retirement - and his primary goal has been just to get his spoken English going a little stronger. His mother tongue is French but he's been teaching at a German language university for many years.

I'd like to add some more specific inputs to our lessons but I can't seem to find the right material. His passive skills are excellent - he reads widely and with perfect comprehension in his field - and he can communicate quite understandably. He is a linguistics specialist and can grasp any concept about the language immediately. I brought along Cambridge Advanced Grammar in Use and he could plow through a chapter in five minutes with perfect conceptual comprehension.

However, he also continues to make very simple errors - for example, he has trouble choosing between present simple and continuous or often uses the present tense for past events. Sentence order tends to get wander hither and yon while definite and indefinite articles come and go with the tide. (Prepositions are a problem too, but I won't beat him to hard there - prepositions are difficult in any new language.) In many cases his mistakes are typical of French or German speech patterns.

One other limitation is that he enjoys the weekly lessons (a good hour), but doesn't have much time to study in between.

Right now we spend about 15 minutes reading a chapter from Advanced Grammar in Use and about 45 minutes talking about just about anything under the sun, while I take notes and show him problems under the categories Pronunciation/Articles & Prespositions/Word Order/Other Grammar/Vocabulary/Idioms. However, I don't think the work book is a good choice - particularly since he doesn't do the homework - and it seems like he isn't making very good progress with his typical problem patterns - though he greets them like old friends when I point them out.

Any tips here?

Re: decline.

Huevos — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:43:34 GMT

New2grammar
stores and restaurants are seeing sharp decline in sales ...

Just to clarify about the indefinite article: it's OK to say "stores and restaurants see sharp decline in sales" without the article when using the present tense; in fact it has the ring of a newspaper headline. On the other hand when using the gerund not using the article in this context sounds very wrong to me as a native speaker.

Re: NOUN

Believer — Fri, 30 May 2008 23:55:17 GMT

Thank you, Avangi.

In my previous post, I should have used third-person verb tenses, 'sounds' and 'gives' -- proper subject-verb agreement wasn't made due to my carelessness.

Going back to your request for examples of cases where I would feel something in quotes could not be used with an indefinite article becauss of its semantic meaning, I would have say that I can't think of any at this point in time.

Do you think anything in quotes is good a candidate as a typical (known-to-be??) uncountable noun?

Thank you.

Re: articles

Clive — Tue, 27 May 2008 03:06:27 GMT

Hi,

It depends on the context, but I think that in most cases you'd use #1.

Your grammar is also a little awkward. The definite article suggests that you are talking about a specific policeman. The present tense suggests that you are describing his habits/routine. That all seems like something you would seldom want to talk about.

Best wishes, Clive

The definite article

geni4u — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:08:09 GMT

Hi Teachers,

I got a question about the definite article "the." Let's suppose that I bought a pen yesterday and I just met a friend who does not know I did.

Me: Hi Paco! How're you doing?

Paco: Good!

Me: The pen that I bought yesterday is not working!

In the above conversation, is "that I bought yesterday" enough to define "the pen"? Or does Paco have to know what pen I refer to (e.g., he was with me when I bought the pen) for the above conversation to work? Could Paco respond by saying "What pen?" in the above conversation? Do I have to say like the following?

Me: Hi Paco! How're you doing?

Paco: Good!

Me: I bought a pen yesterday and the pen is not working!

Please clarify this for me. And should part of my second sentence (Let's suppose ...) be "met a friend who did not know I had done" to match the two tenses?

Thank you.

active\passive

Newguest — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:57:59 GMT

Active sentence: Somebody stole my bicycle.

Passive sentence: My bicycle has been stolen.

Is the passive sentence OK, in your opinion? I would write: My bicycle was (simple past) stolen.

As far as I know if the active sentence is written in simple past than the passive one should also be written in simple past?

One more question. I never know whether I should write it with the definite article or not: present simple, simple present, present simple tense etc. Should I put the "the" before each of them or always omit it?

thanks

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