for questions about the agreement between the tenses of verbs in related clauses or sentences.
Questions tagged [sequence-of-tenses]
315 questions
30
votes
6 answers
Why is it correct to say "We should go see a movie," but not "We should have gone see a movie"?
Two sentences:
We should go see a movie. (1)
*We should have gone see a movie. (2)
The first is correct, the second is incorrect. Why can we omit the word 'to' in the first but not the second?
A simpler example is this: You can say "We go see…
Benjamin Grange
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18
votes
2 answers
The baby cries this morning
The baby cries all morning.
The baby has been crying all morning.
I think both of these are grammatical but carry different meanings. The first one shows a general habit while the second one shows something has happened in the near past. Am I…
Kshitij Singh
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3
votes
2 answers
Sequence of tenses: They created a device that is able or was able?
When I'm telling someone about a movie that I watched, is it correct to say, "They created a device that is able to send people into the past", or "They created a device that was able to send people into the past"? Or are both correct?
Pavel Orekhov
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3
votes
2 answers
How should differences in tense, and such, be handled for interrupting clauses?
This is best asked by way of example. Suppose I want to ask someone if they have done some action, or plan to do so. And to be precise, suppose either is acceptable to me. So I might ask:
Have you painted the house, or do you plan to paint it?
But…
tkp
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2
votes
1 answer
Tense Changes In A Story
Why are there tense changes in the following story:
It was recess - the best time of the day. Kids ran around the
playground shouting and laughing, playing and jumping.
That is, everyone except for Stacey.
Why is this present tense?
Instead of…
Orange Zhan
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2
votes
1 answer
Sequence of tenses (the present perfect and the past simple
1 And now that a month has passed, she decided to write a review.
2 And now that a month has passed, she has decided to write a review.
3 And then that a month had passed, she decided to write a review.
I am pretty sure that 2 is correct. But I…
user1425
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2
votes
1 answer
Any contexts where "if I/you/she/.. would [do something]" would be correct except for future in the past?
I am wondering whether the following sentence is correct English or not:
The librarian told him that he had a chance of catching several directors all at once, if he would go to the Barnstable Yacht Club.
Shifting the sentence forward into the…
n1ghtm4n4g3r
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2
votes
5 answers
Why do we match the tenses in the first example and not in the second one
Could you explain me why it is better to say
I did not know you had a brother.
even it is a present situation. Your brother is still alive. It is better to match the tenses and why can you use present perfect in this case
I did not know you have…
Yves Lefol
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2
votes
2 answers
A problem regarding tenses
A sentence is usually formed in one tense. But in the sentence below
So far the United States, China and Russia were the only ones who’ve reported the ability to shoot down space objects from ground or airborne sources.
The simple past and present…
Kshitij Singh
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2
votes
1 answer
The use of the verb "predict" in the simple present tense with a verb in the past simple tense
It is from this video. It is at the beginning.
The Big Bang Theory predicts that all matter, time and space began in an incredibly tiny, compact state about 14 billion years ago.
I am confused because as dictionaries say predict used to say that…
Dmytro O'Hope
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2
votes
1 answer
Sequence of Verb Tenses
I wonder are these both sentences correct?
My home became empty since you walked away.
My home has become empty since you walked away.
Is the choice stylistic? Or I need to use only one of them and the other doesn't make sense?
LexRomah
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2
votes
1 answer
before with past tense
"Briefly, though, she imagines the countless Asian workers who might, should she say yes, spend years of their lives applying versions of this symbol to an endless and unyielding flood of footwear. What would it mean to them? Would it work its way…
110 80
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2
votes
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Difference between the use of "I am able to .... " And "I have been able to..."
I would like to understand Difference between the use of "I am able to .... " And "I have been able to..." while writing formal/official emails. Do I need to add perfect tense always while writing formal mails?
ziaur25
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vote
1 answer
I have worked in this job longer than I have/had ever worked in any other job
I think these are correct.
1 I have worked in this job longer than I have ever worked in any
other job.
2 I have worked in this job longer than I had ever worked in any
other job before.
3 I have worked in this job longer than I ever worked in any…
user1425
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vote
1 answer
Which tense I do have to use if a main clause is in past simple tense and a subordinate clause is linked by the word before?
I have the following situation:
at first, I wrote a comment;
them Martin wrote a comment
then, after some time, I've seen the Martin's comment.
So would it be correct to describe this situation with one sentence so?
My comment was written before…
Ksenia
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