Dear Mr Micawber, the issue in question is not that elementary as it may superficially seem to be. Telling students that the distinction between tense forms is neutralised in our example does perfectly well in most instances, but those who seek

Is there a difference in the meaning of these two phrases? "Yes, I got your message." "Yes, I did get your message." The difference is in emphasis. The second is emphatic. Are both of these phrases in Simple Past Tense? Yes,

Hi HSS I wrote "had seen" instinctively. In other words, I wasn't paying any special attention to which verb tense I used when I wrote the sentence. However, when I look at it again today, that is still the tense I would choose. You

Ever since means "from a time in the past up to the present time." This is used with the present perfect tense (have + past participle), since the action is not finished in the past. The simple past is most common in the clause

Hi anon. I join in your question. John said that people are strange. Some people seem to argue that the rule for reported speech requires, "John said that people were strange." I think #'s 4 - 6 are correct, and 6 need not be

The "for" is optional - you can use both. Simple past tense is fine. Present perfect is not OK, because your sentence implies that you are no longer living in France. Present perfect is used to mean continuation up to the present. Past

The problem might be the verb "broadcast." The past form can be "broadcasted" or "broadcast". I am American and most often use the first form. In England or other English-speaking places, you might hear the other

In our last episode, , the lovely and talented Christian S.-W. broadcast on alt.usage.english: Hi, today I read the following sentence on (1): The servicemen were shown blindfolded on Iranian television shortly after ... their captors later, as

"Mark Daniels" Was just wondering if anyone has observed the UK football commentator use of the present perfect where in grammar and ... have "...then Buckham's taken the ball up the left wing, he's crossed it over to Shoals

Sorry for bothering you again with the same sentence but another tense problem has come up since I asked for your help two days ago. Would the following be correct? "Over the past 25 years or so, more and more Americans jumped at quick-fix