[Grammar] Change of tenses in a sentence .....

[hellother]

Can anyone clarify when to change tenses in a particular sentence ?

For example , We say " When he was younger , he lifted weights and went jogging " ( simple past)
Can we use " When he was younger , he HAD lifted weights and etc ....? ( simple past and past perfect ie a change of tense ) ...


Another complicated sentence :


" Researchers have found that individuals who have been blind , and who thus have never seen anyone gesture , nevertheless make hand motions just as frequently as sighted people do ."

In the above sentence , (" have been blind " is past perfect continuous (isn't it? ) and " never seen anyone gesture " is past perfect ) ... What I am asking is : Is this change allowed ? Should it not be " never been seeing anyone gesture " ?

In a nutshell , when should we change tenses ? And does a change of tense mean a " change in the timing of the events " or " a change in the same type ( like the above example where there is a change from PAST perfect continuous to PAST PERFECT ? Sorry for the long question :-|.....

 

[5jj]

For example , We say " When he was younger , he lifted weights and went jogging " ( simple past)
Can we use " When he was younger , he HAD lifted weights and etc ....? ( simple past and past perfect ie a change of tense ) ...

The past perfect is acceptable, but there is no need for it.

" Researchers have found that individuals who have been blind , and who thus have never seen anyone gesture , nevertheless make hand motions just as frequently as sighted people do ."

In the above sentence , (" have been blind " is past perfect continuous (isn't it? ) No. It is present perfect and " have never seen anyone gesture " is past perfect ) No. It is present perfect ... What I am asking is : Is this change allowed ? Should it not be " never been seeing anyone gesture " ? No. that is not acceptable English

In a nutshell , when should we change tenses ?

We use a tense that is appropriate for the message we wish to convey.

 

[hellother]

Thanks for the reply...
Just 1 more doubt ....
Sorry
, yeah ... it is present perfect .... but isn't the first one " Present perfect continuous ? " because if we substitute
something else like "playing" in the place of "blind" , we get present perfect continuous ... right ? The individuals are still blind ...

 

[5jj]

Continuous/Progressive verb forms are constructed with BE and the -ing formof the verb:

I am writing, I was writing, I have been writing, I had been writing ....

 

[TheParser]

but isn't the first one " Present perfect continuous ? " because if we substitute
something else like "playing" in the place of "blind" , we get present perfect continuous ... right ? The individuals are still blind ...

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello,

I understand how difficult it is to understand tenses.

May I most respectfully suggest that when you have time, you review in your books "present perfect" and "present perfect continuous/progressive"?

They are blind.
They were blind.
They will be blind.
They have been blind. (Present perfect)
They had been blind.
They will have been blind.

May I remind you that "blind" in those sentences is an adjective. It describes those people.

It is different from the verb "blind," as in:

The bright lights temporarily blinded the driver.

*****

The progressive tenses are different.

I am eating.
I was eating.
I will be eating.
I have been eating for 15 minutes. ("eating" is a verb form; it is not an adjective.)
I had been eating.
I will have been eating.

*****

You could say: The snowstorm has been blinding the drivers for two hours. (But remember: "blinding" is a verb form.

It tells us what the snowstorm has been doing to the drivers -- temporarily.)

*****

This all can be very confusing. Please continue to ask questions here until you understand it. May I gently remind you

that you really need to understand present perfect and present perfect continuous if you wish to speak English fluently.


HAVE A NICE DAY!

 

[hellother]

Hello ,

Thanks for the reply .... I have understood ....I will continue to post questions if I have doubts ...
Have a nice day....

 

[emsr2d2]

Hello ,

Thanks for the reply. I have understood. I will continue to post questions if I have doubts.
Have a nice day.

Please remember that you only need to put one full stop at the end of each sentence.