WHY DOES 'OUGHT TO' get 12 REPLIES

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09-Aug-2006, 22:03
dalfred

WHY DOES 'OUGHT TO' get 12 REPLIES

Hi,

and i get none

Help!!!!!!

What is correct?(and WHY is very Important!)
I'm talking to the director of Wall Street Institute for English on Friday.

No sooner had I opened my front door ... that something was wrong.

did i realize
than i realized

(fill in the dots)

And one more

Sorry you didn't find me at home. ... out to do some shopping.

I've gone
I'd gone

I failed on both. But i am 999 million percent sure (don't know why) that 'did i realize' is correct.Just can't explain it.
And 'I've gone' is correct because i left a note.(or not?)

Cheers
Donald
10-Aug-2006, 09:58
rewboss

Re: WHY DOES 'OUGHT TO' get 12 REPLIES

"Than I realized" is correct for two reasons:

1. You need the conjunction "than" to link the two ideas. It means the same as "when" and indicates that one action had just been completed when a second action started.

2. You need the past perfect in the first clause, but the past simple in the second. The past perfect indicates an action one step further back in the past than the action described in the second clause.

In the second question, you need the past perfect, not the present perfect. The present perfect indicates a connection between the past and the present: "I've gone out to do some shopping" implies "I am not at home." The present perfect describes a present set of circumstances.

However, the first sentence is in the simple past, and this indicates quite clearly that we are talking about a past set of circumstances. The past perfect in the next sentence makes a connection between the past and the more distant past: "I was not at home when you called". (It's possible I returned later, but at the time I was not there.)

We can explain this diagrammatically, like this:

Code:

----------(NOW)----------> | | A----->B He has gone shopping. He's not in. A: He went shopping B: He is not in ----------(NOW)----------> | | A--->B He had gone shopping when we called A: He went shopping B: We called, and he was out
10-Aug-2006, 10:14
Teia

Re: WHY DOES 'OUGHT TO' get 12 REPLIES

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalfred

Hi,
and i get none
Help!!!!!!
What is correct?(and WHY is very Important!)
I'm talking to the director of Wall Street Institute for English on Friday.
No sooner had I opened my front door ... that something was wrong.
did i realize
than i realized
(fill in the dots)
And one more
Sorry you didn't find me at home. ... out to do some shopping.
I've gone
I'd gone
I failed on both. But i am 999 million percent sure (don't know why) that 'did i realize' is correct.Just can't explain it.
And 'I've gone' is correct because i left a note.(or not?)
Cheers
Donald

Hi Donald

If you looked at your yesterday`s posts --Hello, anyone there and Why doesn`t anyone look at my post -- you could see that I have already answered twice.
Anyway, Rewboss already posted a very good answer for you.

Regards,

Teia