In Simple past^x, Expressions^x

Hi,Hi,Would you fill in the blank with the missing phrase. I am keen on finding out what verb do you mean 'what tense'? can be used. I am not particulary concerned about the nature of the phrase. Q: What does this English expression mean?A: If you say that, you are saying that it...

Hi everybody,Why do all the Grammar books use the expressions "simple present" and "simple past", although all the other tenses start with the tense-marker and add the aspect-marker then: present progressive, present perfect, present perfect progressive, past progressive, past...

Hi everybody,I'm a teacher of English at a German Grammar School and after 12 years of experience I'm still wondering about the following puzzle:Why do all the Grammar books stick to the "confusing" expressions simple past and simple present, although it seems quite more logical...

Yes. Your backshift interpretation seems right to me. But I don't see this as necessarily subjunctive. It comes off as a sort of borderline case to my ear.CJ PS. ... would have baked you a cake is the usual expression!

These are two different grammatical patterns with two different meanings.1. be used to ---ing means be accustomed to -ing.I am used to working hard talks about your ablity to work hard because you have worked hard so often before. It suggests that you are comfortable in a situation where you...

. I would consider this exercise damagingly prescriptive; most are neither uniquely Filipino nor wrong. However (and my comments refer to AmE/BrE):1. Free subscription of... (Free subscription to…) - prepo issue-- AmE/BrE uses the collocation subscribe to.2. Can I speak with…? (May I speak...

Cheers Optilang. But you know we can use the expression "for" with simple past tense as well if the action took place for a period in the past. What do you think?

You make us struggle to figure out what your problem is. After a while we get the idea that maybe you feel sorry for yourself because she's so busy she neglects you. Or is your problem that you feel guilty because you can't do anything to help lighten her load? I think it would require...

I'm afraid, Marius, that you are never going to persuade me that "It's years since I've had a cigarette", and similar expressions, are in any way exceptional, unusual or strange. In my experience, this form of wording is routinely and quite naturally used by large numbers of...

There's no corresponding form.having lived is a participial expression, a non-finite form, so it can't express the full range of tenses that a finite verb form can.(The same problem occurs with infinitives. The infinitives do not cover the full range of tenses.)CJ