Tenses and Common Errors - II

 

Tenses and Common Errors - II

Dear readers, in the previous post we discussed some of the common errors associated with Tenses that English as non-native speakers encounter in their daily conversation. This present post highlights the common errors that might occur in terms of tenses.

The word tense was derived from the Latin word “Tempus”, which means “time”. We sometimes might go wrong in terms of tense-based errors while communicating in English. Let us look at some of the serious and common grammatical mistakes.

1.   I am playing chess for the past two hours.                                (Incorrect)

I have been playing chess for the past two hours.                  (Correct)

Suresh has been preparing for UPSC exams since 2020.

To mention the duration of an ongoing action that was started in the past and continuing to the present, it is advisable to use present perfect continuous tense (have/has + been + verb + ing).

2.   They reached railway station at right time, but the train left already.            (Incorrect)

They reached railway station at right time, but the train had left already.                                             (Correct)

Since I had eaten more snacks this evening, I could not eat my dinner. (Correct)

Use simple past tense for the new past activity, and use past perfect tense for the earlier action. Past perfect tense is used as (had + past participle of the verb).

3.   If you will come tomorrow, I will meet you.                               (Incorrect)

If you come tomorrow, I will meet you.                                    (Correct)

If it rains tomorrow, I will not come to college.                         (Correct)

Use simple present tense in the first part of a conditional sentence, and use simple future tense in the second part of the sentence. Do not use ‘If’ and ‘will’ together in a clause.

4.   If I would be Prime Minister, I would give equal education to all.          (Incorrect)

If I were Prime Minister, I would give equal education to all.     (Correct)

If we got the prize, we would dedicate it to our parents.        (Correct)

When we mention any imaginary idea by using ‘if’ in the first part of a sentence, use ‘would’/ ‘might’ / ‘could’ with present verb in the second part of the sentence.

 5. If you practised well, you would won the competition.                  (Incorrect)

If you had practised well, you would have won the competition.     (Correct)

If I had studied properly, I would have got the first rank.      (Correct)

When we talk about something that could have happened but did not happen, use past perfect tense with ‘if’ and ‘would/might/could have + past participle of the verb’ in the second part.

 Practising all the above-mentioned statements in daily conversation will help us improve our English. Let us discuss some other interesting topics in the next post.

 

Author:

Dr. K. Nandhakumar

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science (Autonomous)

Coimbatore- 641 020

 

Reference:

Saumya Sharma. (2017). Common Errors in Everyday English.