Oct. 25, 2021
What happened/ has happened here? Why is the floor full of clutter?
Tell me what has been happening/ has happened to you in the past few days?
She had worked / had been working / was working there for 2 years when Martin started at the company.
He had been writing / was writing a novel for a bit when she came to talk to him.
The kid's hands are soiled because he had been making/ was making slime creepy-crawlies and I tried to remove the stains from his hands with liquid soap but some of them have still remained/ still remained .
Are all the alternatives possible in those sentences in BRITISH ENGLISH?
Is what is below correct?
One day our ancient air fryer for burgers blew out all the hot air into our colleague's face and he needed to undergo aplastic surgery because his face had been badly burnt.
Not only do I have to wake up at 5.00 a.m. but she also makes me clean up and clear up the whole kitchen on my own.
The boss is mean and crashes everyone for the slighest mistake.
Im sorry that I didn't write you an e-mail . I just got so many things to do in my job.
I'm sorry that I haven't written you an e-mail but I've had so many things to do in my job.
I'm sorry that I haven't been writing for quite a bit. I had a load of things to do at work. Now Ive found some time to scribble you an e-mail.
Which of the sentences about writing an e-mail is the most correct, or perhaps all of them are correct
Tenses (part 2)
What happened/ has happened here?
Both possible, very little difference in meaning here I think.
Why is the floor full of clutter?
Tell me what has been happening/ has happened to you in the past few days?
I think again both are okay. They feel like slightly different questions, but it's hard to explain how, and you'd give the same answer to both of them.
She had worked / had been working / was working there for 2 years when Martin started at the company.
"She was working there for 2 years when he started" sounds more like she was in the middle of a two year contract. She joined up to work there for a duration of two years; after six months, Martin joined. The other two are both correct and both feel very similar.
He had been writing / was writing a novel for a bit when she came to talk to him.
I'm really uncertain about this one. I'd more likely to say "he'd been working on his novel" or "he'd been doing a bit of writing". But in terms of tense I think both are okay again.
The kid's hands are soiled because he had been making/ was making slime creepy-crawlies and I tried to remove the stains from his hands with liquid soap but some of them have still remained/ still remained n't come off / didn't come off.
"remained" makes sense but sounds a bit awkward. Both tenses fine still :)
Are all the alternatives possible in those sentences in BRITISH ENGLISH?
Is what is below correct?
One day our ancient air fryer for burgers blew out all the hot air into our colleague's face and he needed to undergo aplastic surgery because his face had been badly burnt.
Not only do I have to wake up at 5.00 a.m. but she also makes me clean up and clear up the whole kitchen on my own.
The boss is mean and ctrashes everyone for the slightest mistake.
Not sure if this is what you meant. To trash someone is kind of to be really mean to them, say that they're very bad, be very disrespectful. "crash" makes no sense to me.
I'm sorry that I didn't write you an e-mail .
I just gothad so many things to do inat my job.
This "I got so many things" grammar is really common colloquially, but I don't think it's formally accepted.
I'm sorry that I haven't written you an e-mail but I've had so many things to do inat my job.
I'm sorry that I haven't been writing for quite a bit.
I had a load of things to do at work.
"at work" is more natural than "at my job".
Now I've found some time to scribble you an e-mail.
Which of the sentences about writing an e-mail is the most correct, or perhaps are all of them are correct?
Feedback
All really good examples of situations where simple past and present perfect are both valid!
One day our ancient air fryer for burgers blew out all the hot air into our colleague's face and he needed to undergo aplastic surgery because his face had been badly burnt. One day our ancient air fryer for burgers blew out all the hot air into our colleague's face and he needed to undergo |
Tenses (part 2) This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
What happened/ has happened here? What happened/ has happened here? Both possible, very little difference in meaning here I think. |
Why is the floor full of clutter? This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
Tell me what has been happening/ has happened to you in the past few days? Tell me what has been happening/ has happened to you in the past few days? I think again both are okay. They feel like slightly different questions, but it's hard to explain how, and you'd give the same answer to both of them. |
She had worked / had been working / was working there for 2 years when Martin started at the company. She had worked / had been working "She was working there for 2 years when he started" sounds more like she was in the middle of a two year contract. She joined up to work there for a duration of two years; after six months, Martin joined. The other two are both correct and both feel very similar. |
He had been writing / was writing a novel for a bit when she came to talk to him. He had been writing / was writing a novel for a bit when she came to talk to him. I'm really uncertain about this one. I'd more likely to say "he'd been working on his novel" or "he'd been doing a bit of writing". But in terms of tense I think both are okay again. |
The kid's hands are soiled because he had been making/ was making slime creepy-crawlies and I tried to remove the stains from his hands with liquid soap but some of them have still remained/ still remained . The kid's hands are soiled because he had been making/ was making slime creepy-crawlies and I tried to remove the stains from his hands with liquid soap but some of them have "remained" makes sense but sounds a bit awkward. Both tenses fine still :) |
Are all the alternatives possible in those sentences in BRITISH ENGLISH? This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
Is what is below correct? This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
Not only do I have to wake up at 5.00 a.m. but she also makes me clean up and clear up the whole kitchen on my own. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
The boss is mean and crashes everyone for the slighest mistake. The boss is mean and Not sure if this is what you meant. To trash someone is kind of to be really mean to them, say that they're very bad, be very disrespectful. "crash" makes no sense to me. |
Im sorry that I didn't write you an e-mail . I'm sorry that I didn't write you an e-mail |
I just got so many things to do in my job. I just This "I got so many things" grammar is really common colloquially, but I don't think it's formally accepted. |
I'm sorry that I haven't written you an e-mail but I've had so many things to do in my job. I'm sorry that I haven't written you an e-mail but I've had so many things to do |
I'm sorry that I haven't been writing for quite a bit. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
I had a load of things to do at work. I had a load of things to do at work. "at work" is more natural than "at my job". |
Now Ive found some time to scribble you an e-mail. Now I've found some time to scribble you an e-mail. |
Which of the sentences about writing an e-mail is the most correct, or perhaps all of them are correct Which of the sentences about writing an e-mail is the most correct, or perhaps are all of them |
You need LangCorrect Premium to access this feature.
Go Premium