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Quick tips for the Present Perfect / Past perfect
Example: Have been=present perfect
I often think of the present perfect as the "present past." Have brings you to the moment, but been holds you in the past.
I have been tired all day.
This event was in the past, but it is also current! It might even continue into the future.
Past------------------Present-----------------------Future
x---------------------------x¿----->?
In this sentence you not only "have tired now" (don't use this :P) but you "been tired before." This is a ungrammatical but helpful view of the tense.
Had been= past perfect
It might help to think of the past perfect as the "past past."
I had been tired before I took that nap!
Past-------------------present-----------------------future
X-----------X Y!
In this sentence, X occurred for a period of time before Y! interrupted (in the past)!
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When to Use the Indefinite Article "An"
In English we want add an "n" to the article when it is in front of a word that starts with a vowel sound.
For example:
"An amazing shot" Vowel A
"An elephant" Vowel E
"An isosceles triangle" Vowel I
"An open court" Vowel O
The long u sound /you/ is an exception:
For example:
"A unicycle"
"a uniform"
"a unique rule."
Words that start with the short "u" sound DO pair with the article "an":
for example:
"an underbelly"
"an ugly picture"
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Pronouncing "-ed" endings!
Words ending in "-ed" can sound like /id/, /t/, or /d/. "-ed" endings are difficult to master, but there ARE rules to help you.
We pronounce the "ed" ending as /id/ when a word ends in /d/ or the /t/ sound. For example, "I wanted /wahn tid/ to go to the park." or "He carded /car did/ the minor at the store."
Words that end in the /k/, /s/, /ch/, /sh/, /f/, /p/, or /th/ sound end in the /t/ sound. "I watched /waht cht/ the game." "My son peeked /peekt/ at his Christmas presents!"
All other ending sounds have the /d/ ending. "I played /pleyd/ the game" "You saved /seyvd/ my life." The only exceptions are "aged" "blessed" "crooked" "dogged" "learned" "naked" "ragged" "wicked" and "wretched," and these words can have the /id/ ending sound.
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