Which sentence is correct? and Why?   She told me last week she hates action movies. She told me last week she hated action movies.   As "hate" is a sensual verb and it does not finish in the past (you hate a type of movie and it does not change, at least with no mention in the context) I think Number one should be correct. But an English tutor told me the second one is correct as the discussion they are referring to has happened in the past. Which one is correct and why?
12775
I know the past tense carries the past tense in every dependent clause, but referring specifically to places or to things that are eternal, like the Earth, seems a bit weird and therefore we sometimes (I believe incorrectly) say     He didn't know that New Jersey was actually on the East Coast.   Because it still is. Or     He thought the Earth was round.   So is it square now?  Logically speaking, would you consider the use of past tense here a bit confusing in a day-to-day speech in these examples? Would you instinctively opt for using the present tense?
15290
I'm from Central Pennsylvania, and apparently, we have a strange language construct in this area. I was recently talking about how "my car needs washed" to a friend from NJ, and she told me that my sentence was grammatically incorrect.   I realize she's right, and I realize my options are "my car needs to be washed" or "my car needs washing". But I'm not clear on the precise rule being invoked.
24792
After I found this website, I have a chance to ask questions I used to hesitate to use in a sentence as I am not a native English speaker even though I am really interested in learning English.  Anyways,  Can these sentences be legit and give the same meaning?   I feel something towards her. I feel something against her.   Do they have same meaning and also where can we not use against and towards interchangeably if we can use them interchangeably sometimes.  Edit:  Okay, it seems while feelings are coming to play they cause different meaning but where can I not use them interchangeably when there is no feelings involved?
22658
Why can't I say “She died from drinking 18 cans of Coca-Cola”? Instead, the correct sentence would be “She died of drinking 18 cans of Coca-Cola”. Why does that happen?
11456
I'm having some trouble with the following sentence:     Since he had arrived, he had seen the rule broken more than once.   For some context, the text itself is a short story and I'm writing it in past tense. Does this mean that the presence of a past simple verb is "implicit", in a way, to the text itself? Does using the word "since" change anything (I know that it is usually supposed to be followed by a past simple verb, but I'm not sure of any exceptions to this)?
1490
We always change subject and verb positions in whenever we want to ask a question such as "What is your name?". But when it comes to statements like the following, which form is correct?        I don't understand what are you talking about.   I don't understand what you are talking about.      Another example        Do you know what time is it?   Do you know what time it is?      Another example        Do you care how do I feel about this?   Do you care how I feel about this?
55689
Incident which happened a week ago:      Me to Kate: "Where are you going"?   Kate: "I'm going to the cinema".   Now today I happen to tell this story to Jim and I say,      "I met Kate a week ago."   Jim: What did she say?   Me: "Kate said that she 'is' going to the cinema".    My question is, is the usage of 'is' grammatically correct? Here, at the time of reporting after a week I don't know if she's still going to the cinema or not and even then I use 'is' will this be grammatically correct?
75206
I took this photo by the lake last Saturday, Grandma. It looks lovely.   Do you know any of these people?      Yes, I do. The man who’s reading the newspaper is William.      He’s wearing a nice hat.      He is, isn’t he? Grandpa knows him, I think!   Why don't they say "he was wearing a nice hat" because that was happening in the past?  Can we use the present tense to describe people in a video?  For example, "Look at you in this video! You are smiling and swimming in a bathtub".
70657
Sentence 1: I don’t know if it won't rain tomorrow.  Sentnece 2: I don’t know whether it won't rain tomorrow.  Which sentence sound natural to you? Is there a rule that we should use "if" rather than "whether" when the object clause is negative?  Thank you very much!
55823
From a film subtitle:     "What would've happenned if you were a few minutes later, Hani?"   I think that 'What would have happened if you had been a few minutes later,Hani?'is right?  I think this is third conditional sentence. Could you tell me the grammar I don't know? Or is this wrong sentence?
89247
I came across an English learner writing     It snowed hard Monday.   After saying that it didn't snow on Friday and Saturday.  It didn't quite feel right to me.  I'd be okay with     It snowed hard.   or     It snowed Monday.   Is it okay for there to be two things ("hard" and "Monday") modifying the snowing without an "on" breaking things up a bit?
118823
I'm Soumya, an author from India.  A reader has challenged me about the use of the word 'hairs' in my book. I have used, 'a few hairs' and that's justified, as hair is a countable noun in that very phrase. But I'm at a confusion for some other sentences. Could you kindly tell me if I'm wrong grammatically?   "The evening zephyr ruffled their long flowing hairs - the Indian village girl's shiny, black hair, and Audrey's curly blonde hair." "They had golden or brown or ashen hairs." "His black and white hairs had now turned into complete white."   Could you please help? Thank you!
61598
Please help me to choose the right verb.     Its inside and outside is/are the same.   If you would please explain your answer a bit.
114318
(a) I found it difficult to stop thinking of one little girl.  (b) I hate it when you do that.   Why is it necessary to use "it" in the sample sentences above when the role of the object play (a) gerund, (b) the subordinate clause?
12698
Regarding actions taken in the past, besides the differences those two tenses have semantically, my teacher shared that it could be a British vs American English case.   When talking about past action, British prefers present perfect because they take into account that the effect from their past action still happens until now. As for American, they prefer to state the action only. It happened in the past, so past tense it is.     I have had dinner. [British]   vs.      I had dinner. [American]   I hope to hear it from the native speakers, both British and American. What do you think about this? Is it true?  If it is, I don't think it can apply to all cases of past actions. There have to be cases when both style agree to use the same tenses. Could you please help me define the situation when this kind of difference applies and when doesn't?
25459
In a movie that I watched recently, I heard-        for aught I know,    for aught I care.      I work with a lot of native speakers, and they all told me it's not in formal or informal usage anymore.  What's the ground reality?
2595
When telling a story about myself from the past, I have found myself in an internal debate over whether the correct way to segue into the present is:     That was me twelve years ago.   Or:     That was I twelve years ago.   My instincts tell me the first is correct (object pronoun after a verb and it sounds better to my ears). But, I'm not sure if pronouns after linking verbs should be object pronouns. Which is correct?