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Alc24 Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Can you tell me if tenses are okay here?
The situation :
You are sitting waiting for the subway train to pulling in. The timer reads 8 minutes. You look down and a minute later you look back up at the timer and it reads 3 minutes.
- It's as if you had to wait a total of 4 minutes not 8./It's as if you had waited 4 minutes.
- It's like you had to wait a total of 4 minutes not 8./It's like you had waited 4 minutes.
- It's like only having had to wait a total of 4 minutes not 8.
1 Which of the above sentences could you say?
2 And when would you say the other ones, in what context?
3 Is it natural and something a native would say : "The timer reads 8 minutes."
Thank you
You are sitting waiting for the subway train to pulling in. The timer reads 8 minutes. You look down and a minute later you look back up at the timer and it reads 3 minutes.
- It's as if you had to wait a total of 4 minutes not 8./It's as if you had waited 4 minutes.
- It's like you had to wait a total of 4 minutes not 8./It's like you had waited 4 minutes.
- It's like only having had to wait a total of 4 minutes not 8.
1 Which of the above sentences could you say?
2 And when would you say the other ones, in what context?
3 Is it natural and something a native would say : "The timer reads 8 minutes."
Thank you
Top answer
This is how I would say it, based on my understanding of what you've said: You are sitting waiting for the subway train to pull it, at 10:00. The clock on the wall reads 8 minutes to ten. You look down, and a minute later you look back up at the clock and it reads 3 minutes to ten.
- This is how I would say it, based on my understanding of what you've said: You are sitting waiting for the subway train to pull it, at 10:00.
- The clock on the wall reads 8 minutes to ten.
- You look down, and a minute later you look back up at the clock and it reads 3 minutes to ten.
- What seemed like only a minute that you looked away from the clock was actually five minutes.
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1 Answers
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This is how I would say it, based on my understanding of what you've said:
You are sitting waiting for the subway train to pull it, at 10:00. The clock on the wall reads 8 minutes to ten. You look down, and a minute later you look back up at the clock and it reads 3 minutes to ten.
What seemed like only a minute that you looked away from the clock was actually five minutes.
You are sitting waiting for the subway train to pull it, at 10:00. The clock on the wall reads 8 minutes to ten. You look down, and a minute later you look back up at the clock and it reads 3 minutes to ten.
What seemed like only a minute that you looked away from the clock was actually five minutes.
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