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

Re: case of subjunctive in the 'if' clause?

CalifJim — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:15:22 GMT

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 subject of the clause is missing, however (if it need be), but that's because if need be has become a fixed idiomatic expression.

Re: correct sentences 24/11

Teo — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:09:54 GMT

They won't smoke ever since they saw a film on lung cancer.

What does "won't" mean here?

Re: correct sentences 24/11

Teo — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:09:49 GMT

http://forums.eslcafe.com/student/viewtopic.php?t=22113&highlight=

confused about 'would'

New2grammar — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:10:33 GMT

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 copied a post on would by CalifJim for reference.

Your analysis is good. Context will determine if you're using the expression as an excuse to break off what you're doing. If you're calling the people you expect to meet, then you would (1)tell them the truth. You can say, "I'll be about five minutes late," or "I may be a little late." If you're speaking to someone who is about to make you late for an appointment, the expression would(2) mean, "Hey, I'm gonna be late if I don't split right now!" If you just say, "I'm gonna be late," you probably would(3) have already tipped the person off that you would(4) need to end the conversation soon, and as you suggest, you would(5) still expect to be on time if you left immediately.

1) I don't thing politeness is the intended meaning here. To my ear, it carries the meaning of preference.

2) would here means possible? I have zero confidence in this one.

3) it doesn't look like hypothetical usage to me because the if clause is in present tense

4) and 5) should follow the same reasoning for #3, whatever that is.

Please help! Thanks in advance!

CalifJim's explanation on would
Yes. I thought maybe that's what you were referring to.
would in an if clause is possible when the would or the entire if-clause is part of a formula of politeness. if you would be so kind is a typical example of if with would in a "politeness phrase". This formula is equivalent to please. This sort of if-clause does not even have to be classified as a true conditional even though it contains the word if.

The phrase would like as a polite way of saying want, and it too can appear in an if-clause. Note that the idiom would like counts as a present tense for purposes of tense combinations. That is, it may combine with the imperative or the future. The idiom would rather has the same property.

If you would like to have dinner with us tomorrow, please call and let us know before noon.
I'm sure that if he'd like to go with us, he'll tell us. (If he would like to go, he will tell us.)
If you'd rather wait until tomorrow, [just say so / I'll understand].

if-clauses that are part of an indirect question structure are also exempt from the rule about combining if and would:

I wonder if he would object to this procedure.
I don't know if I would agree.
We had not decided if we would go along with the plan.

With the exception of the indirect question structure, which is quite common, these are just a very, very small number of situations where if and would occur in the same clause. The main rule for 99.99% of cases is 'never' to place if and would together!

Re: Would you mind if I "opened" the window?

CalifJim — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:39:32 GMT

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, the present tense often follows.

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: sentence to a 3 year's imprisonment

Cool Breeze — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:48:48 GMT

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 GG

I was concentrating more on the genitive than the verb. However, if a goup of people has a 10-minute meeting every Monday morning, I might use the present tense to inform a new employee about the meeing and its duration: It's a 10 minutes' meeting. I didn't consider the tense to be the gist of the matter, and anyone can of course change it to whatever sounds better. I just wanted to give my opinion about the structures I think correct in such expressions:

It's a two-mile walk.
It's a two miles' walk.
It's two miles' walk.
It's a walk of two miles.

Cheers
CB

Re: could have done/could do

Tarkowsky — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:39:48 GMT

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 us).

If you say either of these sentences to a native speaker, you will get a response like 'Huh? What are you talking about?'

The bottom line is that these sentences are all problematic because you are telling us that 'they did it'. In your statements, there is no 'maybe', there is no 'people just say they did it', no 'I don't think they did it'.

Best wishes, Clive

So they are both grammatically incorrect and meaningless.

Good to know it.

Thank you very much

Re: could have done/could do

Clive — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 23:57:51 GMT

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 say either of these sentences to a native speaker, you will get a response like 'Huh? What are you talking about?'

The bottom line is that these sentences are all problematic because you are telling us that 'they did it'. In your statements, there is no 'maybe', there is no 'people just say they did it', no 'I don't think they did it'.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: present or future

Clive — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 23:58:46 GMT

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 doesn't really matter if the following and subordinate 'if' clause is present, past or future.

eg What does it matter if we are late / if we were late / if we will be late.

Best wishes, Clive

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

Re: case of subjunctive in the 'if' clause?

Re: correct sentences 24/11

Re: correct sentences 24/11

confused about 'would'

Re: Would you mind if I "opened" the window?

Re: I used to; Iâm used to

Re: sentence to a 3 year's imprisonment

Re: could have done/could do

Re: could have done/could do

Re: present or future

Re: I used to; Iâm used to