Help! Verb Tenses (Continuous Tenses)
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Help! Verb Tenses (Continuous Tenses)
Can someone help with the following question, please?
Those men ______ about their health reports just now.
1 - was talking.
2 - is talking
3 - are talking
4 - were talking
DS1 chose "3", but the supposedly right answer is "4". Can this be right?
Those men ______ about their health reports just now.
1 - was talking.
2 - is talking
3 - are talking
4 - were talking
DS1 chose "3", but the supposedly right answer is "4". Can this be right?
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Re: Help! Verb Tenses (Continuous Tenses)
"just now" implies a past tense hence "were talking" as opposed to "now" which would need "are talking".
Re: Help! Verb Tenses (Continuous Tenses)
Thanks hermanmunster
Just shows how tricky verb tenses can be. I will never get them.
Happy New Year to everyone.
Just shows how tricky verb tenses can be. I will never get them.
Happy New Year to everyone.
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Re: Help! Verb Tenses (Continuous Tenses)
A very ambiguous question! The dictionary definition of "just now" is "at this moment", "a little while ago" or "very soon"! (I don't think I have ever heard the 3rd definition used though.)
Hopefully there would be no such ambiguity on the real paper.
Hopefully there would be no such ambiguity on the real paper.
Re: Help! Verb Tenses (Continuous Tenses)
Definately 4. If you say it to yourself No3 doesn't sound quite right. "Just now" implies action has gone and was in past hence "were".
Good luck - used to find tenses quite hard until one particular job which involved writing very formal English which had to be reviewed by a very pedantic boss!
Good luck - used to find tenses quite hard until one particular job which involved writing very formal English which had to be reviewed by a very pedantic boss!
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Re: Help! Verb Tenses (Continuous Tenses)
Ah, but what about "The Directors are discussing the Annual Report just now"?
I would use the expression "right now" to imply current and present, but "just now" does the job too.
I would use the expression "right now" to imply current and present, but "just now" does the job too.
Re: Help! Verb Tenses (Continuous Tenses)
In my previous life of shoulder pads and high heels I would have been told that "just now" was too colloquial!
Re: Help! Verb Tenses (Continuous Tenses)
My father, a former junior school teacher in the 60s, 70s and 80s handed me a few mixed grammar questions' worksheets, The above question was from a worksheet (from the 60s) for children of 7-8 years.Sally-Anne wrote:A very ambiguous question! The dictionary definition of "just now" is "at this moment", "a little while ago" or "very soon"! (I don't think I have ever heard the 3rd definition used though.)
Hopefully there would be no such ambiguity on the real paper.
I will look to see what the 8-9 worksheet has in store.