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Seagull Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Why do women use the past tense more often than men
I find that when a male teacher praises his student's writing, he writes something like "This is a superb work," while a female teacher often writes like "This was a nice piece of work." Why does this happen? Does the past tense sound 'softer' and 'more womanly' than the present tense? If so, could you show me other examples so I can understand it further?
Top answer
This is not something that I have ever noticed. It would be interesting to know if it is statistically true. Do you have widespread evidence, or are you basing your theory on just one or two cases?
- This is not something that I have ever noticed.
- It would be interesting to know if it is statistically true.
- Do you have widespread evidence, or are you basing your theory on just one or two cases?
- Yes, in cases such as you mention, I think the present tense does tend to sound more direct and forceful.
- It would normally be "This is superb work" (no "a").
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3 Answers
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This is not something that I have ever noticed. It would be interesting to know if it is statistically true. Do you have widespread evidence, or are you basing your theory on just one or two cases?
Yes, in cases such as you mention, I think the present tense does tend to sound more direct and forceful.
It would normally be "This is superb work" (no "a").
Yes, in cases such as you mention, I think the present tense does tend to sound more direct and forceful.
It would normally be "This is superb work" (no "a").
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In some cultures, there is a "man's language" a "woman's language" and even a "child's language." Perhaps what you are observing is a cultural phenomenon.
In some cultures, you would might not observe differences, and in others, the differences might be even more striking..
In some cultures, you would might not observe differences, and in others, the differences might be even more striking..
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Thank you very much indeed, GPY and AlpheccaStars.
I have learned a lot.
I cannot say I have collected very many data, but I have been wondering why only female teachers use the past tense in such cases. It might have been a coincidence, and it might be a first language interference, which I have not noticed at all...
I have learned a lot.
I cannot say I have collected very many data, but I have been wondering why only female teachers use the past tense in such cases. It might have been a coincidence, and it might be a first language interference, which I have not noticed at all...
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