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Tenacious Learner Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Past or Present
Hi teachers.
I have this sentence. The old lady is talking to someone called Coke.
"You know, your clothes are in a terrible state," the old lady said after the meal.
Which one is better, or are both ok?
a) What sort of state were Coke's clothes in?
a) What sort of state are Coke's clothes in?
Thanks in advance
I have this sentence. The old lady is talking to someone called Coke.
"You know, your clothes are in a terrible state," the old lady said after the meal.
Which one is better, or are both ok?
a) What sort of state were Coke's clothes in?
a) What sort of state are Coke's clothes in?
Thanks in advance
Top answer
In many of your posts you ask about things related to a text that your students have read. In the case of texts you may take the point of view that is 'internal' to the text, asking the question as if retelling the story of the text. In this case, since you are re-imagining the events of the story, you mean 'at that time in the course of the story', as if you were listening to the story once again.
- In many of your posts you ask about things related to a text that your students have read.
- In the case of texts you may take the point of view that is 'internal' to the text, asking the question as if retelling the story of the text.
- In this case, since you are re-imagining the events of the story, you mean 'at that time in the course of the story', as if you were listening to the story once again.
- What sort of state were Coke's clothes in (at that time in the course of the story)?
- Or you may take the point of view that is 'external' to the text, asking the question about the text itself as something that is present before you.
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13 Answers
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In many of your posts you ask about things related to a text that your students have read.
In the case of texts you may take the point of view that is 'internal' to the text, asking the question as if retelling the story of the text. In this case, since you are re-imagining the events of the story, you mean 'at that time in the course of the story', as if you were listening to the story
In the case of texts you may take the point of view that is 'internal' to the text, asking the question as if retelling the story of the text. In this case, since you are re-imagining the events of the story, you mean 'at that time in the course of the story', as if you were listening to the story
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Hi CalifJim,
This is the kind of answer I was looking for! It really is!!! Thank you so much.
This is the kind of answer I was looking for! It really is!!! Thank you so much.
Ca
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Thinking SpainYou mean, If I give them questions from a text, all of them should be in the simple past or the simple present. But I can'tYes, to the extent that you can do that in a reasonable way. But don't obsess about it. At times you may encounter situations where a change in tense makes more sense. Don't ma
mix them from the same text. Is that so?
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CalifJimDon't make yourself a slave to a rule.That's a very good advice. Thank you very much.
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Thinking SpainThat's a very good advice.Oops! Not this! advice is not countable in English.
That's very good advice.
OR
That's a very good piece of advice.
Thinking SpainThank you very much.You're welcome.
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CalifJimThat's a very good piece of advice.Thank you very much for teaching me.
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Thinking Spain The old lady is talking to someone called Coke.I know you have an answ
"You know, your clothes are in a terrible state," the old lady said after the meal. Which one is better, or are both ok?
a) What sort of state were Coke's clothes in?
b) What sort of state are Coke's clothes in?
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Let me clarify a bit.
The first line (is talking to) is the set-up. It's to explain to us the source of the quote which follows. His students won't be reading this line.
The second line (said) is the exact text, taken from the source that TS is working with. It's the text his students are going to read. He can't change that. It's a quote.
a) and
The first line (is talking to) is the set-up. It's to explain to us the source of the quote which follows. His students won't be reading this line.
The second line (said) is the exact text, taken from the source that TS is working with. It's the text his students are going to read. He can't change that. It's a quote.
a) and
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I completely ignored the quotation marks.
But we have "the old lady said", so it is a past statement and I would sa
But we have "the old lady said", so it is a past statement and I would sa
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Hi CalifJim,
Wow, your interpretation is the most appropriate one. Sometimes I don't explain myself very well, but you certainly catch everything at once. I hope I have expressed it in the right way. Congratulations.
Wow, your interpretation is the most appropriate one. Sometimes I don't explain myself very well, but you certainly catch everything at once. I hope I have expressed it in the right way. Congratulations.
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