Search results for 'tag:Sample tag:Verbs' matching tags 'Sample' and 'Verbs'

Names of different tenses

Raen — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:54:20 GMT

if there are any. I believe there are, and saw them mentioned in different posts on the forum although didn't pay attention to them. The grammar book I'm studying all lump them up into one catagory: helping verbs. But I'd like to know if most people have and use names for the different types of tenses. Here are the sample sentences I wish to know the names of the tenses they are of:

I am taking her to the movie.

He will be working for your father's law firm.

I took the test and passed!

She has taken the medicine for her cold.

She had taken the job before she moved here.

I have been thinking about going abroad for higher education.

He had been living in France before he was caught.

It would have cost me a fortune to buy that coat.

He would have had completed the task if he had asked for help.

It would have been better if we had gone.

I learned the names of these tenses in my own language, but I don't know the English name for each tense(except past tense) . Thanks for anyone's help.

Raen

Re: Which sentence is best?

yizhivika — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:33:42 GMT

Hmmm, interesting set of statements, and what strikes me is the use of the first person here. Survey organisations tend to have a small army of workers, designing the survey, choosing the sample, collecting, collating, and interpreting the data.

Given that, I think sentence (1), using 'conducting', is probably too formal for a one-person operation. It's the sort of verb that I'd expect to see in a written report, and used in a passive sense rather than as here (e.g. "A survey was conducted into the smoking habits of teenagers.")

You might encounter sentence (3), particularly if used colloquially, though I probably wouldn't use it myself.

Therefore, I would probably use sentence (2) - and being an awkward Brit, I'd use 'towards' in place of 'toward' in all three sentences. ;-)

Re: The most common slang words

flamen000 — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:24:36 GMT

slang, vernacular vocabulary not generally acceptable in formal usage. It is notable for its liveliness, humor, emphasis, brevity, novelty, and exaggeration. Most slang is faddish and ephemeral, but some words are retained for long periods and eventually become part of the standard language (e.g., phony, blizzard, movie). On the scale used to indicate a word's status in the language, slang ranks third behind standard and colloquial (or informal) and before cant. Slang often conveys an acerbic, even offensive, no-nonsense attitude and lends itself to poking fun at pretentiousness. Frequently grotesque and fantastic, it is usually spoken with intent to produce a startling or original effect. It is especially well developed in the speaking vocabularies of cultured, sophisticated, linguistically rich languages. Characteristically individual, slang often incorporates elements of the jargons of special-interest groups (e.g., professional, sport, regional, criminal, and drug subcultures). Slang words often come from foreign languages or are of a regional nature. Slang is very old, and the reasons for its development have been much investigated. The following is a small sample of American slang descriptive of a broad range of subjects: of madnessâloony, nuts, psycho; of crimeâheist, gat, hit, heat, grifter; of womenâbabe, chick, squeeze, skirt; of menâdude, hombre, hunk; of drunkennessâsloshed, plastered, stewed, looped, trashed, smashed; of drugsâhorse, high, stoned, tripping; of caressingâneck, fool around, make out; of states of mindâuptight, wired, mellow, laid back; the verb to goâscram, split, scoot, tip; miscellaneous phrasesâyou push his buttons, get it together, chill, she does her number, he does his thing, what's her story, I'm not into that.

_got it from Answers.com_

Re: Please correct the following sentences

Clive — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:51:32 GMT

Hi,
Supply and installation of new vinyl flooring as sample approved by the client.
This is not a full sentence, eg it has no main verb. It's just an item from an estimate or invoice.

The usual jargon is
Supply and installation of new vinyl flooring as per sample approved by client.

Clive

Re: Please correct the following sentences

Clive — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:50:24 GMT

Re: die of/from enterovirus

Seraphin — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:21:52 GMT

a quote from a previous post

M-W's Dictionary of English Usage comments:

"From as far back as 1881, there have been varying pronouncements as to which prepositions may be used with which objects after the verbÂ die.Â Sometimes disapproval is expressed of one preposition or another; Vizetelly 1906 and Copperud 1964, 1970., 1980 do not likeÂ from, and Ayres 1881 and Jensen 1935 do not likeÂ with.Â Since as many specifically approve these two prepositions as object to them, there cannot be much of a question of propriety here.Â But there is still the question of idiom.Â Here we have some sample texts in which prepositions are used with die in various senses.Â Â OfÂ seems to be the most commonly used:

dying of kidney disease
died of too much love
die of horror
dying of inanition
died of starvation

died from an infection
died from lack of enthusiasm
died from too much doubt

died for lack of support

died with pneumonia
died with the cholera

died through neglect."

Re: expectations, expectation

Mr Wordy — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:01:03 GMT

Skrej
However, in your sample sentence, you're given a clue. It says "...that Lewis Hamilton IS under..." 'Is' is a singular verb, which tells you that you need a singular subject, 'expectation'.

This doesn't seem quite right. The subject of this instance of "is" is "Lewis Hamilton", not "expectation".

In my opinion, both the following are OK.

1. The expectation that Lewis Hamilton is under is causing him immense problems

2. The expectations that Lewis Hamilton is under are causing him immense problems

Re: expectations, expectation

Skrej — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:58:38 GMT

This boils down to a case of subject/verb agreement.

As a quick reminder, singular subjects require singular verbs, and plural subjects require plural verbs.

Expectation is singular, expectations is plural. Whichever you choose needs to have the appropriate matching verb to go with it in the 2nd half of the sentence.

However, in your sample sentence, you're given a clue. It says "...that Lewis Hamilton IS under..." 'Is' is a singular verb, which tells you that you need a singular subject, 'expectation'.

So, "The expectation that Lewis Hamilton is under is causing him immense problems."

'

Re: Grammar questions

Mister Micawber — Thu, 15 May 2008 02:12:49 GMT

1. (My husband Mark and I both do volunteer work) but (Ryan was only six years old) -- two independant clauses conected by the conj. but? -- Well, yes... BUT sample sentences should make some sense, Fernanda! There is no evident relationship between the two facts, so they should not even be in the same paragraph, much less the same sentence. 'I drive and my wife rides shotgun' -- two independent but RELATED clauses.

2. The principal has distributed a list (that shows the costs of buying supplies in developing countries)

the sentence between brackets is an adj. phrase and a postmodifier of "list", which is a direct object? -- Yes

3. Seventy dollars would buy (a well)

a well is a direct object in this sentence? -- Yes

4. We thought it was very nice (that he wanted to do something important)

the clause between brackets is a relative clause? which is its function? -- Yes. It is an adjective complement

5..that he wanted to do something important

is it a non-finite verb (to-infinitive)?-- 'To do' is.

Re: I thought a spider is/was an insect

CalifJim — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:30:44 GMT

Pter
And universal falsehood. What a phrase! This is important because we are not talking about something that is always true. As a result, we can only use the past tense in sentences starting with "I thought it was". The "was" is not the result of backshifting. It is used instead to indicate that the believe was hold true in the past but is now found to be false.

My apologies for introducing a joke! The "universal falsehood" reference is a complete joke! It doesn't matter whether what is reported is universally true or unversally false. What's important is that in the speaker's mind it is universally (or eternally, if you wish) true. In that way, in the right context, you can even have the reported speech: The scientist said that the earth is flat.

Consequently, the "was" truly IS the result of backshifting after "thought". It has nothing to do with beliefs considered true in the past but false in the present. You can banish all such logic from your mind. You came to believe some of these things because I put you off the track with my joke.

I don't know which sample sentences you are referring to, but after thought, knew, hoped, believed, and felt, you always need a past tense.

____

I didn't notice that it was not reported speech. (natural, normal)

I didn't notice that it's not reported speech. (also possible, less used)

You may find that each main clause verb has its own idiosyncracies with regard to backshifting. notice acts a little like a reporting verb. What you noticed may still be quite noticeable to your listener, and you may want to emphasize this fact. Nevertheless, keep this is mind: Backshifting is never wrong.

____

OK. I went back and found these. I think these are the samples you were referring to. The first choices shown are the ones that came to my mind first. It's not really more complicated than that. The second choice is also perfectly grammatical except as noted in the second sentence, where backshifting is required.

My professor said that spiders are (were also possible) insects! I didn't think they were (are not possible). I think he is (was also possible) wrong.