[Grammar] regrets buying

[Oceanlike]

In the following grammar exercise, I know the answer is ‘buying’ but I don’t understand the reason for it.

Travis regrets buying that expensive pair of gloves the moment he reached home.

Thank you for teaching me! :-D

 

[Matthew Wai]

The gerund phrase functions as a noun, which the transitive verb 'regret' takes as its direct object.

I think 'regrets' does not agree with 'reached'.

 

[emsr2d2]

Matthew Wai is right about the tenses not matching. You could say either:

1) Travis regretted buying that pair of gloves the moment he reached home.
2) Travis regrets buying that pair of gloves the moment he reaches home. (This would only work in a narrative in which the writer has chosen to use the present tense to indicate an imaginary situation or something that has already happened. Some authors always write in the present tense.)

 

[Oceanlike]

or something that has already happened. Some authors always write in the present tense.)

Yes, I notice that some writers tend to use the present tense in their writings even though it's clear that the actions are past. Is this a 'special' way of writing where present tense is used for things that have already happened?

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, it's a matter of writing style.

 

[Matthew Wai]

'When we are telling a story or describing things that have happened to us, we often use present tenses (even though the events are in the past) in order to sound more interesting and dramatic.'── quoted from http://www.znanje.org/knjige/english/grammar/verbs/prescontxt.htm

 

[GoesStation]

Yes, I notice that some writers tend to use the present tense in their writings even though it's clear that the actions are past. Is this a 'special' way of writing where present tense is used for things that have already happened?

It's called the "historical present".

 

[Barb_D]

I personally find historical present exhausting to read after a short time.

 

[Oceanlike]

It's called the "historical present".

I wish things could be kept simple LOL....if it's past, then just use past-related tenses; if it's present, then use present.

'Historical present' sounds like an oxymoron to me :roll:

 

[emsr2d2]

If English were simple, there would be no need for this forum. :-D

 

[Matthew Wai]

I wish native speakers would be so kind as not to complicate the language so as to make things easier for learners like the OP and me.

 

[MikeNewYork]

What are you referring to, Matthew?

 

[Raymott]

I wish native speakers would be so kind as not to complicate the language so as to make things easier for learners like the OP and me.

Do you mean people on this forum, or novelists like Damon Runyon?

 

[Matthew Wai]

I mean people in general and refer to grammar and vocabulary.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I am at a loss for words because three teachers are cross-examining me.

 

[emsr2d2]

Well, you started it! You said native speakers were complicating the language. We're not. We're simply using a complicated language.

 

[Matthew Wai]

The language is so complicated that it seems to me as if people deliberately or inadvertently complicate it.

Is it acceptable to say so?

 

[Raymott]

I thought he was referring to novelists, in which case I was going to explain that it's a novelist's job to use language in novel ways. That's the reason I asked. He may have just been venting, but I suppose we'll never know.