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Hitchiker Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
grammar
After dropping off the dog, she decides to go home and get her husband into bed. It takes her a while to do this, and in the meantime, the phone rings. The vet screams hysterically that they need to get out of the house immediately. So without any clue as to what’s going on, the couple leave the house as quickly as possible.
I found above paragraph on a website and find this mistake in it highlighted in bold letters 'leave"..should there be a present tense or past tense? the couple leave the house or left the house?
I found above paragraph on a website and find this mistake in it highlighted in bold letters 'leave"..should there be a present tense or past tense? the couple leave the house or left the house?
Top answer
'Leave' (present tense) is correct as the other finite verbs in the paragraph are also in present tense.
- 'Leave' (present tense) is correct as the other finite verbs in the paragraph are also in present tense.
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3 Answers
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'Leave' (present tense) is correct as the other finite verbs in the paragraph are also in present tense.
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Why it is in present tense when its something that has already happened? Its an urban legend story on internet.
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The use Simple Present tense here for past events is called 'narrative present' It is used to make the past events more interesting. Thus it is couple leave and not left.
One more thing: It is not just leave but even other events got completed, but still they have been expressed in present tense.
One more thing: It is not just leave but even other events got completed, but still they have been expressed in present tense.
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