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Diamondrg Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

appropriate tense

We are prevented from completing the project on time due to unforeseen circumstances.

Do you detect any grammatical mistakes in this sentence? In my opinion, it would be better if "are" were "were". What do you think?
  

Top answer

It depends. If the project is completed and they are making excuses after the event, then 'were'. If the project is still in progress and they are explaining why is won't be finished on time, then 'are'.

— Nona the brit

  • It depends.
  • If the project is completed and they are making excuses after the event, then 'were'.
  • If the project is still in progress and they are explaining why is won't be finished on time, then 'are'.
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11 Answers
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It depends. If the project is completed and they are making excuses after the event, then 'were'. If the project is still in progress and they are explaining why is won't be finished on time, then 'are'.
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Diamondrg
We are prevented from completing the project on time due to unforeseen circumstances.

Do you detect any grammatical mistakes in this sentence? In my opinion, it would be better if "are" were "were". What do you think?

I agree with Nona.
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You may want to accentuate the current validity of the situation with:

We are being prevented from completing the project on time, due to unforeseen circumstances.
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Most companies I'm familiar with would begin the sentence with "Due to" and would also avoid using "we" directly in combination with an admission of failure (whether it's their fault or not, but particularly if they feel they are not at fault). They would attempt to make the sentence as neutral and as positive as possible.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the project will (have t
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Hi,

I prefer

We are prevented from completing the project on time by unforeseen circumstances.

Or, better yet

We are prevented by unforeseen circumstances from completing the project on time.


Best wishes, Clive
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YankeeMost companies I'm familiar with would begin the sentence with "Due to" and would also avoid using "we" directly in combination with an admission of failure (whether it's their fault or not, but particularly if they feel they are not at fault). They would attempt to make the sentence as neutral and as positive as possible.

Due to unforeseen circumstance
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Yoong LiatSome books on English usage say that it should be : Owing to (not Due to) unforeseen circumstances, the project will (have to) be completed later than the date originally planned.

It would be quite unlikely for an American company to use "owing to" in a sentence such as this. Due to is and has long been widely use
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Yankee
Yoong LiatSome books on English usage say that it should be : Owing to (not Due to) unforeseen circumstances, the project will (have to) be completed later than the date originally planned.
It would be quite unlikely for an American company to use "owing to" in a sentence such as this. Due to is and
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Due to is also used this way in BE.

http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/due?view=uk

http://sara.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/saraWeb?qy=due+to
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