Dec. 15, 2021
Question
I enjoyed hearing you talk about books, Journey to the West, and your studies.
Question
In this sentence, can I change "talk" to "talked"? I am wondering that "enjoyed" is past tense, but why is "talk" in present simple tense?
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Question
I enjoyed hearing you talk about books, Journey to the West, and your studies. I enjoyed hearing you talk about books, Journey to the West, and your studies.
See below for comments.
Feedback
I enjoyed hearing you talk about books, Journey to the West, and your studies.
In this sentence, can I change "talk" to "talked"?
>> No, it wouldn't be correct to just substitue "talk" with "talked" here. Some more rewrite would be needed (see below).
I am wondering that "enjoyed" is past tense, but why is "talk" in present simple tense?
>> You have to remember that English language usage is not the most logical! I think that what the sentence is saying here is:
"I enjoyed hearing your talk about ..."
So, "talk" here would appear to be acting like a noun, rather than a verb. Without researching this topic further, I think this is the best I can do to answer your question just now: other commentators might have a better explanation! Another way to say this whilst keeping "talk" as a verb would be:
"I enjoyed hearing about books (etc) when you were talking about them/ talked about them/ were talking on the subject of them."
Hopefully, the above gives you some help!
Sincerely,
mjm
Dec. 29, 2021
Further note: I'm going to ask a professional English tutor about the question you have raised. I would like to know the exact answer, anyway! I'll come back to you.
Sincerely,
mjm
Dec. 29, 2021
Thank you very much for taking my questions so seriously. I admire your rigorous scholarship. Based on your explanations, I'd like to tell you my understanding.
"I enjoyed hearing you talk about books..."
In this sentence, "enjoyed" is a verb, "hear you talk about books..." should be a noun clause as an object. As another commentator said before, "talk about" in this sentence should be "to talk about". It's a verb infinitive, but the "to" is omitted. I think your other expression is completely right: "I enjoyed the books when you talked about them". The sample sentence is an independent sentence, but your sentence is actually two sentences because it includes an adverbial clause of time, so in different sentence patterns the verb tenses should be changed accordingly. I think I already know the answer to this question. Thank you very much for giving me such detailed explanations.
Dec. 29, 2021
Sincerely,
Jack
Dec. 29, 2021
You are welcome, Jack! Just to say that I have received a response from my colleague, and she agrees with you and the previous commentator. Please just view my previous response as an unqualified skirting around the subject! I have been speaking English for around 50 years but I’m still learning!! Wishing you all the best with your studies. Sincerely, mjm
Dec. 29, 2021
You are too modest Mjm. All your understanding of this question makes good sense and because of it, I got the point. I like your academic attitude, and that’s what I long for.
I am wondering thatwhy "enjoyed" is in the past tense, but why iswhile "talk" ins in the present simple tense?
I am wondering why "enjoyed" is in the past tense, while "talk" is in the present simple tense?
Feedback
"talked" 不正确
这个句子的"talk"是不定时(infinitive)
主要动词是"heard"，它显示时态
在主要动词的补语 ，不定时就够了
Sorry for my bad Chinese, I think it's better to explain such things in one's native language
Dec. 15, 2021
*主要动词是"enjoyed hearing"
Dec. 15, 2021
Okay, I kind of see. Maybe it is because the word enjoyed already indicated tense. Thank you very much.
Dec. 15, 2021
Yes it's like when you say:
I want you to come
I will want you to come
I wanted you to come
"To come" is a complement verb dependent on the main verb "want"
Only the latter indicates the tense
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In this sentence, can I change "talk" to "talked"? |
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Question This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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I enjoyed hearing you talk about books, Journey to the West, and your studies. I enjoyed hearing you talk about books, Journey to the West, and your studies. I enjoyed hearing you talk about books, Journey to the West, and your studies. See below for comments. |
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Question |
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I am wondering that "enjoyed" is past tense, but why is "talk" in present simple tense?
I am wondering |
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