Need help with grammars.

It sad but true :shakehead. I have grammar problems. I always mix present tense and past tense in one sentence/paragraph. I have problems when to use can, could, would, should, might, have, had, has,..etc..

I tried searching online for grammar help but they charge me for the course.

Can someone give me some insight on how/when to use present/past tense? A chart on what is present tense and what is its past tense or something that is useful to me. I hate going to interviews and have grammar problems while talking to the interviewers. Thank you

jinx

jinx626 said:

It sad but true :shakehead. I have grammar problems. I always mix present tense and past tense in one sentence/paragraph. I have problems when to use can, could, would, should, might, have, had, has,..etc..

I tried searching online for grammar help but they charge me for the course.

Can someone give me some insight on how/when to use present/past tense? A chart on what is present tense and what is its past tense or something that is useful to me. I hate going to interviews and have grammar problems while talking to the interviewers. Thank you

jinx

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Start reading books - lots and lots of books. It helps if they're very popular (fewer errors in them, hopefully) novels (so they'll keep your interest). Find a genre you like, and get books from a few authors from the library. When you find authors you like, load up on their work.

Good luck, and have fun.

That's one option I was thinking bout... But I just don't have time to enjoy a book because..because....sigh...I am a addicted to this site. I found myself going here more than 20 times a day! Just reading and browsing. I just don't have the time... lol

Seriously tho, thank you for your inputs. It's been awhile since I picked a book.

jinx

I too was going to suggest reading a big bunch.

In the alternative, listen to books on CD. I do this constantly. I do a good bit of local driving, waiting around to pick up the Powernoodle Juniors at school, etc., and often have a book on CD playing. Check 'em out from the library.

Also, click here.

cheers

thanks for the link powernoodles

http://www.amazon.com/dp/020530902X/?tag=cpf0b6-20

The Elements of Style is the best resource for anyone looking for instruction on correct grammar. After you read through the tutorial linked above, you will want to progress to the book.

Plenty of reading is the best recommendation. Almost everyone who speaks English as a first language are usually completely oblivious to its grammar rules, and go mostly by the "sound" of it.

If English is not your first language, I suggest getting an ESL (English as a Second Language) textbook. The Elements of Style is a good book about writing in general, but it is not a grammar book. English (like other languages) has a bunch of grammatical tenses and moods whose differences can be subtle and which won't exactly match the tenses and moods of your native language. So it's partly a matter of getting used to it but it also helps to study the examples in a textbook carefully.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tense_(grammar) explains some things about tenses. For example, in the second paragraph of your post, you confused the present simple with the conditional perfect ("they would have charged me for the course") or something like that.

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_grammar and various articles linked from there.

Cheers to you for trying to improve your education.

I pulled this off google. You can learn anything from Google:

http://www.usingenglish.com/

I'm sure there is a lot to learn on that site.

i am awefull with that stuff always have been.now my spelling is bad again since i am not useing linux now.linux always fixed my spelling errors

Here is a general rule as far as past tense versus present tense. People often use past tense too much. When in doubt it is better to use present tense - especially when talking to someone in an interview as it will leave a more upbeat impression. Cheers for working on improving your language skills. I tend to stay very informal on forums but I had high grades in English through all of college and a lot of former coworkers would ask me for advice on grammer or spelling. With the advent of word processing programs it has become fairly easy though to sound like a pro when writing.

TigerhawkT3 said:

Start reading books - lots and lots of books. It helps if they're very popular (fewer errors in them, hopefully) novels (so they'll keep your interest). Find a genre you like, and get books from a few authors from the library. When you find authors you like, load up on their work.

Click to expand...

+1, that's how I learned English and I've had people tell me, that I write it well for a non-native speaker. Novels are a very good way for learning, as you get the basic sentence structures (with many permutations) repeated over an over without even noticing it. Good for vocabulary, too.

+1 on reading a lot.

Although, believe it or not, WRITING also helps. It forces you to pay more attention to your grammer. But don't just write down words and leave them. Read and edit them until you think they're perfect. Also try removing as many words as possible, still allowing your point to get across.

Incidently, its "need help with grammar", no s....
just playin...all the best...:twothumbs

Crenshaw

raggie33 said:

i am awefull with that stuff always have been.now my spelling is bad again since i am not useing linux now.linux always fixed my spelling errors

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That's what wrong with listening instead of reading. You need to see it, to learn what is right. Anyway, you are reading here on this website, so pay attention to how others do it.

For a start, you'll notice that after ending a sentence with a period / full stop, you use a space before starting the next sentence.

Either you have not read anything other than comics, or you somhow do not see the difference between what you see in a book and what you write.

The start of the problem is usually no teaching by parents and bad teaching in the first 2 or 3 years of school.

chamenos said:

Almost everyone who speaks English as a first language are usually completely oblivious to its grammar rules, and go mostly by the "sound" of it.

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It may be true in some Countries, but it most certainly is NOT in England.

"Almost everyone" is far too general, some perhaps.

One country only in particular springs to mind as to "going by the sound of it" especially with regards to spelling, rather than Grammar.

I suggest watching some good quality English originated TV programmes, especially Period Dramas.

Or even BBC World Service, or BBC Radio via the internet.

Nitro said:

+1 on reading a lot.

Although, believe it or not, WRITING also helps. It forces you to pay more attention to your grammer. But don't just write down words and leave them. Read and edit them until you think they're perfect. Also try removing as many words as possible, still allowing your point to get across.

Click to expand...

I am sorry, but is it grammar or grammer?

jinx626 said:

I am sorry, but is it grammar or grammer?

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Sorry, it would be "grammar". My Bad. I need to follow my own advice.

A lot of CPFers (most, seemingly) have very good grammar. Maybe, if you just keep reading the posts to yourself, out loud, perhaps, or in your mind, then you'll get used to the sound of proper word use.

Get a grammar reference book so that you can look up the rules as needed. The best English grammar and writing reference book I have seen is the Harbrace College Handbook by John Hodges. I bought my copy over 25 years ago, but I think the book has been renamed to Hodges' Harbrace Handbook by Cheryl Glenn and Loretta Gray. The book is very comprehensive, well organized, and easy to use. The section on Glossary of Usage is invaluable. You can find this book (new or used) at most college bookstores or at Amazon.com. On Amazon, you can browse the table of contents, index, and sample pages.
Good luck to you.
-Frank