What is the grammatical mood of the sentence "Someone stop that person"?
I was discussing with some friends the grammatical tense of the verb stop in the sentence:Someone stop that person.Despite searching online we did not find a consensus/solution, so we have decided to...
View ArticleAt this time tomorrow, I am playing cricket [closed]
I know that:At this time tomorrow, I will be playing cricket.is used since the so-called future continuous is used to talk about a continuous activity at a specific time in the future. Even present...
View Articlea tense in a subordinate clause
I watched Ace Ventura - Pet Detective and didn't understand past continuous usage in the scene which can be watched here: ''https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuhPPOXnyKo'' (0:42). ''I wouldn't want...
View ArticleWhy do podcasters and writers do this - use of would? [duplicate]
I was listening to a true crime podcast this morning and it reminded me of several others I have heard in the past. They repetitively refer to an action that was going to happen after the point in the...
View ArticleShould I use "could" with a present-tense verb or just the verb in past tense?
I'm writing a story in past tense as it's the recollection of a memory. I'm not sure if I should say "could feel" or "felt" in the following excerpts:=========="Sue, I LOVE your outfit," she said,...
View ArticleDifference between 'willst' and 'wilt' in 'Shakespearean' English?
I am writing a scene from Macbeth detailing the battle before the play for my 11th-grade English class, and I decided to write it in Shakespearean for fun. I have been trying to figure out the...
View Article"Will have done" vs "would have done" in expressing certainty
Recently, I have been looking a little bit deeper into the modal verb “will”, its usage and properties. In the process I have been able to find the usage I have already encountered, though have seen...
View ArticleVerb tense in Phineas and Ferb song “History of Rock”
I've been learning English for decades but I still don't get how its verb tenses work.The Phineas and Ferb episode “Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together” has the song “History of Rock”. In its...
View ArticleVerb tense in academic writing [closed]
Consider this sentence.X studied fault structure using method A. Y studied fault structureusing method B. However, the geometrical complexity of a faultremained poorly understood.Do I have to use...
View ArticleSomeone says vs Someone said in reported speech [duplicate]
Is " someone says something" ( in the present) acceptable, and if yes , when? Let's say I just got off the phone with someone, and they said they wouldn't make it on time. I've got someone in front of...
View ArticleModifying a sentence object
In one study, for instance, bar codes were placed on bees, tracking their activities.Is this correct? Or do we say...In one study, for instance, bar codes were placed on bees to track their activities.
View ArticleThe crowd _____(was/were) dispersed by the police [duplicate]
Here, the people comprising the crowd are dispersing in different directions, right? So, the word 'crowd' is no longer a singular unit.Kindly, someone confirm the answer.
View ArticleContinuous form of verb or Present participle?
Expanded version:Nobody likes to talk with the man who is sitting on the rock alone.Reduced version:Nobody likes to talk with the man sitting on the rock alone.How is it possible that in the expanded...
View Articlehas won her ... on Saturday
If the following extract of a news story was published on Saturday, is it okay to use the present tenses and expressions like "on Saturday" rather than simply "today"?American teenager Isabeau Levito...
View ArticleSimple vs Continuous in the Past Tense and in the Future Tense
Even though I understand the difference between the simple and the continuous aspect of the English tense system, I sometimes struggle to understand what each of these two aspects expresses in some...
View ArticleIf the first half of the sentence is a hypothetical scenario and other half...
Apologies for possibly a dumb question.Let's be honest, IF it was the other way around the build would have beenblocked and if by any chance it was released, it would have causedsome serious...
View ArticleSequence of tenses in dialogue: why is "No, can't say I had" used in response...
From the movie "No Time to Die":Nomi: The world's moved on since you retired, Commander Bond. Perhaps you didn't notice?Bond: No, can't say I had."Why did Bond use "had" and not "did"?
View ArticleAll I was saying "is" ... or All I was saying "was"
Which of these is more appropriate?All I was saying is that you're the more responsible oneorAll I was saying was that you're the more responsible oneBoth feel correct to me.
View ArticleTense to use with "has always been something that..."
I stumbled upon the following sentence on Huffington Post and noticed that it makes use of brings instead of brought.Music has always been something that brings people together.However, I also came...
View ArticleTwo Infinitives in a Row, but Dropping “To”?
Was just thinking about English vs. Spanish and thought about the following sentence:“We can try to run”In Spanish, I believe this translates as:“Podemos intentar correr”In Spanish, intentar and correr...
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