GRAMMAR DAYTENSES

When You’re Stuck in Present

Is this right?

John told me that the earth was a planet.

Why it is wrong?

The unchanging fact, that the earth is a planet, must be expressed in present tense, despite the fact that all other summarized speech should be in past tense.

What about this one…

• Q.

Although Marty knew that 10 plus 10 (equals/equaled) 20, she wrote “15” on the test as a gesture of defiance.

• What is the answer and why?

The answer is:

• Equals.

In our number system 10 added to 10 makes 20.

No change is possible, so present tense is what you want here.

Now your turn…

1. Albert’s job as a schoolteacher won’t last very long if he keeps telling his class that each molecule of water (has/had) three oxygen atoms.

2. Science has never been Benedict’s best subject, but he did explain that water (covers/ covered) nine tenths of the planet.

3. I gently confronted Rana with the fact that land (makes/made) up about a quarter of the earth’s surface.

4. Nabila sniffed and said that she (has/had) a cold and couldn’t think about the earth anyway.

5. We went out for a snack (bagels and cream cheese), and Vincent told me that cheese (is/ was) a dairy product.

6. “Not the way they make it here,” Rizki replied, pointing out that the product (is/was) mostly artificial.

7. Did anyone actually like the gum, I wondered, and why (is/was) it on my bag?

8. Elissa put on her best science teacher’s voice and intoned, “Dairy produce (comes/came) from milk.”

9. “Do you know that guar gum (is/was) not naturally found in dairy?” Reggie asked.

10. Claudya shook her head and began to compute the tip, muttering that twenty percent of ten dollars (is/was) two dollars.

11. Ten years ago I took Injani to a restaurant that served only peanut butter, which (is/was) made from nuts.

12. Devina used to be a big fan of jelly, though she never liked strawberries because they (have/had) seeds.

13. Fadhila is such a fanatic about seeds that she once counted all the seeds on a strawberry before she ate it; there (are/were) 45.

14. Clinton was very critical of the cuisine, even though he (knows/knew) almost nothing about cooking.

15. Jonathan at the time was following a vegetarian diet, which (does/did) not include meat.

Summary…

• Verb tenses express the time: past, present, and future actions.

• Some tenses stay in one, unchanging state forever. • When you talk about these things, present tense is the only

one that makes sense, no matter what else is going on in the sentence.

The eternal truths get present tense no matter what.

Run-ons,

Comma Splices, and Fused Sentences

1. He enjoys walking through the country. He often goes backpacking on his vacations.• He enjoys walking through the country, and he often goes

backpacking on his vacations.

2. He often watched TV when there were only reruns. She preferred to read instead.• He often watched TV when there were only reruns; she

preferred to read instead.• -OR-• He often watched TV when there were only reruns; however,

she preferred to read instead.

• 3. They weren't dangerous criminals they were detectives in disguise.

• They weren't dangerous criminals; they were detectives in disguise.

• 4. I didn't know which job I wanted I was too confused to decide.• I didn't know which job I wanted, so I was too confused to

decide.

Repairing Run-On Sentences• After each run-on sentence below select the remedy that would best

repair that sentence. (The remedy will show only enough of the sentence to indicate what was wrong and how to fix it.) If the sentence is correctly written the way it stands, select the first option. The explanation will attempt to justify our editing of that sentence. If you choose the correct response, it might still be a good idea to consult the explanation, to see if your explanation is the same as our explanation. If you look at the explanation before coming up with the right answer yourself, we can't be responsible for the horrible consequences.

1. Judy leads a charmed life she never seems to have a serious accident.• This sentence is correct• life, she• life; she

• We have two independent clauses here and they must be connected somehow. We can't use the comma by itself without creating a comma splice.

2. The airport is about to shut down because of the snow and if the plane doesn't land soon it will have to go on to Boston.• This sentence is correct• snow, and• snow; and• snow. And

• We have two independent clauses connected with a little conjunction. Because of their complexity, it would be a very good idea to separate them with a comma.

3. The show begins at 7:30 make sure you're there before 7:15.• This sentence is correct• 7:30, make• 7:30. Make

• Our second sentence is a directive based on what was said in the first sentence. Although the clauses are closely related, they still must be treated as independent clauses. We could connect them with a comma + so, or we can leave them as two separate sentences.

4. Marcellino always knew his way around the woods this is something he could always depend on.• This sentence is correct• woods; this• woods, this

• These clauses are clearly related; the pronoun 'this' connects the two clauses in meaning. However, they are both independent clauses and need to be connected with a comma + a little conjunction or they should be separated with a semicolon.

5. Having prepared himself well for the realtor exams and having exhausted everyone in the family with his requests that someone help him with the true-and-false drills, Jeffrey, who had never been a particularly good student in high school, knew he was ready to take on the greatest challenge of his life.• This sentence is correct• drills; Jeffrey• Jeffrey -- who had never been a particularly good student in high

school -- knew

• There is nothing wrong with that sentence as it is written. Remember that length has nothing to do with whether a sentence is a run-on or not.

6. Throughout history money and religion were closely linked there was little distinction between government and religion.• This sentence is correct• linked because there was• linked, there was

7. The head of state and the religious leader were often the same person all power rested in one ruler.• This sentence is correct• person, all• person; all

• 8. These powerful leaders decided what objects would serve as money their backing encouraged public faith in the money.

• This sentence is correct• money. Their• money, their

• 9. Coins were minted of precious metals the religious overtones of money were then strengthened.

• This sentence is correct• metals, the• When coins were minted of precious metals, the . . . .

10. People already believed the precious metals to be divine so their use in money intensified its allure.• This sentence is correct• divine, so• divine; so• divine their

• 6. In our revision we subordinated the second clause to the first with the subordinating conjunction 'because.' The comma by itself doesn't do the trick; it only creates a comma-splice.

• 7. The semicolon can be used here to connect two nicely balanced and closely related ideas. The comma by itself creates a comma splice.

• 8. Although it would be possible to connect these two clauses with a semicolon, probably the best bet is to separate them and treat them as separate sentences. The comma by itself would create another comma splice; a comma + a little conjunction would probably not be an adequate solution to this run-on.

• 9.The comma by itself creates a comma splice. Instead of combining these independent clauses with a comma and a little conjunction, we have subordinated the first clause to the second with the subordinating word 'when'.

• 10. Although we have connected these two independent clauses with a little conjunction ('so'), we also need a comma to separate these clauses. We never use a semicolon and a little conjunction to connect independent clauses.