Search results for 'tag:Negatives tag:Present tenses' matching tags 'Negatives' and 'Present tenses'

Re: grammar question?

CalifJim — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:19:37 GMT

(1) In 1978, a year or so before The Wall was released, Gilmour filed his first solo project, appropriately titled David Gilmour. While the songs don't approach the sublime heights of his best 1970s work, the album does have enjoyable moments, like the rockin' "Cry from the Street" and the poignant "So Far Away,"one of his best vocal turns.

Should it be didn't? Please clarify. No. It should be don't. When speaking of the contents of an artistic work which is currently available to all for examination use the present tense. It doesn't matter when the work was first created.

The plot of the play, written in 1598, is complex.

The songs, released five years ago, are not very melodic.

(2) Twisted Sister join Metallica for their second European tour which started on June 6 and lasted until June 10th. It was soon after this tour that Metallica had their first meeting with future manager and future record label Chris Burnstein from Q Prime, this happened on August 1, 1984. Metallica let the old manager Jon Zazula go on the August 2.

Should it be "joined" or "joins"? Is go okay? Please check in the above sentence. Twisted Sister is a group, so the notional plural join is used. go is OK. The grammar of let is as follows:

let [object] [base form of verb] Let my people go. We let the boys play until 5:30. Don't let them see us.

(3) This is unfortunate, and almost guarantee that the disagreements and accusations will persist among Jimi and the various factions of the Hendrix family.

Should it guarantees? Yes. But maybe two or more things are mentioned in the preceding text which are being referenced here.

(4) Hendrix returned to New York City for more club gigs. In July he saw Fank Zappa, whose band the Mothers of Invention were playing at an adjacent club.

Should it be was? Again the notional plural is used.

(5) He did this by melting plastic bottles into a ball and then using a soldering iron to make holes for his fingers. He fit his fingers into the plastic was it was still pliable enough to be shaped.

Does the bold phrase make sense? Please rephrase for clarity of thought. Typo. It should be while it was still pliable.

(6) Not since Eddie Van Halen has a guitar player been as influential to the prevailing sound of rock music.

Should it be as? No. a guitar player has (not) been as influential is the normal order. The inversion is required after the initial negative not since....

Re: adjective or part of a passive

CalifJim — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 02:26:44 GMT

Believer
I have difficulty distinguishing between situations where a participle is used but ambiguous as to whether it is acting as an adjective or part of a passive. Do you have some guideline I can go by?

One wonders whether anything about your ability to use English in either its spoken or written form hinges on the ability to make such distinctions. Recognize that some cases are inherently ambiguous.

Nevertheless there are some guidelines if you wish to 'get into the weeds' of the various types of passive.

Believer
... things get confused when and where the 'by' seems to be almost impossible ... [as in] this case:
The work is finished.

Yes. I think I understand what you are getting at -- although for non-native speakers some of the guidelines may appear to be circular in nature.

According to Palmer (The English Verb), besides the plain vanilla 'passive' with an agent introduced by by (The man was killed by his wife.), which we may call the 'true passive', and the passive without an agent, or 'agentless passive' (The man was killed.), also a 'true passive', there are three other categories of passive -- the pseudo-passive, the semi-passive, and the statal passive. None of these three is a 'true passive'.

To understand the three types of 'false passive' (if you'd like to call them that!), it is first necessary to understand the tests for being an adjective, as enumerated by Palmer. These tests are as follows. An adjective generally can be used before a noun, after a linking verb, with the adverbs very, rather, more, or most, (sometimes with already), and coordinated with another adjective with and. Not all of these are possible for every adjective, but they are generally possible for most adjectives. The following examples show, with these tests, how finished is an adjective.

a finished product (use before a noun)

The work is finished. (use after a linking verb)

*very finished (not really possible, since finished is not gradable)

already finished (use with already)

It is finished and ready. (with and and another adjective)

________

Now for the categories.

The pseudo-passive has no corresponding active form and the past participle is completely adjectival.

The room seems very crowded. (Note the linking verb and very.)

The problem is complicated. (You could say very complicated or rather complicated. You could say difficult and complicated. You could say a complicated problem. These tests show that complicated is an adjective here.)

The semi-passive may appear to have a corresponding active form but is adjectival. Optionally, it may introduce the apparent agent with a preposition other than by, e.g., with or in. It may relate to emotional conditions. It may have negative forms with un-.

Jake was shocked by her behavior.

Roberta was worried about the exam.

Everyone was satisfied with the results.

We were quite uninterested in the presentation.

The statal passive is adjectival. The simple tense is very similar in meaning to the corresponding perfect tense, which (at least approximately) represents the corresponding agentless passive. Some examples can occur with already.

The glass is broken. (The glass has been broken.)

They were married for many years. ( They had been married for many years. Note married and happy, married couple, already married, unmarried -- signs of being an adjective.)

The exams are finished. (See the adjective tests for finished above.)

None of the three types discussed above are 'true passives'. It is often difficult to place a given usage exactly in one of the categories, so in spite of these guidelines, there are still ambiguous cases. Even some of the examples given above might be placed in a different category. Only context can resolve them.

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:19:31 GMT

Eladio wrote:
Whatâs the difference between these two sentences? I read both in a dictionary and Iâm confused.

She wasnât used to him away but she soon got used to it. Now she is used to seeing him once in a year.
She didnât use to him away but she soon got used to it. Now she is used to seeing him once in a year.

The point is that I believe to understand that âShe used toâ is a past tense, so âShe didnât use toâ¦â is the negative form of this past tense. Now, âSheâs used toâ is a present tense, so the negative form of this present tense is âShe isnât used toâ¦â. Now, âShe wasnât used toâ¦â sounds to me like a negative (another?) form of the past tense. Is that correct? In above sentences the use of past forms âwasnâtâ and âdidnâtâ tends to confuse, I believe, to a not English speaker, and to think that both are different forms of the past.
Did you use to play tennis when you were younger? (Past, right?)
Are you used to play tennis? (Present, right?)
I donât know if Iâm being clear in explaining my confusion.

Dear Mister Micawber and MrPedantic thank you for your help with my post âPlease, help!!â. Mister Micawber, your advice related to the title of that post (âPlease, help!!) is important to me. The fact is that Iâm a native Spanish speaker and Iâm certainly learning the real spoken English in streets and with all of you in EnglishForums; I mean, in Spanish âPlease, help!!â doesnât implies necessarily a panic situation. Weâre used to use many exclamation marks. So, Iâm sorry. And I would like to thank CalifJim and Clive for their help with my recent post âNeedless / unnecessaryâ.

Hi Eladio,

In addition to the experts' comment, here is my two cents if that may help...

I used to lived next door to John = sometime ago, John was my neighbor. [used to] is a phrasal expression which denotes the long-gone past . i.e. if someone said "I used to care about you", it means the caring no longer exists any more. The use of this phrase is not so much concerned with the exact past time but what happened in the past.

My parents used to take me to the parks on Sundays when I was little.

Be used to means something differenet. i.e. I am used to having my coffee black. This means I am accustomed to drinking coffee without sugar.

Re: a question of "Simple Present Tense"

Mr. Profenglish — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 20:47:48 GMT

Anonymous wrote:

Hi everybody,

I have a question about the Negative Form of "Simple Present Tense", please help me.

Can I use "I don't read the book right now" to express the meaning of "I'm not reading the book right now"?

Thanks a lot in advance.

***********

Here is a summary about the present simple tense with all the forms of it plus examples

* * *

Form

Examples

Notes

Affirmative( Positive ) form:

Base form

S- form

1. Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.

2. The world is round

3. He always eats a sandwich for lunch

4. My classes begin at nine.

5. She prefers to stay at home.

6. He appears to be asleep.

7. That belongs to me.

8. I remember my first teacher.

9. If you study hard, you will pass the exam.

10. If he comes early, he will catch the bus.

Present Simple Tense is used :

i. to show general statement of fact

ii. to express habitual or everyday activity

iii. with verbs of: senses, mental activity, possession and attitudes

iv. with conditional clauses type one.

Remarks:

Â§ Singular subjects take the S-from

Â§ Plural subjects take the Base form

Â§ ( he, she, it ) + S. form

Â§ ( we, they, you, I ) + Base form

S. = subject

inf. = infinitive form of the verb

S- form = verb + s

Base form = verb without ( s )

Negative form:

(do, does + not + inf.

1. They do not work at the hospital.

2. She does not go to the university everyday

Contracted Negative form:

donât + inf.

doesnât + inf.

1. They donât work in a bank.

2. I donât recognize that man

3. She doesnât prefer to stay at home.

Wh- question form :

Wh- + ( do / does ) + S. + inf. + ...?

1. Where do you live?

2. When does she go to work everyday?

3. Why do I like that nonsense?

Yes/No question form :

(Do / Does ) + S. + inf. + â¦ ?

Do they need a help?

Does he mean that book?

Short Answer form :

Yes, + S. + ( do / does ).

No, + S. + ( donât / doesnât )

Yes, he does. / yes, they do. / Yes, I do.

no, I donât. / No, he doesnât / No, they donât.

***

Regards,

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

a question of "Simple Present Tense"

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:48:22 GMT

Hi everybody,

I have a question about the Negative Form of "Simple Present Tense", please help me.

Can I use "I don't read the book right now" to express the meaning of "I'm not reading the book right now"?

Thanks a lot in advance.

Re: botton or buckle my belt? and the s in verbs

Yankee — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 16:23:29 GMT

Anonymous wrote:
Hi, everybody I have few questions.

-If I have a belt for pants do I say : "I botton my belt" or I buckle my belt?
Belts usually have buckles rather than buttons, so you would normally buckle your belt.

-Look at these sentences: Do you know how much ~~a ticket concert~~ the concert ticket cost?
In the sentence above, the verb cost is simple past tense. The sentence asks whether you know how much someone paid for the ticket.

Do You Know How Much It Costs?
This sentence asks what the price is.

Why in the 1st sentence the verb "cost "didn't take the s and in the 2nd sentence it did? What are ALL the cases in which a verb takes the s?, What are all the cases in which a verb doesn't take the s? There is an s at the end of simple present tense verbs in the third person singular in affirmative sentences. If the sentence is negative or interrogative, you use does+the base form of the verb in the simple present tense (third person singular).

Thanks a lot for your time and consideration, take care.

Re: I want to find some friend to talk and improve my english

Quangtrungvtv — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 03:09:23 GMT

Yesterday, I was joint in a interview in s-fone corp. It is difficult to pass this exam because it very hard.

This exam include two parts : IQ part and English part. In IQ part , I did quite well , but English part I donât understand any sentence .

I am studying lines-lines Books, intermediate level, fellow I want to write some sentence about this book.

UNIT 1 : MODERN LIFE .

Grammar in use :

1In this unit show past ten, simple present tense .

2. this part talk about a story of effect modern life . This is simple story but it practice use tense of English.

UNIT 2 .FORTUNE

Grammar :

Talking about the past :

Grammar in use :

look at the photographs and headline of the newspaper article .

Question one : where does story take place ?

Answer : story talk about fortune of life . It is talking about Chris Bod , a programmer . After sell his house , with 145,000 $ he had taken plan to Las Vegas . Chris sitting all day in Casino and finally he lost all his money . He comeback London and live in a small flat . sine , He âve given up gambling.

Rules : the articale contain four tenses for talking about the past .

underlines positive and negative examples of each these tense

. The simple past

The past continuous

The past perfect

The present perfect.

How do we form each tense find example regular and irregular verbs.

Re: Negatives and Inversion

Cool Breeze — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 14:58:07 GMT

Hi Eladio

IMO means "in my opinion".

You are right about a3, b3 and b4 being wrong. b4 is terrible! b1 and b2 are good. There is nothing grammatically wrong with a1 and a2 but they aren't good English, either. The problem seems to be the use of realize in the present tense combined with until now. I would reword the sentence: She didn't realize before how serious the ~~thing~~ situation is/was. This wording makes inversion impossible.

Cheers
CB

Re: Subjunctive?

Cool Breeze — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 15:45:57 GMT

Your sentences are not very good English as they contain grammatical mistakes. If I understand you right, you are asking whether need not + infinitive is a subjunctive. No, it isn't. Need in the present tense can be made negative in two ways:

1. He need not go there.
2. He doesn't need/have to go there.

In the first sentence need is an indicative present tense even though there is no third person singular inflection (s). In the second sentence does is in the present tense and need is a plain/bare infinitive, or an infinitive without to.

In the past tense we normally say:
He didn't need/have to go there.

CB

Re: is this sentence correct? God forbid, he died such a fearful death.

Jackson6612 — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 06:05:25 GMT

Clive wrote:

Hi,

I'd like to offer a briefer explanation. When you say 'God forbid', you mean 'I hope that God will forbid (i.e. prevent) an event from happening in the future'.

e.g. The doctor says Tom may die next week, God forbid.

That's why you can't say it about an event that already happened in the past.

You might also want to consider the opposite meaning.

e.g. The doctor says Tom will recover his health next week, God willing.

Best wishes, Clive

Hi Clive,

Your answer is in little contradiction with answers by Nona and Erin. Don't you think? I know neither of you fellows is wrong, I'm just asking for a small explanation.

Nona wrote:

Forbidden by God is incorrect (that would mean that God has refused permission for something).

God forbid, he died such a fearful death. God forbid is a hard phrase to explain but I do think it is the appropriate one here. It's almost like a little prayer to God, 'please don't allow this', although of course in this context it did happen! Almost as though the person were saying 'how terrible' or 'wouldn't it be awful/wasn't it awful' or more likely in this sentence 'please don't let this happen to me'. It's also used quite sarcastically at times, 'God forbid I offend Aunt Agatha!' when Aunt Agatha is a horrible old woman who goes around being offensive to everyone...

Godforbidden - an adjective, It means bleak, desolate, as though 'abandoned by God'. I suppose it could be used in this context but it seems strange to hear it used in this way, it is more often used of places than people, when used of people it is a sort of insulting/jokey adjective. I don't think it would often be used in a serious context like this.

Erin wrote:

:"God forbid" is an idiomatic saying. It's almost always followed by a clause with a present tense verb, sometimes preceeded by "that", and often (but not always!) in a sarcastic manner.

God forbid (that) he dies such a fearful death.
God forbid (that) he gets lost in the woods at night.
God forbid (that) he ever calls his parents every once in a while.
God forbid (that) he pays his rent on time.

The last two sentences are examples of the sarcastic usage of the phrase; "God forbids" implies something serious, negative, or otherwise "bad", but when followed by something trivial, positive, or otherwise "good", it creates a humorous effect.

Kevin: "Geez. My folks keep leaving messages on my answering machine. I wish they'd stop bothering me."
Mike: "Yeah. God forbid you call your parents every once in a while...:"
Kevin: "Shut up, Mike."

---

Corey: "I have six-hundred bucks saved up. I think I'll go buy a new guitar."
Eric: "Um... Isn't the rent due today?"
Corey: "Yeah, but I really want a new guitar. Besides, I'm sure the land lord won't mind receiving a late payment."
Eric: "Yeah... God forbid you ever pay the rent on time. Loser."

As for "God forbidden.", I don't think anyone ever says that.