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OttoJ Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Does an essay
-He knows a lot about Chaucer, because he does an essay about him.
Is my sentence OK? I think DOES, though referring to the past, is possible, because the present tense could be used to refer to the past when native speakers are talking about the past:
-I walk into the room, sit down, and wait for instruction; suddenly a man appears and he says, 'Sorry, you don't get the job.'
to make things vivid.
Does my theory hold good?
Thank you. OJ.
Is my sentence OK? I think DOES, though referring to the past, is possible, because the present tense could be used to refer to the past when native speakers are talking about the past:
-I walk into the room, sit down, and wait for instruction; suddenly a man appears and he says, 'Sorry, you don't get the job.'
to make things vivid.
Does my theory hold good?
Thank you. OJ.
Top answer
Yes, it is possible to use the present tense to talk about past events. This is called "historical present". It is a special stylistic device.
- Yes, it is possible to use the present tense to talk about past events.
- This is called "historical present".
- It is a special stylistic device.
- It should be used sparingly, in my opinion.
- "does" feels a bit weak in that sentence.
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1 Answers
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Yes, it is possible to use the present tense to talk about past events. This is called "historical present". It is a special stylistic device. It should be used sparingly, in my opinion.
"does" feels a bit weak in that sentence. If you mean "writes" then it's better to say so.
"does" feels a bit weak in that sentence. If you mean "writes" then it's better to say so.
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