Tense confusion, auxi verb

Question

Hi,It would be appreciated if any of you could give me suggestion about the following grammatical and usage problem in written English:##The first part is about overview,second part about implementation, third part about conclusion.@In the above, should auxiliary verb be used in every segment like 'second part is about implementation'? Besides should 'the' be used before each ordinal no like 'the second part..'##I met with Prof. Macdonald last week. He is very kind and helpful. @@In the second line, present tense is used though first sentence is on past tense.I'm in doubt whether this is grammatically correct.##She(graduate student,London University) is a bubbly radiant gorgeous girl. @@should comma be used when more than one adjective describing a noun? Inside the bracket, should the first letter be on capital or lowercase is ok?## I thought you are living in Dublin.I knew he is a cheater.@@Is the above correct or it should be 'I thought you were living in Dublin' and 'I knew he was a cheater'?Thanks for reading this mail and looking forward to your kind reply.Best regards,Abu

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]It would be appreciated if any of you could give me suggestion about the following grammatical and usage problem in written English:[/nq]
(snip)
I've limited this response to the questions that are similar to each other.
[nq:1]##I met with Prof. Macdonald last week. He is very kind and helpful. @@In the second line, present tense is used though first sentence is on past tense.I'm in doubt whether this is grammatically correct.[/nq]
It is fine. The meeting happened in the past, at a specific time, so that is "met". Kindness and helpfulness are general, long-lasting characteristics of a person, so "is" is probably what you mean. He is still as kind and helpful now as he was then.
If what you mean is there is doubt about whether he usually is that way, and that you can testify that for at least one brief moment he was kind and helpful, then "was" would fit better.
So: he seems like a kind person use "is".
At that time only, he was kind use "was."
(snip)
[nq:1]## I thought you are living in Dublin.[/nq]
I can't think of an example where that's the best way to say something. "I thought you were living in Dublin" would usually apply, or "I thought you lived in Dublin," or "I thought you live in Dublin." That one has the present form, but not the "are living" form.
[nq:1]I knew he is a cheater.[/nq]
To use "is" suggests the condition continues through the present. He still is a cheater.
[nq:1]@@Is the above correct or it should be 'I thought you were living in Dublin' and 'I knew he was a cheater'?[/nq]
You're always safe to use the past with the past the listener can almost always tell what you mean. But you're usually safe to use the past with the present, as well, if you are speaking of some long-lasting condition that continues through today and into the near future.

Best wishes - Donna Richoux

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]It would be appreciated if any of you could give me suggestion about the following grammatical and usage problem in ... part about conclusion. @In the above, should auxiliary verb be used in every segment like 'second part is about implementation'?[/nq]
It's optional.
[nq:1]Besides should 'the' be used before each ordinal no like 'the second part..'[/nq]
Yes. Also, there should be an "and" before the last item in the list.

nb. Your use of "about" is incorrect. The sentence should read something like: "The first part is the overview, the second part (is) the implementation, and the third part (is) the conclusion."
[nq:1]##I met with Prof. Macdonald last week. He is very kind and helpful. @@In the second line, present tense is used though first sentence is onpast tense.I'm in doubt whether this is grammatically correct.[/nq]
It depends whether you mean that he was kind and helpful when you met him, or that he is a kind and helpful person.
[nq:1]##She(graduate student,London University) is a bubbly radiant gorgeousgirl. @@should comma be used when more than one adjective describing a noun?[/nq]
Yes.
[nq:1]Inside the bracket, should the first letter be on capital or lowercase is ok?[/nq]
Lower case.
[nq:1]## I thought you are living in Dublin. I knew he is a cheater. @@Is the above correct or it should be 'I thought you were living inDublin' and 'I knew he was a cheater'?[/nq]
Were, was.
Adrian

Usenet · Answer

Me either, unless its in dialog.
After receiving the riddle about your new place of residence, I spent a week trying to figure it out. Finally, on Friday, the clues just fell into place. I thought, "you are living in Dublin."
Or something.
Mike G.

Usenet · Answer

Let's don't be hasty. Depending on the context, "about" could be correct. If he were writing about a presentation or the different parts of a document, for example, he could say "The first part is about overview, the second part (is) about implementation, and the third part (is) about conclusion." Or, if the document or presentation were concerned with a specific case, he could write "The first part is about the overview, the second part (is) about ("the" is possibly optional here) implementation, and the third part (is) about the conclusion."
Mike G.

Usenet · Answer

Hi Donna, Adrian & Mike,
Thanks a million for your swift reply it really helps me to get rid of most of the confusions surrounding tense. Soo it suggests I've some confusions left and will post about those soon.
Till then
Thanks again and bye.
Abu

Tense confusion, auxi verb

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