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Demicjusz Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
The moment we SEE/HAVE SEEN the police...
What tenses (and combinations of thereof) are possible in the following sentence?
1. The moment we .........(see) the police ..........(follow) us we will start to run away.
For instance, is it correct to use 'have seen' in the first gap or 'have been following ' in the other?
1. The moment we .........(see) the police ..........(follow) us we will start to run away.
For instance, is it correct to use 'have seen' in the first gap or 'have been following ' in the other?
Top answer
Demi - look at the last phrase "we WILL start to run away" . Future aspect. 1.
- Demi - look at the last phrase "we WILL start to run away" .
- Future aspect.
- 1.
- The moment we see the police following us we will start to run away.
- 2.
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5 Answers
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Demi - look at the last phrase "we WILL start to run away" . Future aspect.
1. The moment we see the police following us we will start to run away.
2. The moment we see the police have been following us .....
1. The moment we see the police following us we will start to run away.
2. The moment we see the police have been following us .....
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Yes, it is the future aspect, but what about a sentence like:
When I've finished doing this, I'll...
Could we use 'have seen' in the same way?
When I've finished doing this, I'll...
Could we use 'have seen' in the same way?
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"The moment we .........(see) the police ..........(follow) us we will start to run away."
This is really a conditional sentence; (first conditional expressing future possibilty) "If we see the police, then we will run away"
You could use a mixed conditional, but this will change the meaning of the sentence, putting it into a past form.
"If we had seen the police wer
This is really a conditional sentence; (first conditional expressing future possibilty) "If we see the police, then we will run away"
You could use a mixed conditional, but this will change the meaning of the sentence, putting it into a past form.
"If we had seen the police wer
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My two cents.
All the following are possible, but listed in order from most to least idiomatic.
The moment we see the police following us we will start to run away.
The moment we see (that) the police are following us we will start to run away.
The moment we see (that) the police have been following us we will start to run away.
The moment we see the police foll
All the following are possible, but listed in order from most to least idiomatic.
The moment we see the police following us we will start to run away.
The moment we see (that) the police are following us we will start to run away.
The moment we see (that) the police have been following us we will start to run away.
The moment we see the police foll
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That next-to-last version is what I'm most interested in. I realize this sounds awkward, and I wouldn't say that sentence myself, but as you say, it might still be 'correct'.
Of course, it's another of those test questions... This time I quite agree with the key, which gave SEE and (ARE) FOLLOWING (your preferred choices), but language is not mathematics, so I'm curious to know what is possi
Of course, it's another of those test questions... This time I quite agree with the key, which gave SEE and (ARE) FOLLOWING (your preferred choices), but language is not mathematics, so I'm curious to know what is possi
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