Search results for 'tag:Simple past tag:Invitations' matching tags 'Simple past' and 'Invitations'

Re: Wedding Invitations

Pioussoul — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 12:40:30 GMT

Marius Hancu wrote:
Pioussoul wrote:

I really wonder why the past tenses of joined and united are used here. For me, shouldn't they be present or future tenses?

Would some experts shed some light? I'm really confused and don't see the perspective of native speakers.

Those are not simple past forms. Those are adjectives derived from past participles.

Thanks, friends, for your reponses, but I don't really know whom to believe, you or Feebs in that both of you hold good reasons.

Yet, in terms of your reasoning, the base sentence should go like this:

[Two lives, two hearts,
which are joined together in friendship,
and united forever in love.]

Then, it's not a complete sentence because it's lack of a verb.

Therefore, is it possible that a wedding invitation do own poetic licence like a poem?

Please shed more light. Thanks.

Re: Mixed Conditionals (Is this allowed?)

MrPedantic — Sun, 31 Jul 2005 01:01:17 GMT

...For instance, it says you could use sentences like "If I wasn't afraid of spiders, I would have picked it up" that have a If + simple past, Perfect conditional form...

Yes, it sounds fine to me too. You might have expected a straightforward 'type 3' protasis (if I hadn't been afraid...); but 'was/were' often replaces 'had been', where a condition that was true at that time ('I was afraid of spiders then') is current at the time of speaking ('I am still afraid of spiders').

Cf.

1. If I had been a few years younger, I would have accepted her invitation.

2. If I were a few years younger, I would have accepted her invitation.

#1 sounds as if it happened 10 years ago. #2 sounds as if it happened yesterday.

MrP

Re: Present perfect

senthilvelann — Sat, 14 May 2005 09:52:41 GMT

Sir,

IV - The present prefect used with "for" and "since"

A. "for" is used with a period of time: for six days, for a long time.
"for" is used with the simple past tense denotes a terminated period of time.

(e.g) We lived there for ten years. ( but we don't live there now)

"for" used with the PP denotes a period of time extending into the present:

(e.g) We have lived in London for ten years. ( and still live there)

"for" can sometomes be omitted. especially after "be,live and wait":

(e.g) We've been here an hour/two days.

"for(of time) is not used before expressions beginning with all:

(e.g) They've worked all night.

B. "since" is used with a point in time and means "from that point to the time of speaking". It is always used with a perfect tense, except as shown in "V" below.

(e.g) She has been here since six o'clock ( and is still here)
(e.g) We've been friends since our schooldays.

C. Note that there is difference between "last" and " the last". Compare:

(a) I have been here since last week ( month, year etc.) and
(b) I have been here for the last week.

"Last week", in (a), means a point in time above seven days ago.
"The last week", in (b), means the period of seven days just completed.

D. Since + clause is also possible.

(e.g) I've worked here since I left school.

and "ever since" (adverb):

(e.g) He had a bad fall last year and has been off work ever since.

........

V - It is + period + since + past or perfect tense

We can say

It is three years since I (last) saw Bill or
It is three years since I have seen Bill.
I last saw Bill three years ago or
I haven't seen Bill for three years.
It is two months since Tom (last) smoked a cigarette or
It is two months since Tom has smoked a cigarette.
He last smoked a cigarette two months ago or
He hasn't smoked a cigarette for two months.

We can use the "it is.........since" construction without the adverb "last"

It is two years since he left the country

This, however, is replaceable only by:

He left the country two years ago.

We could not use a negative present perfect here as in the sentence about Bill above.

He hasn't been (living) in this country for the last two year

is possible but isn't an exact equivalent of

He left two years ago.

This construction can be used in the past:

He invited me to go riding with him. But it was two years since I had ridden a horse ( I hadn't ridden a horse for two years previous to the invitation so I wasn't sure that I would enjoy it)

msn