Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[hela]

Dear teachers,

Would you please have a look at the following exercise and tell me which answers would you definitely rule out, which ones would you accept without giving it a full mark (because it is not 100 per cent correct given the context), and which ones you think best. If you think that other forms or tenses of other verbs are possible, would you please mention them to me?

Betty: Why weren�t you at the German class last night, Joan? Have you given up?

Joan: Well, no ... I came back late yesterday and found Simon asleep 1 in / ON (possible?) the chair. He 2 had been writing / had written reports all day long and he was too worn out to go out again, so we gave the lesson a miss.

Betty: You 3 have missed / have been missing quite a lot of lessons lately, haven�t you? Have you lost your enthusiasm?

Joan: Yes, I�m afraid so. Neither Simon nor I have a gift for languages. People just laugh at us when we attempt to speak German. How did you and Eric pick it up so quickly and easily? You have hardly been in Germany a month.

Betty: It was neither quick nor easy, I assure you. We had both studied the language before we came, and we only needed to brush it up a bit.

Joan: Anyway, all our friends here speak English fluently so we don�t really need to learn German.

Betty: Well, Eric and I have been both learning and teaching languages for years and we 4 enjoy / have been enjoying it immensely.

Joan: Well, keep it up! I�m all for teaching foreigners English, if it saves me the trouble of learning foreign languages.

Thank you very much for your help,
Hela

[bud]

1. In... "On" is possible, I guess, but it'd be very unusual.

2. I'd say "had been writing." "Had written" just doesn't sound right. Maybe it's because it sounds like a more distant past. More likely, it's because the writing of reports all day still had relevancy last night - he was tired because of it.

3. I think either is possible. I think I'd probably choose "have missed" if I were speaking the sentence. Perhaps it is one of those instances where you have a choice of tenses to use. (E.g., often you could choose between simple past or present perfect.) It ends up meaning the same thing, but the logic of the grammar is a little different.

4. I think "enjoy" is easily the best choice, but the other one is possible. Using the simple present states (in this case) a simple fact. I'd say that the logic of "have been enjoying" allows for the possibility that the enjoyment may end sometime in the future.

The earth orbits the sun. (Simple fact.)
The earth has been orbiting the sun. (Do scientists think that could change someday?)

[hela]

Thanks Bud

[hela]

Hi Bud,

I'd like to go back to the last verb if you don't mind. Can I use the present progressive there?

Joan: Anyway, all our friends here speak English fluently so we don�t really need to learn German.

Betty: Well, Eric and I have been both learning and teaching languages for years and we 4 enjoy / ARE ENJOYING it emmensely.

Joan: Well, keep it up! I�m all for teaching foreigners English, if it saves me the trouble of learning foreign languages.

Thanks a million,
Hela
[/b]

[bud]

I don't think it's wrong, Hela. I think it is a little odd, though. I think it'd be more likely if they had been learning and teaching languages for a much shorter time. To me, it sounds like, "So far, we like it!"

After several years at it, and still enjoying it, I think the simple presents's "basic truth" is more apt.

[hela]

Thanks Bud. You understand that if I'm trying to see if several tenses may fit, it's because I'd like to understand (but shall I be able to do it one day ) the nuances between tenses and how they affect the meaning of a sentence.

All the best,
Hela

[bud]

Happy to help, Hela. I have no doubt that one day those nuances will be second nature to you.