Search results for 'tag:Numbers tag:Past tenses' matching tags 'Numbers' and 'Past tenses'

Re: âThere is always a toastâ or âthere was always a toastâ?

Clive — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 14:11:51 GMT

Hi,

There is a passage in my English textbook. In this passage there are two sentences with the simple present tense, in which I think the simple past tense should be used, and they are the following:

1. âthere is always a toastâ

2. âMany parties, social and political discussions and family gatherings take place hereâ

In order to show the context of the two sentences, the whole passage has been copied below with the two sentences in question italicized (the two sentences are also in bold type together with the title of the passage)

A Russian Experience

It was almost midnight, yet the streets were bathed in a soft, shimmering light. The sun had just gone down and twilight would soon give way to night. We were strolling along the Nevsky Prospekt, a wide avenue stretching four kilometres and filled with people, music and street entertainers. This was St Petersburg in August and it seemed the city was out to celebrate the long summer nights. We had just left the home of newly found Russian friends and after a wonderful traditional dinner decided to have some exercise before going to bed.

ãIt has always been my dream to visit St Petersburg. Absorbed by Russian history since childhood, I wanted to see it all for myself. Now, thanks to Perestroika, tourists are welcomed into Russia and St Petersburg with its rich, cultural history is a popular choice.

ãWe flew in from Stockholm and from the air immediately noticed a well-planned city with apartment blocks built in semi-circles with central courtyards and gardens. Not only did this seem practical, but the idea behind the design was to shelter residents from the fierce winter winds. The city was built by European architects in the 18th and 19th centuries and remains one of Europe's most beautiful cities. Straddling the wide River Neva, the city is made up of almost 50 islands connected by some 310 bridges. No wonder the sight of elegant buildings along the canals reminded me of Paris, Amsterdam and Venice.

ãI hadn't met many Russian people but I had an intense love for their country and traditions and was passionate about art and literature. Russian writers such as Pushkin, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky reach the very soul of ordinary Russians, and this I find intriguing. It was no different when I finally found myself in Russia. People were openly friendly and eager to discuss any aspect of their lives in their beloved Motherland. No matter how bad the economy, somehow these people have the ability to see the positive aspects of their lives, whatever their circumstances. We met an attractive woman from Moscow, and we fast became friends and it was she who invited us into the home of some dear friends of hers.

ãThe apartment block was in an elegant area of St Petersburg and was probably a palace in the past but now converted into apartments of four floors. The entrance through a narrow hallway was dark and dull and there was an old fashioned lift on the ground floor with steel folding gates that clanged shut, after which the lift moved very slowly upwards. It was quicker to walk up the staircase.

ãOur host, Yuri Petrochenkov, himself an artist, warmly greeted us at the door. He was tall with gray hair pulled into a tail. His open, friendly manner and twinkling eyes showed a sense of humor and his English with a thick accent made him an entertaining host. Nelly, his wife, spoke little English but understood a great deal more.
ãWe were ushered into their main room, which served as a living-room, dining room and TV area. There was an air of intimacy in the room, as though it was the core part of this family. Many parties, social and political discussions and family gatherings take place here.They did, and they still do. The present tense suggests that this visit was not long ago, and that the same custom of toasts exists 'today', ie at the time of writing. We were honored to be there and I felt ashamed that I had absolutely no Russian language to attempt to communicate in. Why is it that people of the English-speaking world take for granted that the rest of the world should speak English? I had always meant to learn Russian and had enrolled for courses in the past but they never started because of lack of numbers.

ãOur meal was a feast in itself. We weren't offered wine, just vodka in little shot glasses and before drinking there is always a toast. Here, it seems to be a similar idea to the above, but I'd prefer the simple past here myself. Another interpretation is that the writer is trying to make the reader feel that he is present at the meal, but in that case I'd use present tense for the whole sentence, and maybe even the whole paragraph or the whole narrative. Some nine vodkas later, Yuri was in fine form and had found a drinking partner in my husband!

ãWandering along the river, we agreed that not only had we found new friends, but we had just spent probably the most enjoyable experience of our trip to Russia. This is what travel is all about - to get to the heart and soul of the people and to try to understand and experience a little of what makes others tick

Best wishes, Clive

âThere is always a toastâ or âthere was always a toastâ?

Liveinsea — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:58:49 GMT

There is a passage in my English textbook. In this passage there are two sentences with the simple present tense, in which I think the simple past tense should be used, and they are the following:

1. âthere is always a toastâ

2. âMany parties, social and political discussions and family gatherings take place hereâ

A Russian Experience

ãOur host, Yuri Petrochenkov, himself an artist, warmly greeted us at the door. He was tall with gray hair pulled into a tail. His open, friendly manner and twinkling eyes showed a sense of humor and his English with a thick accent made him an entertaining host. Nelly, his wife, spoke little English but understood a great deal more.
ãWe were ushered into their main room, which served as a living-room, dining room and TV area. There was an air of intimacy in the room, as though it was the core part of this family. Many parties, social and political discussions and family gatherings take place here. We were honored to be there and I felt ashamed that I had absolutely no Russian language to attempt to communicate in. Why is it that people of the English-speaking world take for granted that the rest of the world should speak English? I had always meant to learn Russian and had enrolled for courses in the past but they never started because of lack of numbers.

ãOur meal was a feast in itself. We weren't offered wine, just vodka in little shot glasses and before drinking there is always a toast. Some nine vodkas later, Yuri was in fine form and had found a drinking partner in my husband!

Re: grammar check!

AlpheccaStars — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:03:57 GMT

Ellisa:

This is a very long passage, and your other post seems to be even longer.

The editor at this web site makes it difficult to make corrections to long passages. Also, many teachers do not want to devote a long time working on a single post. If you post only one paragraph at a time, then different teachers can work on them and you will get your corrections faster.

Ellisa

Hello teachers!
I'm summarising a book which is about teaching methods.
I guess there are millions of errors.
Please ~~check those to right one~~ suggest corrections to my sentences.!
Thanks in advance!

13. Teaching grammar

There are two main ways to teach~~ing~~ grammar.(or you can say "ways of teaching grammar". The word "teaching" is a gerund, and must be used as a noun. In this example, it is object of the preposition "of")
One way is ~~both~~ planning grammar teaching in advance and relying on the coursebooks which can help us teach grammar. The other way is teaching grammar as a result of other work. In other words, it is ~~has~~ done as a peripheral activity. In this chapter, we will look at the various different ways to teach grammar. We will look at the range of activities which satisfy not merely efficiency but also ~~appropriacy~~ (not a word; you can use the adjective forms - a range of activities which are efficient as well as appropriate). . Lastly, we will discuss grammar books and their usages.

(You need to be consistent in using imperative versus declarative sentences)

A. Introducing grammar

The following ~~1 to 4~~ examples (, numbered 1 to 4,) are activities which represent a range of possibilities for introducing new grammar.

Ex1) It's making sentences using the present simple in the third singular. First, the teacher holds up a number of flashcards which are about a specific job. Then (? subject - the students )make sentences in ~~contained~~ present simple tense for ~~the~~ each pictures. It consists (or The exercise consists of) of three affirmative and three negative sentences. Then (? subject - the teacher )makes the students guess what kind of job it is. Once students are confident in ~~with~~ these sentences, the teacher asks them to think of one profession and make 6 sentences. Now, they can do activities guessing what profession is being described.

Ex2) It's using texts which contained (present tense) what the students are being taught (past simple irregular verbs). While the students read the text, they come across blanks that they must fill in with the past tense form of certain verbs. Then, (? subject - the teacher )makes them write these past tense verb forms down in the blanks and also write them phonetically using ~~which are shown~~ ~~their~~ phonemic symbols.

Ex3) This is aimed to show the differences between ~~reporting~~ direct speech and reporting things that were said in the past. The teacher draws ~~Draw~~ two people on the board. One, whose name is Jack, is holding a phone and smiling ~~whose name is Jack~~. The other is just standing. The teacher gives the ~~Give~~ students the information that Jack is talking to a girl who he met in the school canteen. Then, the teacher asks the students what Jack tells his friend while taking on the phone. The answers might be in the present form such as ' She says I'm really nice'. In this process, the teacher makes sure that the students understand how 'you' changes to 'I'. The teacher now tells the students that Jack is back home and he was spurned by the girl. He is telling to his mother that 'She said I was really nice' which is past form. The teacher can write both past and present forms on the board to help students.

Ex4) Here, the language which the students are ~~were~~ going to study is ~~was~~ embedded in the texts which they read. The teacher makes the students read the story first. After confirming that they ~~are~~ fully understanood the story by asking comprehension questions, the teacher asks them to make bad or insensible statements using the story. Then, the ~~get~~ students to come up to the board and write the sentences. ~~so that T~~he sentences have to use the modal auxillary "should," such as ~~ncluding~~ 'Should have p.p.' or' Shouldn't have p.p'.(especially here.)

another grammar check!

Ellisa — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:15:27 GMT

Hello teachers!
I have more here to be grammar checked.
Even I was sure about the grammar, there used to be the wrong grammar.
Thanks in advance!

B. Discovering grammar

Example 5 and 6 shows that students are encouraged to work out for themselves how language forms are constructed and used. The language should be familiar to them, however, not being properly taught them yet.

Ex5) First, play a dialogue in which people have been comparing things. Then teacher show the way that we make adjectives comparatives. Giving rules, ignoring technical information and showing the grammar rules on the board is all possible. Showing the comparative adjectives examples and its variations, make questions which can confirm what they are taught. Then practice the grammar doing comparison exercise.

Ex6) Start with asking students what signs they would see in many different places. Show them a number of different signs and ask where they would be and what they mean. After warming up, get the students to do a fill-in exercise where they have to distinguish between have to, don't have to, should, shouldn't and are/aren't allowed. Make them guess where the signs should be. Also the students can exercise crossing out the wrong usage or dividing sentences in the correct categories.

C. Practising grammar

Ex7) This activity is teaching students present continuous and past simple. The teacher tells the student think of a place where you want to be without talking where it is. Tell them again that imagine you are there. Then make students create sentences using the present continuous. Let each of the students present their sentences in front of the class. The others try to guess. One of the advantages of doing this activity is that students can have time to think what grammar they are studying, specially here, present continuous.

Ex8) First, make students read the text. The text should contains what the teacher is going to teach, here the past tenses. Then tell them underline all the past tenses in the text and classify them into three categories. Before checking the answers with the teacher, let the students have partners and check themselves first. Then ask students tell the story about the text without looking the text. Make them doing this repeatedly which helps in increasing students' fluency.

Ex9) Matching sentence halves is one of the best ways of making students think of sentence construction and sentence meaning. It can be done by giving the students two lists but much more enjoyable and interactive way is giving the cards written half of the sentence. Without showing their cards, students read out their own sentences and discuss which pair is possible or not.

Ex10) It's 'find someone who.....' activity. By going around the class, students ask questions and find someone who answers "yes". This activity can be adapted to suit any structure and structures. Also it's an excellent way to students to get to know each other. Mini-surveys are useful for grammar practice in any grammar constructs.

Ex11) This activity is forcing students to make sentences using a particular verb tense. Divide students in small groups. They need to create a sentence as an answer of what teacher mentioned. Questions might be requiring imaginations or sense of humour such as 'Can you explain why you bit my dog?' Award a point it their answers are correct or appropriate. Adding the element of humour, it can provoke great enjoyment.

grammar check!

Ellisa — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 14:12:49 GMT

Hello teachers!
I'm summarising a book which is about teaching methods.
I guess there are millions of errors.
Please check those to right one!
Thanks in advance!

13. Teaching grammar

There are two main ways teaching grammar. One way is both planning grammar teaching in advance and relying on the coursebooks which can help us teach grammar. The other way is teaching grammar as a result of other work. In other words, it has done as a peripheral activity. In this chapter, we will look at the various different ways to teach grammar. We will look at the range of activities which satisfy not merely efficiency but also appropriacy. Lastly, we will discuss grammar books and their usages.

A. Introducing grammar

The following 1 to 4 examples are activities which represent a range of possibilities for introducing new grammar.

Ex1) It's making sentences using the present simple in the third singular. First, the teacher holds up a number of flashcards which are about a specific job. Then make sentences contained present simple for the each pictures. It consist of three affirmative and three negative sentences. Then make students guess what kind of job is. Once students are confident with these sentences, the teacher asks them to think of one profession and make 6 sentences. Now, they can do activities guessing what profession is being described.

Ex2) It's using texts which contained what the students are being taught (past simple irregular verbs). While the students read the text, they come across the past tense form of certain verbs. Then, make them write these past tense verb forms down in the blanks which are shown their phonemic symbols.

Ex3) This is aimed to show the differences between reporting speech and reporting things that were said in the past. Draw two people on the board. One is holding a phone and smiling whose name is Jack. The other is just standing. Give student information that Jack is talking to a girl who met in the school canteen. Then, ask the students what Jack tells his friend while taking on the phone. The answers might be in the present form such as ' She says I'm really nice'. In this process, make sure that the student understand how 'you' changes to 'I'. The teacher now tell the students that Jack is back home and he was spurned by the girl. He is telling to his mother that 'She said I was really nice' which is past form. The teacher can write both past and present forms on the board to help students.

Ex4) Here, the language which the students were going to study was embedded in the texts which they read. Make student read the story first. After confirming that they are fully understood the story asking comprehension questions, ask them make bad or insensible statements using the story. Then, get students to come up to the board and write the sentences so that the sentences including 'Should have p.p.' or' Shouldn't have p.p'.(especially here.)

present tense vs past tense

ravikumarkargam — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:46:29 GMT

My colleague sent a software bug to me to resolve it (about 1 hour back). Just now resolved the issue and would like to send an email to him about it (Immediately after resolving the issue). I have highlighted the tenses i am using in both the sentences. Which one of them is right? If both of them are wrong, please let me know the correct way to put it. My main intention is to know whether to use present tense or past tense.

The cause of the issue was proof file was missing in summary page and when the user clicks on count in summary, the logic used to display the files includes proof files. Because of that there was inconsistency between count displayed and the number of files showed.

The cause of the issue is proof file is missing in summary page and when the user clicks on count in summary, the logic used to display the files includes proof files. Because of that there is inconsistency between count displayed and the number of files showed.

Regards,

Ravi

Re: What this error is called?

Avangi — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:24:57 GMT

Hi,

I'd say "agreement of subject and verb." It becomes more complicated when you ask a question, because you have to worry about the person, number and tense of the principle verb (to mean) and also the person, number and tense of the auxilliary verb (helping verb) to do.

It means nothing.

It meant nothing.

"It" is third person singular. It means is correct present tense. It meant is correct past tense.

When you ask the question, use the bare infinitive of the principle verb "to mean." In your examples, it doesn't change.

The agreement is done by the auxilliary verb. It does. It did. What does it mean? What did it mean?

To be more specific about your error, you failed to use the infinitive form of the principle verb, mean. You used the simple present and past of both the principle verb and the auxilliary verb. You might call it an error in verb formation. (I guess you'd have to say the agreement of subject and verb is correct.)

- A.

Re: Tense mix-up overload

macavalesi9 — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:47:39 GMT

My doubt concerns the way I've changed the tenses in each sentence.

"Nick sat down, thinking about all that had happened, wondering where it would take him, wondering if it made any sense to stay any longer. He took out his cellphone and began dialing a number, even as a million doubts assaulted him. A loud song blared out from the speakers but he didn't take note..."

Here, Nick "sat" is clearly a past tense. Yes.
But right after the comma I've used "thinking", then another comma, "wondering", and so on. So my question would be, what tense are those parts of the sentences in? He sat down in the past, but this thinking and wondering, at what time frame are they occurring in? I hope I'm asking the right questions here, I'm not very good with the terminology''

"Nick sat down, thinking about all that had happened, wondering where it would take him, wondering if it made any
as i have said the sentences are right.such words as 'he sat down THÄ°NKÄ°NG,SPEAKÄ°NG..etc are used also to not use the same words again.because its unnecesarry.
you may have said tgis sentences such as 'nick sat down.he was thinking(or he thought) about all that happened.he wondered where it would take him.he wondered if it made any..
but as i have said there is no need to longten the sentences...and here the practicality comes into being.

Re: Tense mix-up overload

Clive — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:18:47 GMT

Hi,
My doubt concerns the way I've changed the tenses in each sentence.

"Nick sat down, thinking about all that had happened, wondering where it would take him, wondering if it made any sense to stay any longer. He took out his cellphone and began dialing a number, even as a million doubts assaulted him. A loud song blared out from the speakers but he didn't take note..."

Here, Nick "sat" is clearly a past tense. Yes.
But right after the comma I've used "thinking", then another comma, "wondering", and so on. So my question would be, what tense are those parts of the sentences in? He sat down in the past, but this thinking and wondering, at what time frame are they occurring in? I hope I'm asking the right questions here, I'm not very good with the terminology.
The words 'thinking / wondering / wondering' are just participles acting as adjectives which describe Nick. They don't involve any tense at all. The tense is supplied by the verb 'sat'. Consider these simple examples which illustrate this point.

Nick sat, thinking.
Nick sits, thinking.
Nick will sit, thinking.

And the next sentence again starts in a past sense.Yes, it's Simple Past. And then, the "began dialing" what tense would that be, past progressive? Yes. Basically I'm really confused. A little explanation would help. Simple Past focuses on the event that happened. Progressive stresses duration. There's nothing at all unusual about using these two tenses together.

eg I saw Tom yesterday. He was walking down the street.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: Tense mix-up overload

neverness — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:47:21 GMT

Thank you for the prompt reply Clive.

My doubt concerns the way I've changed the tenses in each sentence.

"Nick sat down, thinking about all that had happened, wondering where it would take him, wondering if it made any sense to stay any longer. He took out his cellphone and began dialing a number, even as a million doubts assaulted him. A loud song blared out from the speakers but he didn't take note..."

Here, Nick "sat" is clearly a past tense. But right after the comma I've used "thinking", then another comma, "wondering", and so on. So my question would be, what tense are those parts of the sentences in? He sat down in the past, but this thinking and wondering, at what time frame are they occurring in? I hope I'm asking the right questions here, I'm not very good with the terminology. And the next sentence again starts in a past sense. And then, the "began dialing" what tense would that be, past progressive? Basically I'm really confused. A little explanation would help. Thanks a lot again.

Search results for 'tag:Numbers tag:Past tenses' matching tags 'Numbers' and 'Past tenses'

Re: âThere is always a toastâ or âthere was always a toastâ?

âThere is always a toastâ or âthere was always a toastâ?

Re: grammar check!

another grammar check!

grammar check!

present tense vs past tense

Re: What this error is called?

Re: Tense mix-up overload

Re: Tense mix-up overload

Re: Tense mix-up overload

Re: âThere is always a toastâ or âthere was always a toastâ?

âThere is always a toastâ or âthere was always a toastâ?