2 questions, please

[kl004535]

Dear teachers,

Hi, long time no see. Am I still welcomed? I hope so.
The forum is so essential to me, I cannot do without it.

It has been a lot of changes in this forum since I last visited it.
I have 2 questions in which I need your help, please & thanks.

Are they correct?
1. I am pleased not to fail (in) my exam.
2. Despite the price falling, I still sell my house.

I am thankful to you for your guidance.

 

[Raymott]

Dear teachers,

Hi, long time no see. Am I still welcomed? I hope so.
The forum is so essential to me, I cannot do without it.

It has been a lot of changes in this forum since I last visited it.
I have 2 questions in which I need your help, please & thanks.

Are they correct?
1. I am pleased not to fail (in) my exam.
2. Despite the price falling, I still sell my house.

I am thankful to you for your guidance.

No, neither is correct. They both have the same problem - they use the simple present tense which, in those contexts, doesn't signify anything meaningful.

For 1 you need:
I am pleased that I didn't fail in my exam. (past)
I will be pleased if I don't fail in my exam. (future)
I'll be pleased if I haven't failed in my exam. (Exam is past, but you haven't got the results yet.)

For 2:
Despite the price falling, I still sold my house. (past)
Despite the price falling, I'm still selling my house. (present - future)
Despite the price falling, I will still sell my house. (future)

You could also use more complex tenses, depending on your meaning.

 

[kl004535]

No, neither is correct. They both have the same problem - they use the simple present tense which, in those contexts, doesn't signify anything meaningful.

For 1 you need:
I am pleased that I didn't fail in my exam. (past)

If I mean the past tense in the sentence, could I rewrite the sentence?
I am pleased not to have failed in my exam.

(I try to use perfect to-infinitive)
Thanks.

 

[Raymott]

If I mean the past tense in the sentence, could I rewrite the sentence?
I am pleased not to have failed [in] my exam.
Yes, that's right.

(I try to use perfect to-infinitive)
"I've tried to use the perfect to-infinitive." (I think you mean this). Again, you need to be careful of the using the simple present tense. It is normally used only for habitual actions. Obviously, it's the first tense a learner will use since it's the simplest, but it can lead to problems.
"I try to use perfect to-infinitive" means that you habitually try to use it, not that you've just used it in that example.
Thanks.

R.

 

[kl004535]

R.

Thanks you so much for your advice.

I would like to correct my mistake, but sometimes it is hard for me to change it because I am used to it already.

I am trying hard to correct it and sometimes I am also confused about habitual actions with others.
I think English natives tend to use more the continuous tense and the perfect tense than the simple tense.


Thanks for your advice.

 

[Raymott]

I think English natives tend to use more the continuous tense and the perfect tense than the simple tense.

Yes, that's true. In English, we use the simple present much less often than most languages do.