Tag: british english

— Learning to write

Having relatively recently taken my learning of the English language seriously, I have come across the idea of descriptive versus prescriptive language. I have always thought that as long as the intended message is sent, received and understood, the way in which this is achieved is irrelevant. What is Prescriptive language? This is where the […]

via — Learning to write

ESL–Should It Matter if You Blog? — e-Quips

ESL–English as a Second Language. (Confession time–English is my first language. I am functional but would not call myself quite fluent in Spanish. Those are the only two languages I know more than a few words in. I was also an English major in college.) I follow some very fine blogs written in English, where […]

via ESL–Should It Matter if You Blog? — e-Quips

In-depth about GENERAL IELTS — English Forum

As informed in my last writing IELTS is the English Language Proficiency test which is conducted across the globe for those aspiring people who wants to enhance their career or academics in a Native English speaking country. IELTS has two categories namely General IELTS and Academic IELTS. General is for those aspirants who are looking […]

via In-depth about GENERAL IELTS — English Forum

IELTS Speaking Real Test 2018: Part 3 – Children — IELTS UNLOCKED

THINGS TO REMEMBER – (1) Part 3 is the most difficult part of the test. You need to speak about more academic/advanced topics, which you may not be familiar with (2) Therefore, you should focus on giving a well-organized answer. Try to organize your response like a paragraph in an essay (a clear main […]

via IELTS Speaking Real Test 2018: Part 3 – Children — IELTS UNLOCKED

Roger Sanchez – Another chance – or Why you should always use the present perfect tense in relationships.

The other day I found this song from the 1990s which I haven´t  “watched” in a long time. Its a video-clip and is very telling about our experience of life  and how we perceive that experience.

Roger Sanchez – Another Chance

So a young lady is walking through the streets of  Los Angeles (or another US city) carrying a massive heart. No one wants her, she tries to get on a bus, get in a taxi, go to a cafe and she is refused because they cannot accommodate her heart and she gets a bit sad, lost and alone.  As a result, the heart starts to shrink and it gets so small that she finally carries it under her arm.

At this point she meets someone who asks her on a date and as they say goodbye, the heart starts to grow because her faith in human love is restored. The man looks back and sees the huge heart and is saddened because he does not want a commitment and is not ready to receive a person with such a big quantity of love (a large heart).

This is why you need to always use the present perfect tense – if she had said “my heart has been bigger in the past” or “it has gotten smaller” , “it has shrunk” it would let the man know that her heart can change sizes. Instead she tells him “It was bigger” which indicates that in one time and one place in the past it became smaller,  (which indicates she may have been hurt or it might be because of a specific event or events in a short time).

Note: Americans don´t often use the present perfect in the same way as British people.

My book on the perfect tenses is in the menu.  Its a  free PDF.