Search results for 'tag:Simple past tag:English grammar' matching tags 'Simple past' and 'English grammar'

Re: Written english vs spoken english

Huevos — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:11:27 GMT

CalifJim
The British, I'm told, find that combinations like "already did" create at least a minor disturbance in their brain waves!

"Already have!" I have always been taught "already" goes with the perfect rather than simple past, but, the truth is we watch so much US TV that the average person would not notice this at all. And these days British schools barely scratch upon the surface of English grammar under the mandatory secondary education of the National Curriculum.

As far as people noticing, my guess is the thing that draws the attention is not the almost inaudible "S", but when a verb is used where the past participle and the simple past are not identical (ate, eaten), or where the US form of the simple past still hasn't yet mutated to the weak form (dived versus dove).

Re: A few English Grammar Questions !! Need help..

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:59:31 GMT

1. Â Â Â Â A group IS ... Â (Not important who is in the group). A group is a singular, countable noun.

3.Â Â Â Â Both wrong. Â Â Â Â She went home half an hour ago. Given, finished time requires simple past UNLESS it relates to another action in the past. e.g. She had gone home before the others arrived.

4.Â Â Â Â She has sold... Â Indefinite (no time) past. Done, but we don't know (or care) when.

5Â Â Â Â Ditto

6. Â Â Â Â Have you ever ...? Â Indefinite past. We don't know when.

7. Â Â Â Â Mmmm, this one is elementary ! Â Do you .... Â ALWAYS requires the infinitive form. e.g. Do you live..., Do you like..., Do you do... Do you have...?Â

I could write a whole grammar book on how to differentiate the 6 modal verbs and their MANY uses. I suggest you buy one.Â Â Â Â Good luck :)

Re: Is this really right? <grammar question>

Hoa Thai — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:36:07 GMT

Anonymous wrote:
âIf you looked in the past, you would have noticed amazing things.â

My text says this is correct. But should it not be "If you HAD looked in the past, you would have noticed amazing things."

Why or why not?

Your question indicates that you found the invalidity of the use of the simple past tense for a reason.

In any event, the reason 'had looked' pairs well with 'would have noticed' is they agree with Type-3 conditional rule of English grammar.

Re: past perfect in dependent clause

Linguaphile — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:56:09 GMT

The Past Perfect can be used with before to emphasize the completion of an action, but note that in before + past perfect + simple past combinations the simple past action will always precede the past perfect action.

Before we had finished our meal he ordered us back to work.

Before we had walked ten miles he complained of sore feet.

A Practical English Grammar

Hope this helps.

Re: Please correct this sentence.

Cool Breeze — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 16:34:53 GMT

Sabyakgp wrote:
You suggested that I could also say "I worked.." But I believe that the event in the first clause occured before the event in the second clause, so it should be past perfect (the first clause) instead of simple past. I am just wondering that whether your suggestion can be considered an example of "Tense simplification" or not.

Perhaps. I'm a simple man who likes simple things - such as Mantovani, red wine and a good ice hockey match. Seriously, English grammar, verbs in particular, is such a mess that anyone can suggest nearly anything could or should be used and get away with it.

If you prefer the pluperfect, by all means, do! It sounds good to my ears as well.

CB

when - before

Anonymous — Sat, 26 May 2007 17:08:14 GMT

In A Practical English Grammar A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet say that the past perfect is used after when when we wish to emphasize that the first action was completed before the second one started:

When he had shut the window we opened the door of the cage.

Is it preferred to "When he shut the window we opened the door of the cage"? Any difference in meaning?

When she had sung her song she sat down. ('When she sang her song she sat down' might give the impression that she sang seated.)

Do you agree with this?

He refused to go till he had seen all the pictures.

Before we had walked ten miles he complained of sore throat.

Here the above mentioned writers say that the action in the simple past precedes the action in the past perfect. Actually correct as it might be, this is weird, isn't it? Is this sequence (Conjunction + Past Perfect + Simple past)?

PS: Isn't it necessary to use commas when the conjunction is at the beginning of the sentence? Thanks in advance.

Re: Haven't / Didn't

Tam Sadek — Fri, 18 May 2007 12:09:21 GMT

Yankee wrote:
Hi Tam

I certainly did not intend my comment as a comparison of formal written UK English and informal US spoken English. I have to say I find it insulting that you think I would even consider making such a comparison. My comment was based on my own experience with British acquaintances and colleagues.

Beware statements based on nothing but false assumption!

Hi Yankee,

I said that most EFL writers compare US/UK English incorrectly using different registers. I did not mean to say that you personally said this. Sorry if you took that the wrong way

However, if we base our knowledge of the language merely on the people we know from that country then we could also end up with a false distortion of the reality of the language. For example if my knowledge of US English is only based on fifty or so working class/middle class/etc people that I know from Chicago, would it be correct for me to generalise what they say to the whole US population and decide that 'Americans' say this? Likewise if I know a hundred people from London, does that mean I know how UK English speakers use the language, or how fifty people from London use it?

To date there has only been one attempt to identify the real differences between different registers and versions of English, namely the Longman Grammar of Spoken and English (LGSWE), which was the result of a six-year research project published in 1999. As well as looking at four different registers: conversation, fiction, academic, and news; it also looked at differences between UK and US English.

To quote from the findings of this research:

"As for the perfect aspect, it has frequently been noted that AmE (US English) uses the past tense in contexts where BrE (UK English) favors [sic] the present perfect, for example with yet or already... Nevertheless, this difference in usage does not seriously affect the frequencies in conversation." (LGSWE: p 463)

The only register where there is a marked difference in frequency of use regarding the perfect aspect is in the news register, with the perfect aspect being much more common in UK English.

"It remains a mystery as to why a marked difference of frequency shows up main in news." (LGSWE: p 463) The authors speculate that this difference might be due to American newspapers being "renowned for a space-saving drive towards stylistic economy, and that the simple past requires one less word than the perfect." (LGSWE: p463)

Based on the LGSWE analysis of a 40-million-word corpus of texts representing the four registers already mentioned, there is not a marked difference in the frequency of usage of the perfect aspect with regard to conversation, fiction or academic English between UK and US English speakers.

To quote David Crystal writing about the LGSWE, "For the foreseeable future, anyone with a serious interest in English grammar will have to take into account the information this book contains."

Re: would rather/It's high time + simple past tense/ past perfect tense

Yoong Liat — Fri, 11 May 2007 06:36:26 GMT

CalifJim wrote:
With one person having the preference (I'd rather) that another person (you, he, ...) do or not do something, both bare infinitive (do / not do) and simple past (did, didn't do) are used. Personally, I can't even decide which I use more.

I'd rather you [go / went] with Kathy. She's too young to go by herself.
He would rather I [not continue / didn't continue] my research along those lines. It's not getting us any closer to the answer.

CJ

I'm quoting from English Grammar In Use.

When you want someone else to do something, you can say I'd rather you did ... / I'd rather he did ... etc. We use the past in this structure but the meaning is present or future, not past.

Compare: I'd rather cook the dinner now.
I'd rather you cooked the dinner now. (not "I'd rather you cook")

"Shall I stay here?" "Well, I'd rather you came with us."
I'd rather you didn't tell anyone what I said.
"Do you mind if I smoke?" "I'd rather you didn't."

Is the above BrE usage?

Re: subjunctive or past conditional

Goodman — Tue, 08 May 2007 04:26:29 GMT

Taka wrote:
Bokeh wrote:
MrPedantic wrote:

The two forms once differed, but are now identical.

According to "A Modern English Grammar" (Oxford) using the simple past in this context is erroneous.

Bokeh,

I would like you to cite what the book actually says.

Plus, I wonder what your nationality is. Personally, I haven't seen any native speakersâincluding my old instructorsâwho have pointed out that that simple past for the subjunctive mood is wrong.

You might misunderstand what your book says.

Taka,

Itâs not my business but I think as a non-native, your words are quite strong. Bokeh, if I remember correctly is a British native. Even among the natives on this forum, I donât believe we have an agreement on what is truly correct because subjunctive property can change with context and time and therefore depending on the perspective, one may see it differently than others. Unless you truly have the answer, please restrain your challenge.

Re: subjunctive or past conditional

Taka — Tue, 08 May 2007 01:58:49 GMT

Bokeh wrote:
MrPedantic wrote:
The two forms once differed, but are now identical.
According to "A Modern English Grammar" (Oxford) using the simple past in this context is erroneous.

Bokeh,

I would like you to cite what the book actually says.

Plus, I wonder what your nationality is. Personally, I haven't seen any native speakersâincluding my old instructorsâwho have pointed out that that simple past for the subjunctive mood is wrong.

You might misunderstand what your book says.