By Word order, Past perfect

Hi NaderI'm not quite sure I understand what you mean. Has he talking? is wrong. You could say: Has he been talking?If you are asking whether a have or has question can always be formed by changing the word order, the answer is no. It is safer to use do in the present tense:Does he have...

Eeuw! Melted brains are so unsightly! You said that "loved" can refer to the present. Can it also refer to the pastYes. There is always an end to the backshift process -- the point where you run out of tenses that refer to an even more distant point in time! In this case I wouldn't feel...

The semantics of the tenses often depends on which specific verb is involved, but in general, the continuous tenses (where permitted) imply activity over a period of time or the repetition of an act over a period of time. They are generally more descriptive of a situation than the...

Hello all, I am applying to take a CELTA course and they gave me an application task to do before I can enter the program. I am having some difficulty with some parts and was wondering if some one would be willing to help me. I use msn messanger under hpainter24@hotmail.com feel free to add me...

A slight different word order is also common: 1. That's a 100,000 watt smile if ever I saw one! The past perfect in #2 seems a little stiff to me. Since you've already specified 'ever', you could simply say: 2. That was a 100,000 watt smile if ever I saw one! MrP

Hi Andrei, No.2 has the correct word order but there is a mistake in the tense. There are two actions in the past but at different times, so we need to say: When the policemen came to the shop, the thieves had already disappeared. We use the past simple for the more recent event (came) , and...