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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
I feel happy or I felt happy?
I was marking students work and I met a really basic question.
The student was writing how he felt after he won a competition yesterday, he wrote "I felt happy because I won the game!". He is aware of using past tense in his writing but I am not sure if the verb "feel" has to be in past tense. If he uses past tense here it seems he means he is no longer happy now, is it? So he should use "I feel happy" instead?
The student was writing how he felt after he won a competition yesterday, he wrote "I felt happy because I won the game!". He is aware of using past tense in his writing but I am not sure if the verb "feel" has to be in past tense. If he uses past tense here it seems he means he is no longer happy now, is it? So he should use "I feel happy" instead?
Top answer
Anonymous If he uses past tense here it seems he means he is no longer happy now, is it? No, it makes no reference to how he feels now: it only mentions his feeling at that time. Anonymous So he should use "I feel happy" instead?
- Anonymous If he uses past tense here it seems he means he is no longer happy now, is it?
- No, it makes no reference to how he feels now: it only mentions his feeling at that time.
- Anonymous So he should use "I feel happy" instead?
- Only if that is what he want to say about his feeling now; in this case, it makes no reference to how his feeling at the time he won the competition.
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7 Answers
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Anonymous If he uses past tense here it seems he means he is no longer happy now, is it?No, it makes no reference to how he feels now: it only mentions his feeling at that time.
AnonymousSo he should use "I feel happy" instead?Only if that is what he want to say about his feeling now; in this case, it makes no reference to
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Thank you!
What if he used "I was happy because I won the game?", does it mean that he is no longer happy now? or is this correct?
What if he used "I was happy because I won the game?", does it mean that he is no longer happy now? or is this correct?
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AnonymousWhat if he used "I was happy because I won the game?", does it mean that he is no longer happy now?No. Please listen carefully—I have already said it once: The simple past makes no reference to the present. It cannot tell us what the situation is now; it only indicates the past situation.
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What I'm trying to say I was in the army for some trouble I got in for 30 days but I will never the girl playing guitar.but I will forget the joy and happiness staring at the sun and over 40 years ago I wish I could feel that again
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