All About English Creative Writing

[The Alternative Story]

clblinym:

Hi, TAS & parents,


I have S&T question.
It has been discussed before.

Mr Yong last saw his neighbour fifteen years ago.
______________________________ since __________________.

The correct answer is
- Mr Yong has not seen his neighbour since fifteen years ago.

My son gave me the following answer and i am not sure whether it is correct and why? Thank you.

It has been fifteen years since Mr. Yong last saw his neighbor.

Hi clblinym,

Your son's answer is correct.
The 'since' in this context given is used to show
the starting point of a specific event.

Eg:

It has been 3 years since I started thai-boxing.

So we can see that that the starting point of the person doing
thai-boxing was 3 years ago.

In the same way for the question, \"It has been 15 years since
Mr Yong last saw his neighbour\"

The starting point of Mr Yong not seeing his neighbour began 15
years ago.

However, the given answer 'My Yong has not seen his neighbour
since 15 years ago' is wrong.

You usually do not use 'since' and 'ago' together as it is redundant.
Both mean the same thing. 'since' shows the starting point of an event
and 'ago' also means the same thing here, it shows you when
the event started.

Hence, the correct answer is actually your son's answer.

TAS

[The Alternative Story]

clblinym:

Hi, TAS

Merry Christmas.

Can I ask you which of the following sentences are correct. Thanks in advance.

1) I would rather eat apples than oranges.
2) I would rather eat apples than eat oranges.
3) I prefer apples to oranges.
4) I prefer eating apples to eating oranges.

Regards,
Amy

Hi Amy,

Merry Christmas to you too

Options 1 and 3 are correct.
For options 2 and 4, you do not have to repeat 'eat' and 'eating'.

Instead of 'I would rather eat apples than eat oranges',
it should be 'I would rather eat apples than oranges'.
You do not have to repeat the 'eat' because it is implied
that the oranges are to be eaten as well.

In the same way for option 4, instead of 'I prefer eating
apples to eating oranges', it should be
'I prefer eating apples to oranges'

TAS

[clblinym]

The Alternative Story:

clblinym:

Hi, TAS & parents,


I have S&T question.
It has been discussed before.

Mr Yong last saw his neighbour fifteen years ago.
______________________________ since __________________.

The correct answer is
- Mr Yong has not seen his neighbour since fifteen years ago.

My son gave me the following answer and i am not sure whether it is correct and why? Thank you.

It has been fifteen years since Mr. Yong last saw his neighbor.

Hi clblinym,

Your son's answer is correct.
The 'since' in this context given is used to show
the starting point of a specific event.

Eg:

It has been 3 years since I started thai-boxing.

So we can see that that the starting point of the person doing
thai-boxing was 3 years ago.

In the same way for the question, \"It has been 15 years since
Mr Yong last saw his neighbour\"

The starting point of Mr Yong not seeing his neighbour began 15
years ago.

However, the given answer 'My Yong has not seen his neighbour
since 15 years ago' is wrong.

You usually do not use 'since' and 'ago' together as it is redundant.
Both mean the same thing. 'since' shows the starting point of an event
and 'ago' also means the same thing here, it shows you when
the event started.

Hence, the correct answer is actually your son's answer.

TAS

Hi, TAS
Thank you very much for your detailed explanation.
Follow-up to my son's answer :
It has been fifteen years since Mr. Yong last saw his neighbor

Can I say
It is fifteen years since Mr. Yong last saw his neighbor.

If both are ok, which is better used? Please advise. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Amy

[The Alternative Story]

clblinym:

Hi, TAS
Thank you very much for your detailed explanation.
Follow-up to my son's answer :
It has been fifteen years since Mr. Yong last saw his neighbor

Can I say
It is fifteen years since Mr. Yong last saw his neighbor.

If both are ok, which is better used? Please advise. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Amy

Hi clblinym,

Sorry to keep you waiting for our reply. This post slipped our attention for a while.

In a statement, when there is the word 'since' and 'for' followed by a duration of time eg: since 1998/for 2 years,
the correct tense to use is either a present or past perfect tense
(eg:had done/ have done/have been doing).

This is because the present/past perfect tense emphasizes on the
duration of time while the past tense/present tense just focuses on
the completion of the activity-whether it was completed in the past or
in the present.

Hence the answer should be 'It has been fifteen years since Mr
Yong saw his neighbour'

TAS

[tianzhu]

Hi TAS


This question is from the P3/4 English thread. We’ll appreciate your advice.

Tommy _____________in that cottage before, but now he is staying somewhere else.

(1) had stayed
(2) has stayed

Best wishes

[The Alternative Story]

tianzhu:

Hi TAS


This question is from the P3/4 English thread. We’ll appreciate your advice.

Tommy _____________in that cottage before, but now he is staying somewhere else.

(1) had stayed
(2) has stayed

Best wishes

Hi tianzhu,

For the past perfect tense (had stayed), it is used to indicate that
an action has happened further back in the past compared to
another action in the past.

Eg:

I had done my work before I went out.

- 'had done' came before 'went'. The author did the work
first and then he went out.

For the present perfect tense (has stayed), it is used to indicate
the following:

1) that an action has started in the past and is still
continuing- He has worked on this project since last night and is still unable to finish it.

2) an action has been recently completed- I have just finished swimming my laps.

3) to express an experience - I have been to the Eiffel Tower

4) to express that something has happened in your life
before the present - I have seen that show many times before.

For the above question stated:
-Tommy ______________ in the cottage before, but now he is staying
somewhere else

the answer should be 'has stayed'.

The past perfect tense is not used because in this sentence, there is
no need to differentiate between 2 actions that happened in the
past.

The present perfect tense is used to show that the action of
'staying' has occurred before the present (now).

TAS

[tianzhu]

Hi TAS


Thank you for your reply.

I’d like to further clarify my doubts.

Is it correct to say

He had stayed in that cottage before 2011.

Best wishes

[The Alternative Story]

tianzhu:

Hi TAS


Thank you for your reply.

I’d like to further clarify my doubts.

Is it correct to say

He had stayed in that cottage before 2011.

Best wishes

Hi tianzhu,

It is correct as you are indicating that this action has
happened in the past. If you use the present
perfect tense here, it would seem to indicate
that he is still staying here and has only recently
vacated the place.

TAS

[tianzhu]

The Alternative Story:

It is correct as you are indicating that this action has
happened in the past. If you use the present
perfect tense here, it would seem to indicate
that he is still staying here and has only recently
vacated the place.

Hi TAS

Thank you for your reply.

Is it correct to say?

We have lived there till 2010.

Best wishes

[Herbie]

Hi TAS,


Can continue to provide S&T example/tips? eg both the correct and wrong version

Many thanks!