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Hela Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

"once" + tense

Dear teachers,

Is this sentence wrong ?

Once I pass my driving test, I’ll be able to buy a car.

Thank you very much for your help.
Hela
  

Top answer

Once I pass my driving test, I’ll be able to buy a car. Even if you pass your driving test, you may not have enough money to buy a car. Hence, to me, your sentence is not logical.

— Yoong Liat

  • Once I pass my driving test, I’ll be able to buy a car.
  • Even if you pass your driving test, you may not have enough money to buy a car.
  • Hence, to me, your sentence is not logical.
  • I suggest: Once I pass my driving test, I’ll buy a car.
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7 Answers
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Once I pass my driving test, I’ll be able to buy a car.

Even if you pass your driving test, you may not have enough money to buy a car. Hence, to me, your sentence is not logical.

I suggest: Once I pass my driving test, I’ll buy a car.
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Yoong Liatyour sentence is not logical.
In California, for instance, you have to have a driver's license to buy a car.
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What I would like to know is if it's possible to use the simple present after "once" or do I have to use the present perfect?

Once I pass / have passed my driving test, I'll be able to buy a car / be allowed to drive a car...
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Interesting. The simple present works, too. I hope a grammarian shows up to tell us why.
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i wish i could drive a car but i cant
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kate ely i wish i could drive a car but i cant
I wish I could drive a car, but I can't.

Kate - please note that capital letters and punctuation are important parts of writing proper English.
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HelaWhat I would like to know is if it's possible to use the simple present after "once" or do I have to use the present perfect?
After once, when, after, as soon as, and until (and similar words concerned with time relations) you can use either of those tenses. Using the simple present focuses a little more on an immediate resulting action or s
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