Anna
Did I use the past tenses correctly in this text? I have two cats. One of them (a girl) always catches mice. Another one (a boy) has never caught a mouse. He is very lazy and often sleeps on the window.
Sep 2, 2019 2:06 PM
Answers · 14
1
Hi Anna, I don’t see the past tense in this text. It is mostly written in present tense — to describe the cats you currently have. What I do see is the present perfect tense, in “has never caught”. This is a good use of the present perfect. You are describing your cat’s life experience up until now. But he is still alive, so his experiences might be different in the future.
September 2, 2019
1
Are the tenses correct in this text? The tenses are perfect but there are other issues. You don’t refer to cats as boy and girl. Usually you would say male and female. A cat doesn’t “always” catch mice. Also you should say “the other” not “another”. And you sleep by a window. I have two cats. One of them, a female, regularly catches mice. The other, a male, has never caught a mouse. He’s very lazy and often sleeps by the window. I have two cats. The female catches mice. The male, never. He’s lazy and seems to do nothing but sleep by the window. (Spoken) If you want to use “always”, you would typically say “The female is always catching mice”
September 2, 2019
Looks good to me!!! Well done - this is present perfect though. "Has/have never caught" is present perfect. "Hadn't caught" is past.
September 2, 2019
Hello, Anna: These sentences are perfect!
September 2, 2019
"sleeps in/near the window"
September 2, 2019
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