Confusing Questions

1) Often I come across some sentences that I think is not correct in grammar sense but somehow these sentences were said by the native speaker. For examples,
a) I thought this is a naked beach.
b) I thought you two are a team.
c) I thought you don't understand what I say.
d) I and Rachel are going to watch a movie now, and we were just thinking if you want to join us.

Could you tell me why they use present tense after the phrases ‘I thought’ and ‘we were thinking’ instead of past tense? I think they are wrong but I can’t prove it.

2) One day my friend came to ask me what was the difference between the following sentences and I couldn’t answer his questions.
ei) He never tells you that?
eii) He never told you that?
eiii) He has never told you that?
Another example
fi) I never leave this country before.
fii) I never left this country before.
fiii)I have never left this country before.
I tried to explain to him with the logic I had but after a while I got confused like him too. Could you tell me what is the difference between them?

3) Often I hear people use the phrase ‘in mind’ and ‘on min’, could you tell me the difference between them? For example,
a) What do you have in mind?
b) What is on your mind?
c) Bear in mind that he will not cease to go after you until you are dead.
I do have an explanation for this but I don’t know whether I am right. My explanation is, ‘on mind’ means what you are thinking in your head now (like an image floating on the sea) and ‘in mind’ means what you have store in your head (like an image immerse in the sea). However I am not sure.

4) What are the differences between have waited, have been waiting, and have been waited as show by the example below?
a) I have been waiting for 4 hours to get my car repaired and you are telling me that the mechanic who repairs my car has gone for lunch?
b) I have been waited for 4 hours to get my car repaired and you are telling me that the mechanic who repairs my car has gone for lunch?
c) I have waited for 4 hours to get my car repaired and you are telling me that the mechanic who repairs my car has gone for lunch?
Could you tell what are the differences between them?

5) I often hear the mixed tenses spoken by some of the native speaker that confuses me. Following is the example,
If we were to call the server in every five second, we will probably end up with denial of service because the server will think that you are trying to hack it for information.
I think it’s totally wrong and ungrammatical but I often hear it. Could you tell me why?

[Casiopea]

a) I thought this was a nude beach.
b) I thought you two were a team.
c) I thought you didn't understand me.
d) Rachel and I are going to watch a movie now, and we were just wondering if you want/would like to join us.

Present Perfect
eiii) He has never told you that?
fiii) I have never left this country before.

Set phrases
a) What do you have in mind?
b) What is on your mind?
c) Bear in mind ....

a) I have been waiting for 4 hours (Continuous action)
b) I have been waited for 4 hours (Ungrammatical)
c) I have waited for 4 hours (Fact)

Condiftional: If...would
If we were to call the server every five second, we would probably end up with denial of service because the server would think that you were trying to hack it for information.

Thanks for your reply, Casiopea. But I am still confused on the differences between have been waiting, have been waited, and have waited. Could you tell me what are the differences between them by giving examples?

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by munchun2004

Thanks for your reply, Casiopea. But I am still confused on the differences between have been waiting, have been waited, and have waited. Could you tell me what are the differences between them by giving examples?

Well, the Perfect (have -ed/-en) expresses an action/event that started in the Past and continues up until now, the present time.

As for the difference between the past (-ed) and the continuous (-ing), I tell my students the following:

Past: It's a photograph, a still picture.
Continuous: It's a video, a moving picture.

Use the Past when you want to express a still picture, and use the Continuous when you want to express a moving picture.

EX: I have waited all day. (A still picture, a photograph)
EX: I have been waiting all day. (A moving picture, a video)

Thanks for your reply, but does the case 'have been waited' exist in English grammar? Is the following example correct?

I have been waited for 3 hours before the mechanic came to tell me that my car was done.

I sure hope that you could tell me that 'have been waited' doesn't exist in English grammar because that means one case less for me.

[Casiopea]

Active "have been waited" is incorrect, but Passive "have been waited on" is OK:

Passive: I've been waited on by that server before.
Active: That server has waited on me before.

Casiopea, thanks for your reply. I never thought 'have been waited' couldn't be used in active voice. Somehow 'have been waited on' really sounds strange to me and I wonder if there are any cases like this for this type of phrases 'have been waited/tested/missed on'. Or 'have been waited on' is the only special case I have to remember.

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by munchun2004

Casiopea, thanks for your reply. I never thought 'have been waited' couldn't be used in active voice. Somehow 'have been waited on' really sounds strange to me and I wonder if there are any cases like this for this type of phrases 'have been waited/tested/missed on'. Or 'have been waited on' is the only special case I have to remember.

For active sentences, use have been -ing.
For passive sentences, use have been -ed.

EX: I have been tested on this (by the school) before. (Passive)
EX: I have been missed on several occasions (by everyone), haven't I? (Passive)

Thank you for your reply. I think I understand the usage now. Thanks for all your help.