By Present tenses, Expressions

It's not subjunctive. It's the modal use of need. Modal need can occur in non-assertive contexts. Modals never take the s in the first person singular of the present tense the way non-modal verbs do. In that way they resemble subjunctive forms, which are also missing the s. The...

I know 'would' carries many meanings. My problem is sometimes I find it difficult to tell which meaning the speaker uses. I think I understand its hypothetical usage, and in some contexts, its politeness usage. Below is a post that has several woulds I have trouble interpreting. I also...

The past tense is used for more than just indicating past time. It's used in an if-clause that goes with a would-clause. This is the general rule. That said, the formulas Would you mind if I ...? Would it bother you if I ... ? and similar expressions are special cases where, informally,...

Eladio wrote:What’s the difference between these two sentences? I read both in a dictionary and I’m confused. She wasn’t used to him away but she soon got used to it. Now she is used to seeing him once in a year. She didn’t use to him away but she soon got used to it. Now she is used to seeing...

Grammar Geek wrote:What is the context for It's 10 minutes' meeting or It's a 10 minutes' meeting? Those don't sound normal at all! So I'm missing something. It's a meeting of 10 minutes sounds grammatical, but not natural. But my mind doesn't rebel against it like the two above. Hi GGI was...

Clive wrote: Hi, present tense--I don't think they could have done what they did. past tense--I didn't't think they could have done what they had done. Do you know the expression 'You are tying yourself up in knots'? It means you are making things very confusing for yourself (as well as for...

Hi, present tense--I don't think they could have done what they did. past tense--I didn't't think they could have done what they had done. Do you know the expression 'You are tying yourself up in knots'? It means you are making things very confusing for yourself (as well as for us). If you...

Hi, So what if we're a little late? I wanted to know what is the tense of this sentence?//???? So what . . . ? is an idiomatic expression meaning roughly Does it matter . . . ? What does it matter . . . ? Thus, it's a present tense statement, because the main clause is present tense. It...