Correct the sentences
1. It's not certain how the fire stared but it might had been caused by an electrical fault.
It should be 'have been' instead of 'had been', but why the use of 'had been' is wrong here? Is it because the sentence starts as a 'present indefinite' ? Can we write "it was not certain how the fire started but it might had been caused by an electrical fault''.
2. The survey asked respondents from more than 50 countries to identify kinds of people they would want as neighbours.
There was no explanation but it was written that it should be 'the kind of people' instead of 'kinds of people'.
3. He listed out a few tips that one needs in order to get that perfect holiday radiance.
Use of 'out' is wrong here, could someone explain why?
4. For the past one week, people had stopped working out of their houses fearing a sudden attack.
Similar to the first sentence I think. It should be 'have stopped', why it shouldn't be 'had stopped' as we are talking about past.
Thanks!
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Answers · 11
1
1. There is only one past tense form for all modal verb phrases
modal + have + past participle
e.g. should have given, might have known, could have helped, must have tried
(As you probably know, you need to learn the usage of modal forms individually.)
If you really want to use the past perfect (which you don't need here), you would need a construction like this: It is possible that/Perhaps .... e.g. he had already left the party by the time she arrived.
2. You could have "the" or not here.
3. "out" is not necessary.
4. "For the past week" means "for the seven days up to today". The present perfect is needed. You would probably say, "for the past week, people have stopped working at home" (if I understood you correctly).
1
These are just my opinion yadda yadda.
1. Might have vs might had: Might have is not a definite statement, which fits the sentence.The word had would make the cause known and not fit the sentence at all
3. The word out is not necessary, the verb listing is enough.
4. This was an event in the past so 'had' is correct. People have stopped working out of their house means that they still don't work out of their houses in the present because of that fear. Also, for the past week sounds much better than for the past one week.
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