'I went to the house, the old lady has the two little girls, and they are safe' Q about past tense.
'I went to the house, the old lady has the two little girls, and they are safe' from a movie.
it is talking about past, however the last two parts are using present tense. is that because the speaker is describing a continuos situation? I mean actually, she does not know whether or not the lady has girls and they are safe anymore.
should it be 'I went to the house, she had the two little girls, and they were safe'. or i understand it incorrectly.
it is really a problem especially when i try to use past tense.
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 10
1
Often, the present tense is used to refer to the past, as a rhetorical device. The idea is to involve your listener more emotionally, by making the action seem to be happening now. You do this by telling the main story in the past tense, and when you get to the climax, you use the present.
0
Either could be used here.
I went to the house (yesterday/this morning), the old has the two little girls (now) and they are safe (now). However, I'm assuming she still has them and they are safe, but of course there is no way I can be 100% sure because I'm not at the house any more.
I went to the house (yesterday/this morning), the old lady had the two little girls (when I was there) and they were safe (when I was there). Here I'm simply stating facts and I'm not making any assumption as to whether or not she has them and they are safe now.
0
this could be either way. I think the present tense is used because the speaker wants to describe the current condition, somehow the fact what he found there is still present is important in this situation. If the speaker switches to the past, then it implies the old lady no longer has the girls and the girls may or may not be safe.
0
I just checked the script - the present tense actually indicates the present situation (ie. the current status of the girls). This is said in three separate sentences, not one.
0
Hotel Rwanda, sad movie...
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!
Start Learning Today
