Past Tense

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jack

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I would have made him turn around. <--correct? if not, why?
I would have made him turned around. <--correct? if not, why?
What's the difference in meaning between the two?

"It feels stuffed." <--correct?
"It feels stuff." <--incorrect? can you explain to me why?
If both of them are correct, what's the difference in meaning between the two?
 

Casiopea

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jack said:
I would have made him turn around. <--correct? if not, why?
I would have made him turned around. <--correct? if not, why?
What's the difference in meaning between the two?

A verb needs a subject in order to carry tense. For example, I is the subject of would have made:

I would have made him turn around.

The verb 'turn around' remains in its base form because it doesn't have a subject. The pronoun 'him' is the semantic subject or do-er of 'turn around', but it's not the grammatical subject of 'turn around'. It's the grammatical object of 'made'. 'him' can't be both the object and the subject of two different verbs.

In short, since 'turn around' lacks a grammatical subject, it remains in its base form: turn around.

I would have made him turned around. (Not OK; 'turned' doesn't have a grammatical subject).[/u]
 

jack

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What about this:

"It feels stuffed." <--correct?
"It feels stuff." <--incorrect? can you explain to me why?
If both of them are correct, what's the difference in meaning between the two?

'It' is the subject and 'feels' is the verb right? How do I knwo if it is "stuffed" or "stuff"?
 

Casiopea

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"It feels stuffed." (OK; Subject+Verb+Predicate Adjective)
"It feels stuff." (Not OK; Subject+Verb+Noun)

stuff is a noun and stuffed is an adjective: be stuffed :wink: stuff can also be a verb (e.g., I am going to stuff the chicken with bread.)

By the way, you need not use quotation marks "...", and you need not write <--- Is this correct?

At the top of your page, write: Are these correct?, like this,

Are these correct? Do they mean the same thing?

1. It feels stuffed.
2. It feels stuff.

All the best, :D
 

jack

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Apr 24, 2004
Thanks, sorry about the arrows and my unorganized way of asking questions.I just didn't know how to lay it out to make it look clear of what I am trying to ask.

What's the subject and verb for these sentences and are these correct:

1. I just didn't know how to lay it out to make it look clear of what I am trying to ask.
2. I just didn't know how to lay it out to make it looks clear of what I am trying to ask.


Are these correct and why? What's the difference in meaing between the two?

1. It is valued.
2. It is value. (I can say 'It is value' but not 'It is kill', why?

3. They feel like a valued client.
4. They feel like a value client.

5. There is a detail newsletter. ( I've checked this with Microsoft Word but it didn't catch any mistakes, so I am not sure if this is correct or not)
6. There is a detailed newsletter.

7. There will be a detail newsletter.
8. There will be a detailed newsletter.

9. There is a kill person over there.
10. There is a killed person over there.

11. He is a killed person.
12. He is a kill person.

13. I am trouble by him. ('I am kill.' is incorrect, how is this corrrect?)
14. I am troubled by him.
 

Casiopea

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jack said:
What's the subject and verb for these sentences and are these correct:

1. I just didn't know how to lay it out to make it look clear of what I am trying to ask.
2. I just didn't know how to lay it out to make it looks clear of what I am trying to ask.

make has the following structure:

make + object + bare infinitive (make it look)


Are these correct and why? What's the difference in meaning between the two?

1. It is valued.
2. It is value. (I can say 'It is value' but not 'It is kill', why?

3. They feel like a valued client.
4. They feel like a value client.[/quote]

1. and 3. are OK; 2. and 4. are not OK: Try, valuable OR of value.

jack said:
5. There is a detail newsletter.
(I've checked this with Microsoft Word but it didn't catch any mistakes, so I am not sure if this is correct or not)
6. There is a detailed newsletter.

detailed, an adjective, means, itemized, whereas detail, a noun used an adjective, means, a minor duty or a small military detachment. Same holds true for 7. and 8.

jack said:
9. There is a kill person over there.
10. There is a killed person over there.

There is a dead person over there.

Note that, 'kill' is not an adjective. Same holds true for 11. and 12.

jack said:
13. I am trouble by him.
('I am kill.' is incorrect, how is this corrrect?)
14. I am troubled by him.

He troubles me; I am troubled by him/his behavior. :D

Note that, troubled functions as an adjective. :wink:

I am kill is incorrect because 'kill' is not an adjective. It's a verb:

I am kill. (Subject + Verb + Verb) :(
I am dead. (Subject + Verb + Adjective) :D

All the best, :D
 

jack

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Are these correct and what's the difference in meaing between them:

1. I am trouble.
2. I am troubled.

How do you know when to add -ed for certain words?
 

Casiopea

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jack said:
Are these correct and what's the difference in meaing between them:

1. I am trouble.
2. I am troubled.

1 is incorrect; 2. is correct. :D

jack said:
How do you know when to add -ed for certain words?

-ed adjectives usually come after linking verbs (e.g. I feel tired, I am tired). Note that, BE + -ed pair well. :wink:

BE stands for: am, is, are, was , were, be

All the best, :D
 

jack

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Thanks.

I saw this on a tv show:

1. I am trouble. (I think the tv show meant that the guy is a trouble maker. That is still incorrect though right?

Are these correct?
1. I am a trouble maker.
2. I am a troubled maker.

1. I quilt this job two weeks ago. (This is incorrect right?)
2. I quilted this job two weeks ago. (correct)
 

Casiopea

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jack said:
Thanks.

I saw this on a tv show:

1. I am trouble. (I think the tv show meant that the guy is a trouble maker. That is still incorrect though right?

:lol: Yes. It's correct. Sorry. :oops:
As a noun: I am trouble. (OK)

Are these correct?
1. I am a trouble maker. (OK)
2. I am a troubled maker. (Not OK)

1. I quilt this job two weeks ago. (This is incorrect right?) (Not OK)
2. I quilted this job two weeks ago. (Not OK)

Check the meaning of the word "quilt".

Try, quit,

I quit this job. (OK)
I quitted this job. (Not OK; present, quit; past, quit)

All the best, :D
 

jack

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As a noun: I am trouble. (OK)
1. What are some other words with exception like this?

Can you explain to me why isn't this correct?
2. I am a troubled maker. (Not OK)

Are these correct:

1. I would found you.
2. I would find you.

What's the difference in meaning between these two and are they correct?

3. I knew it, I would find you.
4. I know it, I would find you.
 

Casiopea

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jack said:
As a noun: I am trouble. (OK)
1. What are some other words with exception like this?

I can't think of any at the moment. Let me think about it, OK? :D

jack said:
Can you explain to me why this isn'tcorrect?
2. I am a troubled maker. (Not OK)

The reason is that 'troubled maker' isn't a word. The word you're looking for is 'troublemaker', a compound noun. :wink:

I am a troublemaker. (OK)

jack said:
Are these correct:
1. I would found you.
2. I would find you.

1. is incorrect; 2. is correct. Note that, 'would' is in the past tense, so 'find' shouldn't be in the past tense. :wink:

jack said:
What's the difference in meaning between these two, and are they correct?

3. I knew it, I would find you.
4. I know it, I would find you.

First, we have two sentences joined by a comma--what's known as a comma splice. You'll need to replace the comma with a period or a semi-colon or a colon, like this,

3a. I knew it. I would find you.
3b. I knew it; I would find you.
3c. I knew it: I would find you.

4a. I know it. I would find you.
4b. I know it; I would find you.
4c. I know it: I would find you.

Second, we could get rid of the punctuation by deleting "it" and adding "that", like this,

3. I knew that I would find you.
4. I know that I would find you.

Third, notice the relative clause "that". It tells us a clause is coming. The clause 'that I would find you' functions as the object of the verb 'knew/know'.

Fourth, there's a pattern:

Past that Past: knew that would
Present that Future: know that will

3. I knew that I would find you. (OK)
4. I know that I will find you. (OK)

Lastly, we can omit "that",

3. I knew I would find you. (OK)
4. I know I will find you. (OK)

All the best, :D
 

jack

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Interesting. Thank you very much.

1. I knew I would find you.
2. I know I will find you.

I still don't really know what's the difference in meaing between the two.
Is the first one more imaginary and the second one is something that will happen in the future? In the end, it doesn't really matter which one you use right?

Are these right?

3. I never lied about titles.
4. I never lie about titles.

5. They never fail to ask for me to take my bag off.
6. They never failed to ask for me to take my bag off.

What's the difference in meaning between these two?
7. I never kill him.
8. I never killed him.
 

Casiopea

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You're welcome. :D

jack said:
1. I knew I would find you.
2. I know I will find you.

I still don't really know what's the difference in meaing between the two.
Is the first one more imaginary and the second one is something that will happen in the future? In the end, it doesn't really matter which one you use right?

1. knew refers to the past. (I knew at the time (in the past))
2. know refers to a fact, factual.

jack said:
Are these right?

3. I never lied about titles.
4. I never lie about titles.

3. lied refers to the past.
4. lie refers to a fact, factual.

jack said:
5. They never fail to ask me to take my bag off.
6. They never failed to ask me to take my bag off.

5. fail is factual.
6. failed is past tense.

jack said:
What's the difference in meaning between these two?
7. I never kill him.
8. I never killed him.

7. is incorrect. You need mode or tense:

Mode: I will never kill him/ I could never kill him / I would never kill him
Tense: I never killed him.

8. is correct.

All the best, :D
 

jack

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Apr 24, 2004
I am still a bit confused about this:

I never lied about titles.
7. is incorrect. You need mode or tense:

This one doesn't have a mode or tense? How come it works?
I never lie about titles.

and this one doesn't work:
I never kill him.

Is this correct?
1. I never intend to kill him. (fact?)
2. I never intended to kill him. (in the past?)

Can you give me some other exmaples where it doesn't work? How do you know when it works and when it doesn't?
 

Casiopea

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jack said:
I am still a bit confused about this:

7. I never kill him is incorrect.

This one doesn't have a mode or tense? How come it works?
I never lie about titles.

It's possible to 'lie' about one thing more than once, but it's not possible to 'kill' the same person more than once:

'kill' without an object
I never kill. (OK; factual; habitual)

'lie' without an object
I never lie. (OK; factual; habitual)

'kill' with an object
I never kill him. (Not OK; one cannot kill someone habitually)

'lie' with an object
I never lied about things. (OK; one can lie habitually)

'kill' past tense
I never killed (him). (OK; not habitual. It happened once)

[/quote="jack"]
Is this correct?
1. I never intend to kill him. (fact?)
2. I never intended to kill him. (in the past?)[/quote]

1. is correct. 'intend' refer to a future purpose. The future meaning is part of the word's make-up.

2. is correct. 'intended' refers to a past purpose.

jack said:
Can you give me some other examples where it doesn't work? How do you know when it works and when it doesn't?

In part, it has to do with the verb itself, its meaning, e.g. I never kill him: 'never' is a frequency adverb, whereas 'kill him', a telic verb, cannot occur in frequency; it happens only once. That is, a person cannot die more than once, but s/he can 'lie' or 'intend' more than once.

All the best, :D
 

Casiopea

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jack said:
Thank you. :)

You're welcome. :D

Please note, in a video game, "I never kill him" is a meaningful utterance. :wink:

Pat: You need one more hit to win the game.
Sam: Yeah, I know, but no matter how many times I play this game, I (can) never (seem to) kill the one last guy ~ I never kill him.

OR

Sam: Yeah, I know, but I like the last guy, so I (purposely) never kill him.

All the best, :D
 

jack

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Apr 24, 2004
Are these correct? If not, why? What's the subject and verb?

1. Who made that killed?
2. Who made that kill?

3. Who made that shot?
4. Who made that shoot?

What is 'that' referring to?
 

Casiopea

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1. Who made that killed? (Not OK)

('killed' is modified by 'that', a demonstrative pronoun (i.e., this, that, these, those). Those pronouns modify nouns; moreover, since 'killed' functions as the object of the verb 'made' it should be in its nominative form (i.e., a noun) as in example 2.:

2. Who made that kill? (OK)

3. Who made that shot? (OK)

4. Who made that shoot? (Not OK)

(Not OK for the same reasons as 1. 'shoot' is a verb; 'shot' is a noun:

I shoot. (present tense)
I shot. (past tense)
that shot (demonstrative pronoun + noun)

All the best, :D
 
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