Search results for 'tag:Present simple tag:Adverbs' matching tags 'Present simple' and 'Adverbs'

chossing correct tense/tense consistency

MaxMaximus — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:08:59 GMT

Greetings,

I have a pretty big favour to ask.

I've been struggling with this topic for quite awhile now.It goes without saying that my English "leaves something to be desired".

Having in mind the subtle differences that occur from using particular tenses, I have often wondered how the authors of following exercises expect anyone to choose the correct form, without providing sound and unambiguous references.

I've uploaded 2 exercises that I stumbled upon :

1. http://rapidshare.com/files/138835945/HP.txt.html
and
2.http://rapidshare.com/files/138835946/redundancy.txt.html

I have converted them into .txt files to ease moderators' job.

They present the essence of my inability to comprehend and do right.

First text:
1. First sentence, adverb "always" stands before the verb (author did not bother to put it in the brackets (always/be)). If she is dead (we don't know that until we have finished reading) or if she is not "a fighter" anymore (we are clueless about that either), - we could use Past Simple. Of course, Present Perfect is more likely choice, but the position of adverb puzzles.

2."But, prior to..." - Past Continuous or Past Perfect?

3.The sentence : "it (be)__ slow to notice..".I'm not sure whether Past Simple or Past Perfect should be used here.There is no strong reference whether this "slow noticing" occurred prior to her arrival or about the time when she came on board.

4."Those three years are not over..". The starting point is present time, but, that has nothing to do with the moment when she realized how things stand, which I know nothing about.Even the Present Simple is possible if she keeps realizing everyday that things are harder than she expected.For the rest of the paragraph I'm not certain whether Present Perfect should be used.

5."Above all,.." - from Present Simple (finds, is trying, is going to embark)...to Present Perfect (has found, has tried/has been trying, has embarked)...The tenses chosen in these sentences determine the tenses of the last paragraph in the text.

Second text:
1. First sentence: we could use Future Simple as well as Present Simple for the verb "have to"?

2. "Although no business or industry..". If there was a recent survey - do interviewed subjects still claim what they have said - or the use of Past Tense is obligatory? The word "any" is used in interrogative or negative sentences - but here, no question is being asked nor it is possible to be negative. Instead, "some" should have been used, I think.

3. "Those who have..." - Present Continuous or Present Simple? Former is more likely choice although the latter is possible also.

4. "In the past.." - as far as I know this presents the "indefinite moment in time". The Present Perfect could be used - but the position of adverb "always" confuses, again.

I would be more than grateful to anyone who can shed some light on these issues.
If I could reach to any other decent credible source I wouldn't ask for help in this way.

Thanks in advance,
Georgie.

Re: Do you put "s" on "take"

bernice.farrugia — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:07:46 GMT

He usually have to takes 10 seconds to get dress.
1. The adverb 'usually' in your sentence indicates routine - therefore you need to use the PRESENT SIMPLE tense. This particular tense needs the -s at the end for HE / SHE/ IT.
     That is why we say 'He usually takes...'

THIS SENTENCE CANNOT BE SAID IN ANY OTHER WAY.

2. get dressed - You NEED TO put the -ed after dress because this is a situation in which the speaker is talking about something that he did / does himself. In these situations we must use GET + PAST PARTICIPLE. The past participle ends in -ed when the verb is REGULAR (like to dress).

Some other examples are: GET MARRIED
                                         GET DIVORCED
                                         GET WASHED

The above are all examples of regular verbs which take the -ed ending for the past participle.

Some examples of irregular past participles are: GET LOST
                                                                       GET CAUGHT
                                                                       GET BROKEN

The above 3 examples DO NOT end in -ed because they are NOT regular.

Re: I do exercise on present simple and i need check it .

BeginStudent — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:28:28 GMT

okay but in the sentence :"Several times a week i play chess" -' i ' in the middle of the sentence not at begining ... why did you tell me to change to 'I'?

-Adverbs , you give me examples of sentence without verb but if you have very cay you move around in a sentence?'

and can i said you :"

Clive i dont understand what's 'strong' word and you are exactly to this : Our teacher very often doesn't give us h.w. //* but why very often in middle of sentence ?

Exactly is adverb and i put it without verb ...

I need to say : are you exactly to this Or you are exactly to this ?

Thanks.

Re: I do exercise on present simple and i need check it .

Grammar Geek — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:33:30 GMT

If you change the lower-case i's to upper-case I's, then both versions of your sentence are correct.

Adverbs can often move around in a sentence. Often, adverbs can move around in a sentence. Adverbs often can move around in a sentence.

Re: I do exercise on present simple and i need check it .

Grammar Geek — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:18:50 GMT

Hello BeginStudent

BeginStudent wrote:

Hi ,

The exercise is :

Add the word or words in brackets to the sentence in each case:

1.She does her h.w after dinner.(usually)

(my answer) 1.she usually does her h.w after dinner.

Okay, but remember to start with a capital letter.

BeginStudent wrote:

Michal comes home at 6 o'clock.(on tuesdays)

Michal comes home at 6 o'clock on thesdays.

Tuesdays not thesdays. Fine, or "On Tuesdays, Michal comes..."

BeginStudent wrote:

I watch the news at 8 o'clock.(almost always)

I didn't understand where i place adverb .

I almost always watch...

BeginStudent wrote:

Do you go to the pool?(even)

I don't do that too.

Do you even go to the pool?

BeginStudent wrote:

I play chess.(several times a week)

I don't do that .

There's no reason for you to not do this. It's no different from the Michal and Tuesdays. Try it again.

BeginStudent wrote:

Doesn't shila watch TV?(ever)

Doesn't shila ever watch TV?

Okay, but shouldn't Shila have a capital S?

BeginStudent wrote:

We are at home.(seldom)

We seldom are at home .

Okay.

I do exercise on present simple and i need check it .

BeginStudent — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:05:15 GMT

Hi ,

The exercise is :

Add the word or words in brackets to the sentence in each case:

1.She does her h.w after dinner.(usually)

(my answer) 1.she usually does her h.w after dinner.

------

Michal comes home at 6 o'clock.(on tuesdays)

Michal comes home at 6 o'clock on thesdays.

------

I watch the news at 8 o'clock.(almost always)

I didn't understand where i place adverb .

-----

Do you go to the pool?(even)

I don't do that too.

-----

I play chess.(several times a week)

I don't do that .

-----

Doesn't shila watch TV?(ever)

Doesn't shila ever watch TV?

-----

We are at home.(seldom)

We seldom are at home .

Thanks , i need it to this hours because it's my practice to exam tomorrow.

Re: present simple after adjective

Musesun — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 23:03:04 GMT

what is about adverb? I have to say I really want it or I'm really want it ?

Re: Difference between There and is...

Mister Micawber — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 14:02:35 GMT

Welcome to English Forums, TheStudent.

Is is present simple third person singular of the main verb be, and third person singular of the present continuous and present passive verb forms:

He is happy.
He is riding his new bike.
His knee is bandaged by the doctor.

There is a locative adverb (My bike is over there in the road) and an existential place marker (There is a dent in its fender). There are other uses for there, but these are the main ones.

Re: Is this correct

abbie1948 — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 13:06:43 GMT

Hi, Dobry

Don't worry about your English - the whole point of this forum is to help with English!

You have used the present simple of "to pass" correctly. "To pass" is a regular verb, so we add 'ed'. You have also used the simple past of "to drive" correctly - this is an irregular verb, so well done!

"When I passed my exams"

"I drove a car ONCE" or "I ONCE drove a car" - note the position in the sentence of the adverb 'once'. You don't need to write "time",because the word "once" means 'one time'.

You now have the sentence:

"When I passed my exams, I drove a car once"

Grammatically, this is correct. I don't want to make this difficult for you, but I don't understand what it means!

Why did you drive a car after you passed your exam? And why only once?

Re: Gerund questions

taiwandave — Mon, 07 Jun 2004 20:29:29 GMT

Many students are confused about when the present participle of a verb (the verb plus âing) should be called a gerund. So before answering your specific questions, letâs review what a gerund is.

A gerund is a present participle that is used as a noun:
Smoking is bad for your health.
Your driving is terrible.
He enjoys running.

Let's look at the example you gave:
Heâs always shouting.

In the above, the present participle âshoutingâ is being used to form the present progressive tense. It is not being used as a noun, so it cannot be referred to as a gerund in this sentence.

Hereâs a sentence where âshoutingâ is used as a gerund:
Shouting loudly is unnecessary.

Although it acts like a noun, a gerund can take an object and an adverbial modifier (in the last example, the adverb âloudlyâ modifies "shouting").

Now letâs look at the second verb youâd asked about. The present participle in âIâm wearingâ is again forming the present progressive tense and is not a gerund. If we wanted to use "wearingâ as a gerund, we could construct a gerund phrase. A gerund phrase is a group of words that is introduced by a gerund. The entire phrase acts like a noun. For example:

Wearing long dresses is inconvenient.

In this sentence, âwearing long dressesâ is a gerund phrase. âWearingâ is the gerund, and âdressesâ is its object.

Hereâs another example:
Smoking cigarettes is bad for your health.
In the above, âsmokingâ is a gerund, and âcigarettesâ is its object.

Now letâs look at your specific questions. Youâd asked what was wrong with the sentence "Heâs always shouting."

There is, in fact, NOTHING wrong with it. The present progressive tense is most often used to describe actions that are in progress at the time of speaking, but can also be used with adverbs of frequency (most commonly âalwaysâ and âconstantlyâ) to describe habitual actions. Usually these are annoying actions of others that we find irritating. Examples:

Sheâs always leaving her clothes on the floor.
Heâs constantly bothering the other students.

Normally we use the present simple tense to describe habits. The present progressive tense is used only when we wish to make a very emphatic statement about someone's habits that is not intended to be taken literally. For example, if we say, âHe is always shouting,â we donât really mean that he shouts twenty-four hours a day. What we mean is that he shouts very often, and that this is a habit of his that we donât like.

Youâd also asked about the difference in meaning between âIâm wearingâ and âI wearâ. The present progressive tense (âIâm wearingâ) is used to describe an action that is happening at the time of speaking. The present simple tense (âI wearâ) describes habits. For example:

I am wearing a dress.
I wear dresses.

The first sentence is in the present progressive tense. It means that you are wearing a dress now. The second sentence is in the present simple tense. It means that dresses are a type of clothing that you sometimes wear. The first is an action. The second is a habit.

I hope that you find the above useful, and good luck!