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Lissle Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
It is/was her own fault?
I read the two following sentences in the Longman Language Activator:
1.He played very well, and it "is" not his fault we lost.
2.Marie failed the exam, but it "was" her own fault - she didn't do any work.
In the second sentence, the speaker uses past tense in the whole sentence ; however, in the first sentence the speaker uses past tense in the first clause, then
present tense in the last clause (it "is" not his fault...)
The two setence are both the examples of the usage of the word "fault." What's
the difference?
If the second sentence is correct in grammar, should this sentence "It is my mistake that I lost the car" be changed into "It was my mistake..." ?
When a person is visiting his or her friend, they say "I came here to..." Why don't they say "I come here to...."
1.He played very well, and it "is" not his fault we lost.
2.Marie failed the exam, but it "was" her own fault - she didn't do any work.
In the second sentence, the speaker uses past tense in the whole sentence ; however, in the first sentence the speaker uses past tense in the first clause, then
present tense in the last clause (it "is" not his fault...)
The two setence are both the examples of the usage of the word "fault." What's
the difference?
If the second sentence is correct in grammar, should this sentence "It is my mistake that I lost the car" be changed into "It was my mistake..." ?
When a person is visiting his or her friend, they say "I came here to..." Why don't they say "I come here to...."
Top answer
He played very well, and it "is" not his fault we lost. Marie failed the exam, but it "was" her own fault - she didn't do any work. -- The difference is only in the mind of the speaker.
- He played very well, and it "is" not his fault we lost.
- Marie failed the exam, but it "was" her own fault - she didn't do any work.
- -- The difference is only in the mind of the speaker.
- In #1, the speaker is thinking that the fault still lies with the player now.
- In #2, the speaker is thinking of the fault at the time of the failure.
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2 Answers
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1.He played very well, and it "is" not his fault we lost.
2.Marie failed the exam, but it "was" her own fault - she didn't do any work.
In the second sentence, the speaker uses past tense in the whole sentence ; however, in the first sentence the speaker uses past tense in the first clause, then present tense in the last clause (it "is" not his fault...) The two setence are both
2.Marie failed the exam, but it "was" her own fault - she didn't do any work.
In the second sentence, the speaker uses past tense in the whole sentence ; however, in the first sentence the speaker uses past tense in the first clause, then present tense in the last clause (it "is" not his fault...) The two setence are both
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Hi,
I read the two following sentences in the Longman Language Activator:
1.He played very well, and it "is" not his fault we lost. 'Is' suggests that the speaker is thinking that the fault still exists at the time of speaking. eg Maybe they lost 10 minites ago.
If they h
I read the two following sentences in the Longman Language Activator:
1.He played very well, and it "is" not his fault we lost. 'Is' suggests that the speaker is thinking that the fault still exists at the time of speaking. eg Maybe they lost 10 minites ago.
If they h
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