He started working for this factory a year ago.   Which sentence has the same meaning?     He has been working for this factory for a year.   or     He has worked for this factory for a year.
577
Non-na­tive speak­ers of­ten get con­fused about what the var­i­ous tens­es  and as­pects mean in English. With in­put from some of the folk here I've put to­geth­er a di­a­gram that I hope will pro­vide some clar­i­ty on the mat­ter.  I of­fer it as the first an­swer to this ques­tion. Con­sid­er it a liv­ing doc­u­ment. In­put is wel­come, and good sug­ges­tions will be  in­cor­po­rat­ed in­to the di­a­gram.    No­ta bene: What this is not is a dis­cus­sion of whether there are  more than two tens­es in English. , to which this ques­tion is not in­tend­ed to sup­ply ar­gu­ments one way or the oth­er.  Here, the aim is to pro­vide an overview of what con­struc­tions English-speak­ing peo­ple use for con­vey­ing in­for­ma­tion about ac­tions re­fer­ring to past, present, and fu­ture, and to pro­vide it first and fore­most to pre­cise­ly the peo­ple who are like­ly to use "tense" as a catch-all term in their search, rather than to lin­guists who know bet­ter.  Break­ing News There is now an ex­cel­lent ELU blog ar­ti­cle ti­tled  . It is high­ly rec­om­mend­ed read­ing.
96795
In 1999, I was living in Cuba.      In 1999, I lived in Cuba.   Do both sentences seem grammatically correct?   My teacher had told that the first sentence, which is with past continuous, is incorrect. I don't know whether or not the first sentence is correct. It indeed seems natural, doesn't it?
77155
Wrong Sentence:     Never before in the history of the world such a thing has happened, I don't think that will ever happen again.   Right sentence:     Never Before in the history of the world has such a thing happened, I don't think that will ever happen again.   Why “has such a thing happened” is the right form, and why can't I use such a thing has happened?
116720
She spends a lot of time to shop. She spends a lot of time shopping.   Are both of these sentences grammatically correct and do they have the same meaning?
104407
What is the difference in meaning in these two sentences?     He is appointed as Manager.     and        He has been appointed as Manager.     Similarly, what is the difference between these two sentences?     Amount has been paid to you as basic salary.   and      Amount is paid to you as basic salary.
19624
how are you?  Well, my biggest doubt at the moment is the difference between these two tenses. Actually, the more I study the more I have doubts with these tenses.      /         These similar threads helped me to clarify and reiterate my previous understanding.   I'm not posting in these threads because the site suggests avoiding asking for clarification (I don't know why because it would avoid new threads with the same content).  My main doubt is as follows:     I've lived in New York for two years.   In my understanding, the sentence above implies (1) that I lived in NY for two years and now I live in another place; or (2) I'm moving to another city after two years living in NY; or (3) I lived in NY for two years, then I moved to another place for some period and, finally, I'm returning. Is that correct?     I've been living in New York for two years.   Whereas the sentence above, in my understanding, implies that I lived in NY for two years and I still living there.  Anyway, many sources that I've already read say that these two sentences have the same meaning and are interchangeable. Therein lies my question. Is that correct? Because if these two sentences are interchangeable, it destroys all my understanding.  Thanks in advance.
122037
Could anybody clear it to me whether these two sentence are grammatically equal? If not, what is the difference?     1) They must use some methods...    2) They are to use some methods...
101879
I have just finished my homework.   I just finished my homework.      I think there must be a difference in meaning. Could anyone tell me the difference in meaning sentence 1 and sentence 2?
87391
Do we write in the recent years or in recent years? For example,  In the recent years, the influence of blablabla on blablabla has grown rapidly. In recent years, the influence of blablabla on blablabla has grown rapidly.  As far as I know, both are correct. But which one sounds more natural (more correct from a native speaker's point of view) or does it not matter?
45892
Which of the following sentence is correct ? If both are correct, do they have the same meaning ? The company's sales grew by 70% year-on-year to US$100 m. The company's sales grew 70% year-on-year to US$100 m.
103192
I think this sentence is correct.     I done something.   This is also correct.     I have done something.   What are the involved tense? How are they different?
70123
A) He was arrested by police. b) He had been arrested by police.  In newspaper reporter want to tell about past event that has already happened.  In above statements Reporter conveyed same meaning, that police have arrested criminal and he is still in there custody.  I am aware that above sentence are In past Tense i.e. former is in simple past and later is in Past perfect. And also in Passive voice  My question is that why reporter purposely used was and had been in sentence? instead of that he could have used Present perfect. e.g he has been arrested by police.  Also Some times reporters does not use simple past before using past perfect.  e.g. He had been arrested by police when I was reached on the spot.
93140
What is the difference between the following two sentences?      She goes to the forest three times per week.        She goes to the forest three times a week.
77587
What is the difference between the three sentences below?   I have been married with her for three years. I was married with her for three years. I married her for three years.
65097
a. His two previous books  b. His previous two books   .............   His 2 latest previous books His 2 previous latest books His previous latest 2 books His latest previous 2 books His previous 2 latest books His latest 2 previous books  I am wondering what is the difference could be between these in meaning?  Which one do you use? which one you don't use?  I think just especially native speakers or learned ones in English can provide the most proper answer.  Thanks
105248
Which one of these sentences is correct?  The palace took several years to build.  or  The palace took several years to be built.  I heard the first one while I was watching Discovery Channel and I think it is not correct because the palace did not build on its own – someone had to build it. So the passive form seems the correct sentence.
61543
Tom, who was working for my father in the 1990s, is now living in Ohio.   Is it correct or should it be in Past Simple? I think it is correct because it is an action which was in progress in the past and also we have the "1990s" expression which refers to a duration.