All About English Grammar & Vocabulary

[janet88]

I was trying my luck for the #2 question.

English grammar is getting tougher now. I have problems explaining to my son past perfect tense and present/past participle.

As for this word ‘gerund’, it’s really greek to me. Went to Popular for my son as reference for English but Preston is not detailed.

[The Alternative Story]

[Editor's note: Topic selected & edited for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/short-explanation-more-complex-grammar.]

janet_lee88:

I was trying my luck for the #2 question.
English grammar is getting tougher now. I have problems explaining to my son past perfect tense and present/past participle.

As for this word 'gerund', it's really greek to me. Went to Popular for my son as reference for English but Preston is not detailed.

Hi Janet Lee,

For some children who read a lot and can pick up the grammar subconsciously, grammar will seem easy for them. However for
many children, while they may be able to understand the easier grammar
items, they have difficulty in understanding the more complex ones.

The difference between past perfect tense and past tense has been
explained under English Creative Writing thread.

For a shortened explanation, the past perfect tense is used
mainly when there are 2 actions and one action happened before
another action.

- I had brushed (past perfect tense) my teeth before I went (past tense)
to bed.

The 'brushing of teeth' has to be finished before the 'going to bed'

Hence while both actions happened in the past, the action that happened
earlier in the past is in the past perfect tense.

For present perfect tense and present tense, the present
perfect tense is used to indicate that the action started in the
past but is still continuing or has just been completed.

- I have lived here for many years. (started living from a time in the
past but still continuing till today)

- I have just gotten back from Grandmother's house. (action started
in the past but has just been completed)

For present tense, it is used to indicate an action that is happening
presently or habitually.

- I swim everyday (habit)

For gerunds, it sounds complicated, but it is just a noun that has the 'ing' form in it.

- Swimming (gerund) is my hobby - 'Swimming' is the name
of your hobby.

Preston Primary English should still be available, perhaps you could ask
the staff about it?

TAS

[jesschan]

Can someone advise which of the following is correct?


"___________ car have you borrowed, Tom?" asked John.
1) Whom
2) Which
3) Whose
4) Who

[janet88]

jesschan:

Can someone advise which of the following is correct?


\"___________ car have you borrowed, Tom?\" asked John.
1) Whom
2) Which
3) Whose
4) Who

\"Whose car have you borrowed, Tom?\" asked John.

[jesschan]

Thanks, Janet. Can the answer also be "which"?

[RRMummy]

I will also choose Whose.


‘Which’ seems to imply that the person who loan the car has lots of cars Tom can choose from, which is very unlikely, unless they are choosing from a Avis/Hertz. But in that case, it should not be ‘borrowed’ but ‘rented’ instead.

So, I will go for Whose.

[The Alternative Story]

Hi jesschan,


‘Whose’ appears to be the most logical answer like what RRmummy and Janet Lee have pointed out. However, in this case, as there is not enough
information in the question, it is possible to choose ‘which’, meaning
for example that your friend has a few cars and he is asking you which
car was the one that your borrowed. So in this case, both ‘which’ and
‘whose’ are possible answers.

TAS

[jesschan]

Thanks to all.

[SoWoW]

Help needed. When to use "Who" and "Whom"…thanks

[The Alternative Story]

SoWoW:

Help needed. When to use \"Who\" and \"Whom\"...thanks

Hi SoWow,

An easy way to remember is this:

- Who: used as the subject of a sentence

subject: the person doing the action. Eg: She (subject) is
hitting him

- Whom: used as the object of a sentence

object: the person receiving the action. Eg: She is
hitting him (object)

Examples of 'whom' and 'who':

QN 1) Whom are you going to vote for?

Ans: I am going to vote for Mary(object).

In the question, you were asking about the object, hence
'whom' should be used.

QN 2) Who is the class monitor?

Ans: Michael (subject) is the class monitor.

In the question, you were asking about the subject, hence
'who' should be used.

'Whom' and 'who' are also used to connect 2 sentences
together. So when should 'who' be used and when should
'whom' be used?

An easy way to remember is this:

- Whom: it appears after the object. (and it is usually
sandwiched between 2 different people)

- Who: it appears after the subject. (it is usually
followed by a verb)

Eg:

1) This is the girl (object) whom I saw just now.

2) This is the girl (subject) who fell down just now.

TAS