Use the Correct Tenses

To write well, you need to know how to use English tenses correctly. Tenses are difficult to many because in many languages tenses are not used to express "time" or the "relationship of sequence"; instead, adverbs, such as "yesterday", "tomorrow", "soon" etc. are used.

To learn how to use English tenses correctly, you must have a perception of the "time" element.

Let's take a looks at present tense, present continuous tense, present perfect tense, past tense, and past perfect tense with the following examples:

PAST<----------------------------------------------------->PRESENT

I lived in Texas.   *                            

I had lived in Texas for more than 20 years.  *****       

I moved to Ohio 5 years ago.  *                                  Now, I live in Ohio.

                                                                                     I am living in Ohio. **

                                                                     I have lived in Ohio for 5 years. *****

"I lived in Texas" (past tense): an action in the past; it was a fact. (*)

"I had lived in Texas for more than 20 years." (past perfect tense): an action that "continued" (****)for some time in the past.

"I moved to Ohio 5 years ago" (past tense): an action in the past; it was a fact (*)

"Now I live in Ohio." (present tense): an action in the present; it is a fact. (*)

"I am living in Ohio." (present continuous tense): an action in the present, and it may continue for some time into the near future.**

"I have lived in Ohio for 5 years." (present perfect tense): an action in the past that has continued into the present, and will probably continue into the near future. *****

Hopefully, the above examples have demonstrated how you should use some of the English tenses correctly.

Stephen Lau

Read my book Effective Writing Made Simple. Click here for your copy.

Don't Confuse These Words

Don’t Confuse These Words

To write effectively, you must be careful with your choice of words. Here are some words that may be misused: 

Perishable / Perishing

Perishable: liable to die quickly; perishing: causing suffering.

e.g. Fresh vegetables are perishable; put them in the refrigerator.

e.g. Negative thinking may cause perishing emotions and thoughts.

Numerical / Numerous

Numerical: having to do with numbers; numerous: great in number.

e.g. If you want to do well in your math, you must learn these numerical symbols.

e.g. The turnout at the meeting was numerous.

Observable / Observant

Observable: can be seen or noticed; observant: quick to pay attention.

e.g. The solution to the problem is observable to many scientists.

e.g. To be a good scientist, you must be observant of all the relevant details and data.

Fragile / Frail

Fragile: delicate, easily broken; frail: weak in health; without strong support.

e.g. This piece of glassware is fragile; please handle it with care.

e.g. You look pale and frail today. What's wrong with you?

e.g. The presidential candidate received frail support from his own State.

Providing that / Provided that

Provided that: on condition that; providing that is incorrect.

e.g. You can go out to play provided (that) you have finished your homework.

e.g. You can keep the book for another week providing that no one has reserved it (incorrect)

e.g. The millionaire has helped the poor, providing many of them with food and shelter. (correct; meaning: giving or offering)

Noteworthy / Noticeable

Noteworthy means deserving attention; noticeable means easily seen.

e.g. The candidate's accomplishments are noteworthy.

e.g. The flaws in the Governor's character are easily noticeable to the public.

Indoor / Indoors

Indoor is an adjective; indoors is an adverb.

e.g. Basketball is both an indoor and outdoor game.

e.g. A storm is coming; let's go indoors.

Welcome / Welcomed

Welcome is an adjective or a verb; welcomed is a participle.

e.g. You are most welcome.

e.g. This is a welcome party for all newcomers.

e.g. I like to welcome all of you.

e.g. The guests were welcomed by all of us in front of the house.

Impersonate / Personate

Impersonate: copy or imitate a person for fun; personate is to claim to be another person with the purpose to cheat or deceive.

e.g. The comedian impersonated the movie star to entertain the audience.

e.g. Someone personated the doctor, and went into the surgery room

Accountable to / Accountable for

Accountable to: responsible to someone; accountable for: responsible for something.

e.g. The CEO is accountable to the Board; he has to be accountable for all his business decisions.

Stephen Lau 

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Also read: American Idioms for ESL Learner

The 8 Parts of Speech of English

First and foremost, you must know the 8 parts of speech of the English language.

8 PARTS OF SPEECH

There are eight parts of speech in the English language: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. 

(1) Nouns are names of things (book, chair, pen), people (boy, David, policeman)

(2) Pronouns stand for nouns: I (me); we (us); he (him); she (her); it (it); they (them); who (whom). The words in brackets are object pronouns.

e.g. I like him.

e.g. We like it.

e.g. He likes her.

e.g. She likes him.

e.g. It likes them.

e.g. They like it.

e.g. Who likes it?

e.g. Whom do you like?

(3) Verbs are words that show being:

e.g. I am a student.

e.g. You are happy.

e.g. He is poor.

e.g. We are doctors.

e.g. They are nurses.

Verbs are also words that describe an action:

e.g. I love you.

e.g. You go away!

e.g. She cries a lot.

e.g. We sleep at night.

e.g. They work in the office.

Some verbs are transitive: they need an object; some verbs are intransitive: they do not need an object; some verbs are both transitive and intransitive.

e.g. Please bring a chair. (transitive)

e.g. The sun rises. (intransitive)

e.g. He sings a song. (transitive)

e.g. He sings every morning. (intransitive)

(4) Adjectives describe nouns: e.g. a heavy chair; e.g. a pretty dress; e.g. You are happy.

(5) Adverbs describe verbs or adjectives: e.g. He eats slowly. e.g. You look very pretty.

(6) Prepositions are words that show the relationship between words.

e.g. I depend on you.

e.g. Give this to him.

e.g. We live in the United States.

e.g. They go with you.

(7) Conjunctions are words that are used to join sentences: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.

e.g. Get up and go to bed.

e.g. You like him, but he does not like you.

e.g. Put it here, or put it there.

e.g. I do not eat this, nor do I drink that.

e.g. You can stay, for it is raining.

e.g. I am tired, so I lie down.

e.g. You are tired, yet you do not want to go to bed.

(8) Interjections are words used to express different levels of emotions, such as surprise: e.g. Wow! My goodness!

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau