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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

grammar

The boys (are Or were) in the shop just now.

My mother (was or is) baking a cake this morning.
  

Top answer

The boys are in the shop just now. = They are there at the moment. The boys were in the shop just now.

  • The boys are in the shop just now.
  • = They are there at the moment.
  • The boys were in the shop just now.
  • = They were there a moment ago.
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3 Answers
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The boys are in the shop just now. = They are there at the moment.
The boys were in the shop just now. = They were there a moment ago.
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The first sentence isn't very natural with 'are'. I won't say that with 'are'; however 'were' is perfectly acceptable there. So, only 'The boys were here just now' is correct to me.

Of your second sentence, both 'is baking' and 'was baking' are possible. If you say 'my mother was baking a cake this morning' in the middle of the morning, the action has already begun and is still in progres
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AnonymousMy mother (was or is) baking a cake this morning.
My mother is baking a cake this morning may equally express the future action, i.e. My mother is going to bake a cake this morning.

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