Does/Did

Status
Not open for further replies.

blissful

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
Singapore
Current Location
Singapore
Hi

I know we can say
Why did the sales manager leave early?

But what about “Why does the sales manager leave early?”

Is this correct?
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Yes, but it refers to aan action taking place at a different time.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Hi

I know we can say
Why did the sales manager leave early?

But what about “Why does the sales manager leave early?”

Is this correct?

If he regularly leave early, then your question would fit if you're asking about a habitual action.

Why did the sales manager leave early? = Why did he leave early on one specific occasion?

Why does the sales manager leave early? = Why does he frequently/always leave early?

Why is the sales manager leaving early? = The sales manager is in the process of walking out of the door before the normal time. You would ask this question at that time, while you can still see him leaving.
 

blissful

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
Singapore
Current Location
Singapore
Hi

Thank you for your replies.

Is it possible to say “Why did the sales manager leave early today?” in this scenario

The sales manager left at 10am in the morning, at 3pm in the afternoon one asks “Why did the sales manager leave early today?”

From an earlier post, I learned that we cannot say “He does not go to school”, please advise if we can say “He does not leave early.”
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Hi

Thank you for your replies.

Is it possible to say “Why did the sales manager leave early today?” in this scenario

The sales manager left at 10am in the morning, at 3pm in the afternoon one asks “Why did the sales manager leave early today?”
Yes. That would be the perfect question.

From an earlier post, I learned that we cannot say “He does not go to school”, please advise if we can say “He does not leave early.”
Again, context is everything. I was part of that previous thread and we explained that you can say "He does not go to school" but only if you are saying that he never goes to school, he does not attend school at all, he is taught at home etc. Equally, you can say "He does not leave early" but only if you are trying to say that he always stays at work until the end of the working day, he never leaves early.


See above.
 

blissful

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
Singapore
Current Location
Singapore
Hi

Thank you for the reply.

Sorry, I made a mistake.

It should be we cannot say "He doesn't go to school today".

Another question, should it be I've made a mistake or I made a mistake.
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
Hi

Thank you for the reply.

Sorry, I made a mistake.

It should be we cannot say "He doesn't go to school today". Yes we can. For example, if he doesn't go to school on Wednesdays and today is Wednesday, it's perfectly acceptable.
Bhai.
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
It should be we cannot say "He doesn't go to school today". Yes we can. For example, if he doesn't go to school on Wednesdays and today is Wednesday, it's perfectly acceptable.

Bhaisahab - there was a really long thread about this recently, and the majority of us explained that "doesn't" doesn't go with "today". We said that it would be put as "He isn't going to school today", "He didn't go to school today", "He couldn't go to school today". The context given in that thread was that the child hadn't gone to school that day because he had a fever, so it was a one-off event.

I get your drift here, as in "Wednesday is the one day of the week that he doesn't go to school and today is Wednesday". However, I think in that case, if someone asked the child's mother "Is Joe at school today?", she would be more likely to say "No, he doesn't go to school on Wednesdays", than "He doesn't go to school today".

 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
It should be we cannot say "He doesn't go to school today". Yes we can. For example, if he doesn't go to school on Wednesdays and today is Wednesday, it's perfectly acceptable.

Bhaisahab - there was a really long thread about this recently, and the majority of us explained that "doesn't" doesn't go with "today". We said that it would be put as "He isn't going to school today", "He didn't go to school today", "He couldn't go to school today". The context given in that thread was that the child hadn't gone to school that day because he had a fever, so it was a one-off event.

I get your drift here, as in "Wednesday is the one day of the week that he doesn't go to school and today is Wednesday". However, I think in that case, if someone asked the child's mother "Is Joe at school today?", she would be more likely to say "No, he doesn't go to school on Wednesdays", than "He doesn't go to school today".

She might be more likely to say "No, he doesn't go to school on Wednesdays", but I am not convinced that she couldn't or wouldn't say "He doesn't go to school today".
 

blissful

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
Singapore
Current Location
Singapore
Both are possible, depending on context.

Hi

Could you help to elaborate on what it means by depending on context?

For example, if I made a mistake five minutes ago, I may say “I made a mistake or I’ve made a mistake.

In the context of using Past Tense, even events that happened moments ago, take one minute ago can be considered as Past Tense, am I right?

Thank you
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
With a mistake which was made quite recently, I would be more likely to say "I have made a mistake" but the longer ago the timescale, the more I would be likely to say "I made a mistake + when I made it".

- The plural of mouse is mouses.
- Are you sure?
- Oh, wait a minute. No! I've made a mistake. It's mice.

- I made a mistake yesterday.
- What did you do?
- I told someone that the plural of mouse is mouses!

However, as with all "rules", it doesn't always fit. If I were posting on this forum and I realised that there was an error in my last comment, my next one would say "I'm sorry. I made a mistake in my last comment. I should have said ..."
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top