Question
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Deleted user
19 mar 2020
Pergunta sobre Inglês (EUA)
In which situation you would use present simple tense to describe things you did before? In the book, Tartuffe, I noticed a character use present simple tense to accuse a bad guy of deceiving him and how he treated that guy well instead of past simple, which really confused me.
In which situation you would use present simple tense to describe things you did before? In the book, Tartuffe, I noticed a character use present simple tense to accuse a bad guy of deceiving him and how he treated that guy well instead of past simple, which really confused me.
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19 mar 2020
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- Inglês (EUA)
People can use the present simple tense to tell a story that happened in the past in order to make it seem like the story is happening again right now. It adds more drama and suspense, and it makes the situation "come alive" again
For example, I'm talking to my best friend about something that happened to me yesterday.
Me: Yeah, so yesterday when I was walking to the park, some huge dog comes running up to me and nearly attacks me!
Friend: Oh my gosh
Me: So then the owner comes up to me chasing the dog. I stare at her straight in the eyes and nearly yell at her, "You need to keep your dog on a leash!"
Friend: Yeah, that's what I would have done too
Me: Yeah! But then she rolls her eyes, grabs the dog by the leash, and walks away as if nothing even happened!!
Friend: Woooww
Me: Right?!
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- Inglês (EUA)
People can use the present simple tense to tell a story that happened in the past in order to make it seem like the story is happening again right now. It adds more drama and suspense, and it makes the situation "come alive" again
For example, I'm talking to my best friend about something that happened to me yesterday.
Me: Yeah, so yesterday when I was walking to the park, some huge dog comes running up to me and nearly attacks me!
Friend: Oh my gosh
Me: So then the owner comes up to me chasing the dog. I stare at her straight in the eyes and nearly yell at her, "You need to keep your dog on a leash!"
Friend: Yeah, that's what I would have done too
Me: Yeah! But then she rolls her eyes, grabs the dog by the leash, and walks away as if nothing even happened!!
Friend: Woooww
Me: Right?!
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- Inglês (EUA)
It may not be grammatically correct to talk about the past using the present simple; but, like I said, it does add that extra emotion and suspense
(I would say this is more common to do in informal, spoken situations. This may not be so true though since it was used in your book. If you show a picture of the book, I can help you more with that specific context too :)
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@InquisitiveGuitar
I see! Thank you for your clarification! 😊
I often used present simple tense to answer the question like “Please briefly narrate the story” at school, but I don’t know how to use this in everyday speech. Now you gave me a clear example and it really helps me a lot!
Deleted user
This is the problem I met. I tried to explain what Orgon says as telling the truth, but I couldn’t understand it completely and did not catch its concept.😭
- Inglês (EUA)
@Ninaaaaaa5155 Ahhh I see what you mean now, and this is a confusing text even for me 😳. I can tell you did a great job making sense of the text though 🎉
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- Inglês (EUA)
To me it sounds like Orgon is using the present simple to add that same dramatic, suspenseful, emotional effect to really illustrate how "that man" had really, REALLY did something horrible and even downright despicable to him. It sounds like Orgon is not only accusing "that man" of betrayal but also expressing how deeply emotionally impacted he's been because of that man's awful actions
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- Inglês (EUA)
Deleted user
@InquisitiveGuitar I got it!
This rarely happens in everyday speech, right?
I really really appreciate your help. You are very kind!
To me, in spite of having learned the basic grammar rules of English, it still has many exceptions that learners have to feel. Yet, learning English is still an interesting thing. 😊
- Inglês (EUA)
@Ninaaaaaa5155 Aww thank you! I am really happy to help ☺️
I feel you too. English has so many exceptions, not only with grammar rules but also with different aspects of the language, like this exception, too 😵
But step by step, I'm sure you'll come to find these exceptions and one by one "demystify" each one :)
And speaking of this present simple exception....I would say it happens maybe once in a while. Not always, but sometimes 🤔. I think it depends on the speaker and on the story/event 🤔
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@InquisitiveGuitar
Thanks for your encouragement!!
I’ll keep learning English and hope one day I can understand English sentences more quickly and avoid having many mistakes.
Again, thank you so much. Explaining a tense question clearly is not easy, but you illustrated it patiently. 😄
- Inglês (EUA)
@Ninaaaaaa5155 Aww thank you so much, and you are very welcome. I wish you the best with your English!
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