Saturday, January 14, 2012

Grammar! what is the correct answer a-b?

and say why please.

1

a. Ive sold my bike to mike.

b. Ive been selling my bike to mike.



2

a. John just swum

b. John's just been swimming.



3

a. Mel has cried

b. Mel has been crying

4

a. the American football association has not won the championship.

b. the American football association has not been winning the championship.



5.

a. have you stopped eating?

b. have you been stopping eating.Grammar! what is the correct answer a-b?
There's a problem here: for some, both are correct depending on context.



1. a usually.

But suppose John wants to buy your bike and wants to pay a ludicrously low price, so you haggle for an hour. Me: "Where have been all this time?" You: "I've been selling my bike to Mike."



2. b



3. a. Me: "Mel has never cried in his life." You: "No, Mel has cried."

or b. Me: "What's wrong with Mel?" You: "Mel has been crying."



4. a. They didn't win this year: "The American Football Association has not won the championship."

b. They haven't won for five years. "The American Football Association has not been winning the championship".



5. a.
1. a

2. b

3. b

4. a

5. a



Why? Well, that's just the way we say it.

When you use the participle, it implies that the verb (swimming, crying) has been going on for some time. When you use the simple past, it implies that the verb (sold, won, stopped) just happened once.

.Grammar! what is the correct answer a-b?
1 - A - You sold it.

2 - B - John has just been swimming.

3 - B - Mel has been crying.

4 - A - The American football association has not won the championship.

5 - A - Have you stopped eating?



These are correct because they are in the correct tense. (Past present future)
1. a.

Why: Because 'I've' is past tense, while selling is present or future tense.



2. b.

Why: Swum is not a word that has actually been recognized.



3.b.

Why: The sound, it's just the sound of it...



4.a.

Why: Well it seems more like you are asking if they did, so it would be past tense.



5.a.

Why: It's a question.



Hope I helped, please help me? (:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?鈥?/a>

Thanks~

鈾my.Grammar! what is the correct answer a-b?
Ah yes, the past perfect versus the simple past and past continuous. So many memories...



(1)(a) I've (I have), do not leave out the apostrophe ( ' )



have been doing/ have done



HAVE BEEN (DOING) means that some action began in the past, and has continued happening up until the time that the speaker is speaking. Because of this, this tense can only be used for actions that can continue.



"selling" is not (normally) a continuous action, think of a house for sale, one day there is a sign "for sale", the next day there is a sign "sold". You will never see a sign reading "selling". There are exceptions, bu I won't discuss them here.



HAVE (DONE), stresses that an action is already complete at the time that the speaker is speaking, so, I sold the bike, and I'm talking to you (now that I HAVE already sold it).



(2)(b)



(just ) did/ has (just) been doing



(just) DONE: the word "just" is added to confuse you (ignore it). The irregular verb "swim" has been used because it has an irregular past perfect form.



"Swum" is the PAST PERFECT (swim, swam, (has) swum). In an active (and not passive) sentence, the past perfect is usually used with "has/had", so you CANNOT say "someone (done)", i.e.:



She eaten

I seen

John swum

etc.



HAS (just) BEEN DOING: This describes an event that has been happening continuously OR a continuous action that has happened at least once in the past. Using "just" means that the action was "relatively" recent or "more" recent. Unfortunately, "swimming" can mean "going to swim", or it can mean "the experience of doing" ex:



I have been shopping

(1) I have been shopping (before), but he never has.

(2) I have been shopping (all day), and now I want to rest.



Although, using "just" usually refers to the specific act, and not the experience.



(3)(b) OR (a)



has done/ has been doing



HAS DONE: is for an action that does not continue, like "buying" above, you buy something, and then you have bought it.



HAS BEEN DOING: is for an action that can continue. You start to cry, you cry for a while, and then you stop crying.



HOWEVER, we can add "before", and again, this becomes "the experience" ex:



I have cried (before), just like everyone else.

My dog died. I've talked to people, I've cried, now I don't know what to do.



So technically, both (a) AND (b) COULD be correct, unless they're part of a larger sentence. Complain to your teacher OR the publishers of the syllabus.



(4)(a) (with exceptions)



has (not) done/ has (not) been doing



HAS (not) DONE: the negative form has been used to try to confuse you (but it's not at all confusing). Your teacher, or the writers of the textbook want you to see "winning the championship" as an action that does not continue. You compete, and then you win, so (a) is the preferred answer.



HAS (not) BEEN DOING: In reality, people speak of "winning" all the time ex:



When winning is a state, or probability of winning:

A: How's the soccer game going?

B: We're winning!



When a series of wins is grouped together:



You're quite the gambler Mr. Bond, you have been winning quite often tonight, perhaps too often.



These may be technically incorrect, but they're used.



(5)(a)



have (you) done+(doing)/ have (you) been done+(doing)



HAVE (you) (DONE)+(DOING): The interrogative (question form) is used to confuse you. The verb phrase "stop (doing)" is used to confuse you. When we talk about a continuous action (eating, singing, sweating, eating), we can talk about that action in terms of starting, stopping, and continuing. e.g.:



He started running.

They stopped singing.



OR



They will start running/singing

They have started playing/writing



OR



They are fishing/bowling



BUT, the helping verb cannot be (and should not be), in the "-ing" form:



He stopping eating X

He will starting looking X

He's been stopping fishing X



Instead, use "-ing"+"to do"



stopping to eat

starting to look

stopping to fish



OR, if you mean they are NOT doing this, use "done"+noun (-ing)



have stopped eating

will stop looking

have stopped fishing



You can say "stopped (doing)", "stopping (to do)", which are opposite meanings, but you cannot say "stopping (doing)".



There is one exception, so don't think I don't know what I'm talking about if you see it: some NOUNS, which are made from the "-ing" form of the verb can come after "-ing" verbs as in:



He has been enjoying fishing every day.



He has been having dancing lessons every week.



I have been enjoying eating (n.) with you every day.

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