A set of forms taken by a verb to indicate the time and/or completeness and continuance of the action in relation to the time of the utterance.
Questions tagged [tenses]
2048 questions
36
votes
5 answers
What is the difference between "Have you seen this?" and "Did you see this?"
What's the difference between these two phrases?
Max
- 1,287
16
votes
7 answers
What is the correct present continuous form of "thunder" and "lightning"?
While describing monsoon conditions, what is the correct way to describe the ongoing action of thunder and lightning flashes?
It is thundering
It is lightning
Are the above sentences correct?
Sparx
- 443
12
votes
4 answers
Why past tense in 'I got this'?
I came across the phrase 'I got this' in an episode of 'How I Met Your Mother'. In the episode, Robin kept saying 'I got this' whenever something came up that needs dealing with. I guess it means 'Leave this to me. I can handle it'. Urban Dictionary…
Betty
- 1,134
11
votes
3 answers
proper usage of didn't had or didnt have
Its a simple ask as it doesn't appear to be wrong while using it in emails etc.
I didn't had breakfast or i didnt have breakfast.
Which one of above is better in grammatical manner.
ashish
- 131
9
votes
1 answer
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
The usual question and answer seem to be of the form
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I want to be a singer when I grow up.
Should it not be
What do you want to be when you have grown up?
I want to be a singer when I have grown up.
Here…
user2683
9
votes
3 answers
"Manifest" vs. "manifested"
Which of the following is correct?
This idea is manifest in two influential theories.
This idea is manifested in two influential theories.
What I want to say is that there is a common idea underlying both theories.
thias
- 215
8
votes
3 answers
"Yes, I thought it was very good." Why "thought"?
Here is a sentence from "Essential Grammar in Use" book by Raymond Murphy:
Did you enjoy the film ? Yes, I thought
it was very good.
The correct answer in key section is "thought", but why not to use "think" instead:
Did you enjoy the film ?…
Aerus
- 83
8
votes
4 answers
What tense to use for a dead person's permanent contributions?
Which one is correct:
Edison was the inventor of the light bulb.
Edison is the inventor of the light bulb.
When writing or speaking about Edison, it's correct to state that "he was an inventor", but what is correct when referring to the fact that…
8
votes
2 answers
"before you leave" vs. "before you left"
In the movie, Good Will Hunting, the main character, Will, says to his ex-girlfriend on the phone, "I just wanted to call you up before you left." and the past tense "left" sounded strange to me as his ex-girlfriend has NOT left yet when he says…
kengo
- 83
6
votes
2 answers
Children will be children vs Children are children
Children will be children. They always have been noisy.
Why use future tense in the first sentence and present prefect tense in the second sentence? If it's same meaning to "Children are children. They are always noisy"?
Minty
- 65
5
votes
2 answers
Why is "say" spelled differently for "said" and "says"?
As a non-native English speaker, I always have to double-check when the y in say becomes i, when using says and said - I always confuse them.
I suppose there is a grammar rule that leads to this spelling and I hope that knowing it would prevent me…
Ioanna
- 159
5
votes
4 answers
Is Chrome's "this webpage is not found" correct?
Chrome's webpage not found page (I'm running 39.0.2171.13 beta), says "this wepage is not found":
This seems wrong to me. I would say, "this webpage could not be found". "Is not found" seems to each page is always in one of two states, found or not…
asmeurer
- 742
4
votes
1 answer
Is it sometimes appropriate to use past tense when stating a fact?
Is it appropriate to use past tense when stating a fact in the context of the past but remains a fact until now?
Which of the following is correct?
I didn't go to school because I was lazy and the school was too
far.
or
I didn't go to school…
supertonsky
- 294
4
votes
2 answers
Why is the historical present tense used so often by sports broadcasters?
When discussing a pivotal event that happened in the past, whether 5 minutes ago or 50 years ago, sportscasters often use the historical present tense. For example, after an error we might hear, "If he catches that ball, the inning is over." Or,…
Bill S.
- 569
4
votes
3 answers
Continuous present tense in the place of simple present tense
Given the following sentence in the continuous present tense.
Are you doing your work regularly (or daily)?
It is a major source of my confusion. It is very unlikely to have such a tense.
Although it is the event that occurs regularly (mostly…
Tiny
- 927