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| Kamilos_ | Thursday 11th of November 2004 05:07:30 AM |
| How should I regozine how tense should be used when I speak.... - Well.... Question Question Question to us again ;)
Problem is that When I started speaking , then I speak in present continuous.. Where It shou be Present Simple... Speaking is my phantom.... ;( | |
| HisGirlFriday | Thursday 11th of November 2004 06:48:16 AM |
| - the switch between different tenses is just like in any langauge, Kamilos. You just had to take the time and understand the english concept.
There always has to be "verbal agreement" when switching between past, present, and future tense. And it depends on the singular or plural. She says ( present) She will say ( future) She had said ( past) We say ( present) We will say ( future) We have said ( past) Present: We WALK down the street and SEE many trees Past: We WALKED down the street and SAW many trees Future: We WILL WALK down the street and SEE many trees. Sometimes, in English, present and future tense seems almost the same as i just indicated. However, the future tense depends on putting WILL in front of your verbs. This indicated that: You WILL do something in the future. the question is, do you understand the concept? Is it just had to verbally decode? ex: "Problem is that When I started speaking , then I speak in present continuous." This sentence only had a few problems. This sentence is half in the past and have half in the present tense. Started is past tense. Start is present tense Speak is present tense Spoke is past tense present tense: Problem is that when i START speaking, I speak in the present continuous. Past tense: Problem is that when i started speaking, I SPOKE in the present continuous. I hope this helped a little for now. | |
| Peter fra LA | Thursday 11th of November 2004 07:52:41 AM |
| Try this - Try referencing this ESL Learning Game post, you may even want to give the game a try as well:
http://www.phrasebase.c../../forum/read.php?TID=1421 | |
| Lyddi | Monday 29th of November 2004 02:03:20 AM |
| CONCORD OF TENSES - You just have to know a few rules.
For example: 1) If the main verb is in a past tense, the verbs in the subordinate clause expressing simultaneous activity must be in a past tense as well. It was snowing when I came home yesterday. 2) If the main verb is in a past tense, the following verbs, expressing an activity preceding that of the main verb, must be in the past perfect tense. They had left before we arrived. 3) etc... Check a good grammar book, you'll find more about this topic. | |
| Bruce B. | Tuesday 21st of December 2004 11:43:30 PM |
| past tense verbs - This post will be brief and i will write more as i can. Past tense verbs need not be too frightening. What Friday and Lyddi have said is basically true; they have pointed you in the right direction, but there is a long way to go before mastering the past tenses. There are actually six past tenses, three perfect, an imperfect, a simple and a continuous. One of these past tenses even expresses future action! Your first step is to learn the simple past forms. As a beginner, you can use them for everything past. You will not sound like a native and your speech will not be precise, but others will understand you tolerably well and it will be better than telling everything in the present. (It seems that most English students start by using only the pressent. The causes and solution to this problem will find their way into another post soon enough.)
Kamil and others, please talk to me privately about your problems with verbs. I will use these conversations to form the best explanations for public use. Talking with Odette has given me much understanding of how Filipinos see English compound verbs. I invite you to let me test my explanations and examples on you. If they are easily understandable to several, i will publish them here for all. | |
| Bruce B. | Friday 24th of December 2004 08:11:46 AM |
| Not Exactly - Some have gotten the quite mistaken impression that by inviting you to consult me individually, i was trying to limit discussion in the forum. Nothing could be further from the truth.
This is a simple misunderstanding, i'm sure. My intent was merely to assemble some meaningful information for you in the most usable form. Rather than try to limit communication, my wish was to package it for easy consumption. My apologies for any confusion. By all means, if you have questions about English verbs, i urge you to ask them in the forum. All will enjoy your participation | |
