My First Question ..

The Graduate — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 11:39:04 GMT

Hi Guys,

I'm really happy to join your forums .. and I hope to spend useful and fun times with you

My question is ..

Can we ask a question in simple present tense which its answer is in past simple?

For example, I may ask a question that is to be true either in the present or the future time like What if you get married?

And the answer (which can be also one or more question to clarify the consequences) according to my understanding will be in past simple because the event of marriage is not yet fullfilled. Examples to answers to this question can be Would you be able to see your friends every day?, Would you change your habbit of sleeping late? and Would you be able to attend single men parties ?

Waiting to hear from you

Re: Answers in a questionnaire

Goodman — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 00:43:49 GMT

Pastsimple wrote:
Hi,

one of the questions you can often find in a questionnaire is "What is your greatest achievement?" People use different grammar structures/tenses etc. when they're answering, e.g.:

gerund: losing weight / surviving a tough childhood / etc...

present perfect: (that) I've lost weight / (that) I've...

past simple: I was accepted as a student at ... / I was accepted as...

Could you please answer the following questions?

1. Does the last example imply that the person's days at university are over? I'd say so.

2. Would you write "I survived a tough childhood" or "I've survived a tough childhood"? I'd go for the former. (To me "I survived a tough childhood" is just a fact about the past (i.e. I survived and it's over) whereas "I've survived a tough childhood", if correct, means "Look, I'm here and I'm alive" to me in the context of this questionnaire)

3. Would "I lost weight" sound odd? I'd say so - to me, it implies that the person has put on weight again. Therefore, losing weight couldn't be considered an achievement here.
(note on 2 and 3: if you lose weight, you can put it on again BUT when you survive your childhood, you can't "unsurvive" it - i.e. die in your childhood)

4. What about "being accepted as a student at..."? Sounds completely OK to me.

5. If you were still studying at that university, would you always use the present perfect version - "I've been accepted"? Would the past simple be possible at all here in this case? To be honest, it doesn't sound that bad to me.

6. What would be your general guidelines as to when to use the gerund / past simple / present perfect in the answer? I'd say:
a. gerund - universal
b. past perfect - in achievements like losing weight , i.e. the achievement may not be permament, it's still valid
c. past simple - all except b.

I'm not sure how the "accepted as a student" example would fit in, though.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: I've just reread my post. How come the "be" precedes the subject in my question (#6)? I'm quite sure it's OK that way.

By the way, I've heard people say:

"What would/will be the result if.... ?" and "What would/will the result be if...?"

It's indeed a strange thing this position of "be" in questions with the future simple / present perfect simple / conditional....

gerund: losing weight could be a great achievement for someone weighing a quarter of a tone!

present perfect: I've lost a little weight lately. This implies he is not as heavy as before. Perfect tense is fine.

past simple: I was accepted as a student at UCLA before I graduated high school. âok to me.

Could you please answer the following questions?

1. Does the last example imply that the person's days at university are over? I'd say so.

I disagree. Consider this: what if the person was making this statement while he is in his second year of college? To determine the right answer to your question, it would have to depend on the full context.

2. Would you write "I survived a tough childhood" or "I've survived a tough childhood"?

I survived / suffered a tough childhood. This implied you are now an adult. Childhood is over. Unless you have additional events tied to your childhood. i.e. I had survived / suffered a tough childhood between my parentsâ devoice and remarriage.

3. Would "I lost weight" sound odd? I'd say so - to me, it implies that the person has put on weight again. Not necessarily true. Consider this: Mary started a dietary and exercise program 3 months ago. Yesterday, she weighed and found herself 25 pounds lighter. She could say â I lost weigh!â. Thatâs why we canât determine the right answer with a one-liner.

4. What about "being accepted as a student at..."? Sounds completely OK to me.

Ok to me tooâ¦

5. If you were still studying at that university, would you always use the present perfect version - "I've been accepted"? Would the past simple be possible at all here in this case? To be honest, it doesn't sound that bad to me. " src="/emoticons/emotion-5.gif">

If you are still in high school and you are telling your friend that you have been accepted by UCLA, itâs perfectly fine. In fact, past simple wonât work well in this case.

6. What would be your general guidelines as to when to use the gerund / past simple / present perfect in the answer? I'd say:
a. gerund - universal
b. past perfect - in achievements like losing weight , i.e. the achievement may not be permament, it's still valid
c. past simple - all except b.

Itâs not a simple answer. You have to put the gerund or questions about the tense in context with the sentence. Itâs not possible to give you a guideline. Itâs too vague.

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My First Question ..

Re: Answers in a questionnaire