Mixing the past with the present.

[FalaGringo]

In many languages I believe it is possible to mix the past with the present in certain situations, however I don't think this is possible in English, we tend to speak in the past tense even though it has relevance to the present.

Types of sentences I see on a daily basis
20 Animals you didn't know exited. (The animals still exist today)
All of my ex's were Asian. (They are still Asian to this day, none of them have passed away)
If you knew where I lived, you wouldn't want to come and visit me. (I haven't moved houses)
I spoke to a beautiful blonde lady yesterday, she was Italian. (She is still Italian)
This country is beautiful, i had no idea it existed. (The country still exists)

Types of sentences that would work in other languages (if they were not written in English of course)
20 Animals you didn't know exist.
All of my ex's are Asian.
If you knew where I live, you wouldn't want to come and visit me.
I spoke to a beautiful blonde lady yesterday, she is Italian.
This country is beautiful, i had no idea it exists.

Now, I could be completely wrong here, what are your thoughts guys?, perhaps I've picked up some bad habits.

 

[emsr2d2]

In many languages, I believe it is possible to mix the past with the present in certain situations. However, I don't think this is possible in English. We tend to speak in the past tense even though it has relevance to the present.

Types of sentences I see on a daily basis
20 Animals you didn't know existed. (The animals still exist today.) The animals might no longer exist.
All of my [STRIKE]ex's[/STRIKE] exes [STRIKE]were[/STRIKE] are Asian. (They are still Asian to this day; none of them have passed away.)
If you knew where I lived, you wouldn't want to come and visit me. (I haven't moved [STRIKE]houses[/STRIKE] house.) :tick:
I spoke to a beautiful blonde lady yesterday; she was Italian. (She is still Italian.) :tick: She is still Italian but, in this case, we use the past simple.
This country is beautiful; I had no idea it existed. :tickThe country still exists.)

Types of sentences that would work in other languages (if they were not written in English of course)
20 Animals you didn't know exist. :tick: This also works in English and the animals must still exist.
All of my [STRIKE]ex's[/STRIKE] exes are Asian. :tick:
If you knew where I live, you wouldn't want to come and visit me. :cross: Only "lived" is possible in this context.
I spoke to a beautiful blonde lady yesterday; she is Italian. :cross: It's understandable but we wouldn't say it.
This country is beautiful; I had no idea it exists. :cross: It's understandable but we wouldn't say it.

[STRIKE]Now,[/STRIKE] I could be completely wrong here. What are your thoughts? [STRIKE]guys?,[/STRIKE] Perhaps I've picked up some bad habits.

Please see my comments and corrections above. You have one very bad habit - connecting separate sentences with a comma instead of a semi-colon, or instead of using a full stop.

 

[Rover_KE]

In many languages I believe it is possible to mix the past with the present in certain situations. However, I don't think this is possible in English.

It most certainly is. We do it all the time, and not just with those two tenses.

 

[jutfrank]

Feel free to ask a specific question, FalaGringo.