Search results for 'tag:Essays tag:Simple present' matching tags 'Essays' and 'Simple present'

Re: without 'will' ?

Mister Micawber — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 07:21:56 GMT

We welcome your opinions, Marcelinx, but it is dangerous to try to compare your native language so closely with English-- they do not work the same way. Nor is your logic very careful.

Well, I certainly hope he helps you.

There is nothing subjunctive about this. The form of the subjunctive verb-- as you said-- is the same for all persons: I help, you help, he help.

Hope (and it may have been my comments that Kooyeen refers to) indeed is among the verbs that commonly take the present simple indicative for future reference in preference to the 'will' future. Other verbs are see, assume, suppose and a few more (I suppose the train is on time). In addition, there are many more verbs for which the future can be cast as simple present indicative in the subordinate clause.

The use of the subjunctive in true unreal clauses (I wish I were King) is slowly being superseded by the indicative equivalent (I wish I was King), to the extent that the subjunctive form is needed only on language examinations and English class essays. It is not a matter of who you are speaking to, certainly.

Which tense to use?

Grammarian-bot — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 20:04:55 GMT

We are leaving tomorrow.
Our plane is leaves tomorrow.

Both of the above sentences refer to the future. 1st sentence uses present continuous while the 2nd sentence uses
simple present to express an action in future. Are there any rules to determine which tense to use in these situations
or it's just the matter of what tense is being used in the essay/paragraph.

GB

Re: English :speech and pronunciation

Jay_zzz0 — Sun, 27 Nov 2005 16:47:01 GMT

It is the tenses that cause the difference. First sentence uses the present continuous tense and the second sentence uses simple present tense. Very simply, the sentence using simple present tense is trying to state a fact. As for present continuous tense, it means something is happening now. For instance if your salary now is $1000 per month, both sentences can be used. Sometimes, when you are constructing a report or essay that shows a sequence of events, one might be more suitable than the other. Happy learning.

Re: It Happens in a Perfume Store

abbie1948 — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 23:12:20 GMT

Hi, Ali.
This is a really nice essay, and I know exactly what you mean about perfumes! You need a little atTention to your grammar, word order and tenses, so let's try and help out.

You have used the present continuous for a lot. (the 'ing' form). When we write a story, it is usual to use the simple past ("I went to the shop") or the simple present ("I go to the shop")

The present continuous is used to describe something that is happening about NOW. So, I can say "I am writing this to Ali", because my fingers are right at this momnet typing the words. But by he time you read it, that will be in the past, so you would say "Abbie WROTE this to me"

My sense of SMELL is ruined whenever I GO inTO a perfume store. Unwillingly I sniff QUANTITIES of scents and THIS MAKES my nose ache. Unlike cutting onionS, however, my eyes are still intact, and that is a good point.

Perfume salesmen are brave enough to fill the atmosphere with fragrance in an earnest attempt to attract customers. Thus, the feeling of being entangled seizes me as soon as I step toward any perfume store.

The shapes and the colors of the perfume glasses are expected to do the other part of the job. There you are LIKELY to find egg-, snail- or tulip-shaped glasses, but the most probable thing is that you will find a perfume contained in a glass SHAPED LIKE A womanâs body. And that is a VERY ENTICING METHOD of sales promotion.

The first step I take inside a perfume store IS to make sure that I AM DEFINITELY in a menâs perfume store. I know that every product has its counterpart in a womenâs perfume store. I learned that fact from the advertisements that WE encounter daily in the newspapers. They sometimes take a whole page. Every company produces two editions of each product, and each edition is designed to match the targeted sex, YET I was ONCE told that they are ALL poured from the same tap. The difference is seemingly IS the shape (OF THE BOTTLE?) Generally, I am still not sure of that.

Second, I EXAMINE the perfume glass carefully. The French three-word cluster "EAU DE TOILETTE" must appear, written or engraved, on the outer wall of the glass. IT IS WELL KNOWN AND WE APPRECIATE the quality PROVIDED BY French brands.

It is AN IMPRESSIVE fact that many brands of perfumes have no expiry dates shown on their glass walls, so there is no fear of the possibility of being poisoned.

Sometimes I go to the perfume store WITH a particular brand in my mind, WHICH is I HAVE either before or, OR HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED to me by a friend. In such a case, it is going to be easy to buy a perfume. Otherwise, I have to try different names or brands, and this is the HEART of the problem. As the perfume salesman begins to sprinkle more than one brand of perfume GENEROUSLY on the backs of my both hands, I feel that all the smells are becoming mingled, and I CANnot distinguish them any more. So, I ASK him to spray on the sleeves of my ROBE, each sleeve with a DIFFERENT brand. Then, I have to memorize WHICH BRAND IS ON each sleeve. It seems a very complicated process, although I consider it a test for memory.

Trying to make it easier, some perfume salesmen use thick cards that keep the smell for a quite long time. THESE ARE PROVIDED BY perfume producers. But unfortunately, I HAVE discovered that some of those salesmen misuse the cards. They sometimes exchange cards for perfumes other than the original ones that correspond with them. And that triggers another problem

Re: Pleas...........................

miriam — Thu, 03 Jun 2004 10:56:30 GMT

~girding on my armour~ I'm coming to rescue my mother tongue from the evils of translation engines!! ~chuckle~
I've never liked those translation programs, and I see I have good reasons for it!

"Hola a todos; mi espaÃ±ol es muy pobre, sÃ© lo que nnecesito escribir en mi propio idioma pero no puedo encontrar las palabras en inglÃ©s. TambiÃ©n, pueden (ustedes) darme algunos consejos sobre cÃ³mo escribir un ensayo?"

That is a (possible) good translation of the sentences first posted in English, it is a translation that would make sense to a Spanish speaker. The differences between Spanish and English go beyond vocabulary. There is not a one-to-one correspondence between the two languages. If there were, then one would need only a dictionary to build a correct and meaningful sentence in either language. Unfortunately, the grammar of Spanish is different from that of English in many aspects, and if we don't take those differences into account when we translate from one language into the other, we can end up with an unintelligible and meaningless text.

There are several important things which the translation program overlooked:
1. In the first translation, "puedo'T encontrar" is plain wrong; it just doesn't exist in Spanish. That was supposed to be "I can't find". But in Spanish we have only two "contractions", and they have nothing to do with verbs. In order to turn a verb into the negative, we simply add "no" before the verb. The correct form is "no puedo encontrar". The negation, in the first translation, is lost, and that makes quite a difference in meaning.

2. "tipos" is indeed the Spanish word for "guys". In Spanish, however -at least in my country- it is very very informal; you wouldn't use it in writing and you'd use it in actual speech only if you are very familiar with the person you're talking too. Also, you have to be careful because "tipos" can have a derogatory connotation in some contexts. In Spanish, we don't use "tipo" in exactly the same way "guy" is used in English.

3. "inclinan acerca de...". This, unfortunately, doesn't make any sense at all in Spanish. If I had to say the same in English (of course it would sound meaningless as well), I'd say "they tip about...".
In Spanish, "inclinan" is the form the verb "inclinar" (infinitive) takes for the 3rd person plural in the simple present of the indicative mood, and the verb means "to tip" as in "to lean at an angle". In the translation, a noun should have been used (since "tips" is a noun in the original sentence in English). A "tip" is a "consejo" or "dato" in Spanish. Nothing to do with "inclinan".

4. "escritura de ensayo". In Spanish, there is nothing wrong with that in terms of construction. But the problem here is that we Spanish-speakers don't normally use nouns as premodifiers of other nouns. That's probably one of the reasons why we have very few compound words. "Escritura de ensayo" (which should have been actually "ensayos") sounds somewhat awkward in Spanish. A better choice is "acerca de/sobre cÃ³mo escribir un ensayo", meaning "about how to write an essay".

As a final note:
Aileen, *please* don't take this personal? I've read your posts and I you are always helpful. I'm not blaming you for the problems of translation programs.

But I just wanted to "warn" people. I've tried several of these programs but, so far, I couldn't find a single one that will come up with a decent translation. Perhaps the mistakes in this example are not too gross but, depending on what you wish to translate, you might end up saying exactly the opposite of what you mean.
Please, be very careful with those "miraculous" translators. In general, they are far from reliable.

Miriam