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10-Jun-2008, 15:50
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| |  "It's time we went home?" or "It's time we should go home?"
see the title.
There is a multiple choice as follow,
After a whole day of hard work I'm very tired. It's time we _____ home.
A) go B) shall C) went D) should go
the answer is C.
But I think C and D are both right.
Is D correct here? If not, could you give me the reason? THANKS |
10-Jun-2008, 15:59
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| | Re: It's time we went home? or,It's time we should go home?
Quote:
Originally Posted by registered  see the title.
There is a multiple choice as follow,
After a whole day of hard work I'm very tired. It's time we _____ home.
A) go B) shall C) went D) should go
the answer is C.
But I think C and D are both right.
Is D correct here? If not, could you give me the reason? THANKS | It's time we went home. Reason:Its an idiom ,the reason not known. Source :Yahoo.com
Regards,
rj1948. | | The Following User Says Thank You to rj1948 For This Useful Post: | |
10-Jun-2008, 16:02
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| | Re: It's time we went home? or,It's time we should go home?
(not a teacher)
As you say, the answer is C. That is a very well used phrase.
I can't quite give a concrete rule why D is wrong, but it is. I have never heard it in 39 years.
"It's time we should go home" just doesn't sound right. I think it's because by saying "It IS time…" that is a concrete statement which doesn't go with the "should". "Should" infers that there might be a "…but" coming.
I'm tired. It IS time we went home. [OR]
I'm tired. We should go home (we ought to, suggestion).
Hope that helps even though I'm not 100% clear on the reasons or grammatical rules.
Just seen rj1948's reason: It's an idiom, the reason is not known.
That's what I was trying to say, thanks!!
Last edited by hotmetal; 10-Jun-2008 at 16:04.
Reason: update for new post
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10-Jun-2008, 16:03
|  | Senior Member | | Join Date: Dec 2007 Country: Japan
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| | Re: It's time we went home? or,It's time we should go home?
Quote:
Originally Posted by registered see the title.
There is a multiple choice as follow,
After a whole day of hard work I'm very tired. It's time we _____ home.
A) go B) shall C) went D) should go
the answer is C.
But I think C and D are both right.
Is D correct here? If not, could you give me the reason? THANKS | I agree with you. 
I feel....D could also work.
Please forgive me if I'm wrong.
I'm not a native speaker of English.  |
10-Jun-2008, 16:05
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| | Re: It's time we went home? or,It's time we should go home?
I was wrong...
I'm really sorry. I take back what I've just said. |
11-Jun-2008, 08:45
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| | Re: It's time we went home? or,It's time we should go home?
No body use "it is time ...should do" anywhere?
PS. Can I change the sentence It's time we went home into It's time to go home?
Are these two sentences the same? |
11-Jun-2008, 10:08
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| | Re: It's time we went home? or,It's time we should go home?
WOULD no body use "it is time ...should do" anywhere? NO
PS. Can I change the sentence It's time we went home into It's time to go home?
Are these two sentences the same?
"It's time we went home" and "It's time to go home" are very similar, but there is a subtle difference. "It's time we went home" is a standard phrase more likely to be used by someone who is irritated and wants to go. "It's time to go home" is more neutral, it is a statement of fact. "It's past five o'clock; it's time to go home." | | The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to hotmetal For This Useful Post: | |
11-Jun-2008, 12:15
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| | Re: It's time we went home? or,It's time we should go home?
Quote:
Originally Posted by hotmetal WOULD no body use "it is time ...should do" anywhere? NO | I have put this sentence into my mind. Thank u very much! | | The Following User Says Thank You to registered For This Useful Post: | |
11-Jun-2008, 18:51
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| | Re: It's time we went home? or,It's time we should go home?
'It's time sb did sth' suggests more criticism than 'It's time for sb to do sth'.
E.g. The working day finishes at 6 p.m.
If it is 6 p.m. now, the adequate phrase would be 'It's time (for us) to go home'.
If it is 6.05 p.m., the adequate phrase would be 'It's time we went home'. | | The Following User Says Thank You to Clark For This Useful Post: | |
11-Jun-2008, 23:54
| | Member | | Join Date: Nov 2007 Country: Bosnia
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The fact is that you are very tired for you have been working all the day long.
Now you are thinking about a moment in the past just before you started to have been feeling tired. (or the moment you were less tired)
If you had stopped at that moment you wouldn't have been feeling tired (and not being so tired now as well).
You are sorry for not have been stopped working and gone home at that time.
you are thinking about an unreal past. About the past in which you didn't do something!
So you use so called past subjunctive of a verb. It has exactly the same form as a simple past of the verb. (go, went, gone)
So, feeling tired, and thinking about the more safe moment in the past, or better to say, dreaming(imagining) about the moment (or...), you say to yourself
It is high time I went home.
Remembering the time just before you felt tired or the time at you were less tired now you are "sure" you were to have gone home and not being so tired here and now.
It means, it would have been much better if you left home 2 hours ago when you were started to have been getting tired.
There was no any other reason for you
to should have gone home
to must have gone home
to ought to have gone home etc...
In addition if you have just felt tired and took a seat
you would say
It is time I stopped working and went home. (stopped, went are past subjunctive forms) ( no high in the sentence)
learner from bosnia
Last edited by e2e4; 12-Jun-2008 at 12:10.
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