Answers to Questions About Tense #3

Answers to Questions About Tense #3 Answers to Questions About Tense #3 Answers to Questions About Tense #3 By Mark Nichol Three questions from readers about mixing tenses, and my responses to their questions, follow. 1. When I read the following quote recently, I wondered whether it’s wrong for all the verbs to be in the past tense: â€Å"Smith said he believed that the company was trying to intimidate employees into not participating in the panel’s efforts.† What do you think? Reporting is generally presented in the past tense, but to continue to form verbs in the past tense may misrepresent the facts. At the time that Smith spoke, he held a belief that he presumably will hold into perpetuity, so the present tense of believe is appropriate here. However, whether the verb after company should be in present tense or past tense depends on whether the alleged intimidation is ongoing. That was not the case in this particular instance, but if that is not clear in the context of the complete article, the reporter should explicitly state whether the intimidation ended. The sentence should read, â€Å"Smith said he believes that the company was trying to intimidate employees into not participating in the panel’s efforts.† 2. Is the following sentence properly constructed?: â€Å"Launching nationwide on September 25, BankWorks is a new service offered by Banking Services, the same company that brought you BankTrack and BankData.† Somehow the variation in verb tenses (launching, is, brought) does not sit quite right with me, but I cannot say if it is wrong. Mixing tenses in sentences is fine, as long as each verb form is consistent with the tense for that piece of information. The service will launch in the future, but it is offered in the present, and the services BankTrack and BankData were established in the past, so the sentence is correct. 3. What are your thoughts are regarding tense usage for reported speech? Consider the following sentences: â€Å"John told me that he was married.† â€Å"John told me that he is married.† Which one should I use if I want to say that John was married at the time he said he was married and he is still married at the time of the reported speech? Write, â€Å"John told me that he is married† if he had a spouse at the time that he spoke to you. Write, â€Å"John told me that he was married† if John is now single. (Mixing of tenses is correct if the context warrants it, but it goes against the grain, and we’re so used to seeing it wrong, especially in nonprofessional writing, that it may seem incorrect.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Apply to, Apply for, and Apply withAbstract Nouns from AdjectivesWhen to use "an"

Child Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Child Development - Essay Example Pregnancy is a very important part of a woman’s life that calls for behavior change in various aspects of life. To begin with, my sleeping hours would not be adequate if I were pregnant. Pregnant women are advised to get enough rest and sleep. Secondly, I rarely exercise and I would start engaging in exercise activities three times a week to improve blood circulation. Thirdly, I take alcohol during the weekends and I would have to refrain from it if I were pregnant. Alcohol and drugs are prohibited during pregnancy as they can affect child’s development (Murphy). Finally, I would also need to change my diet by including healthier foods including larger portions of fruits and vegetables. Additionally, I would have to refrain from foods containing saturated fats and sweetened drinks. The study concentrates on behavioral change among women during pregnancy. According to the article, most women consume alcohol during pregnancy goes against the doctors’ advice as alcohol poses numerous side effects to the fetus. This article advises women to avoid alcohol intake at all costs. The article also shows the drinking habits among women from different backgrounds and demonstrated that some of the side effects of drinking while pregnant include intrauterine growth restriction, low birth weight, and preterm birth. The article also shows that there is a strong relationship between alcohol use and smoking and these aspects combined have a significant negative impact on fetal growth.

Rview of Financial Statements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Rview of Financial Statements - Essay Example Accountants keep track of the financial activity of a company by recording journal entries. The eight steps of the accounting cycle are: record transactions in journal, post transactions to ledger, prepare adjusting entries, prepare summary of account balances, prepare income statement and revenue and expense accounts, close revenue and expense accounts to retained earnings, prepare post closing summary of account balances, prepare balance sheet and statement of cash flow. Once the accountants of Lowe’s and Home Depot complete the accounting cycle the financial statements are ready. The income statement is a statement that states the profitability of a company. At the top of the statement the revenues of the company are expressed. The costs of goods sold are subtracted to arrive at the gross profits. Then the operating expenses and taxes are subtracted to obtain the net income of the firm. The revenues and net income of Lowe’s in fiscal year 2009 were $47.22 billion and $1.783 billion (Annual Report: Lowes, 2009). In 2009 Home Depot’s performance was better. Home Depot in 2009 had revenues of $66.18 billion and net income of $2.66 billion (Annual Report: Home Depot, 2009). The balance sheet is a financial statement that reflects the financial position of a company at a specific point in time. The basic elements of the balance sheet are the assets, liabilities, and stockholder’s equity.

Article Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Article Review - Essay Example Further on, the stages of the discipline development are discussed. Key words: public intellectuals, sociology, American version of the discipline, Canadian version of the discipline. Key Points The main impact on the development of sociology in Canada was made by the French and English versions of sociology presented by different researchers and scientists, who tended either to French language or to English language. The body of the article comprises opinions of the Canadian researchers on the historical context and recent developments in the discipline of sociology. With regard to the approach chosen by the authors (conceptual, polemical, empirical or historical research approaches), their considerations about the public sociology in Canada differ. The main point of concern for the researchers in the field of sociology is the place of the field in the public sphere. Burawoy’s position is presented as the inspiring approach to sociology, because he presents his dialogue on a global level. Moreover, Jeff Cornier is another leader of his sociology field vision representation. Basically, it is clearly positioned in the article that there is a need for intellectuals in Canada to communicate more on the social level, following the example of public intellectuals in the US.

Are We Doing enough about Domestic Violence Assignment

Are We Doing enough about Domestic Violence - Assignment Example Domestic violence is not just a female problem; in around 1989 a man for the sake of argument lets call him Jake got into a physical altercation with his girlfriend of several years. She raised a knife to Jake's throat and raped him, afterward Jake went to the police precinct and explained to them about what had just happened, the police laughed at him and later on that week Jake was killed by his girlfriend. Domestic violence is a high-risk killer when ignored and acknowledged. People tend to hide abuse both men and woman for different reasons out of love, fear, or even guilt if there are children involved. A person would have to jump through hoops of fire to get proper help for a new life like police reports, pictures, witnesses, etc. and that still might not work until they hurt the person that’s hurting them. Domestic violence is not just a female problem; in around 1989 a man for the sake of argument lets call him Jake got into a physical altercation with his girlfriend o f several years. She raised a knife to Jake's throat and raped him, afterward Jake went to the police precinct and explained to them about what had just happened, the police laughed at him and later on that week Jake was killed by his girlfriend. Domestic violence is a high-risk killer when ignored and acknowledged. People tend to hide abuse both men and woman for different reasons out of love, fear, or even guilt if there are children involved. A person would have to jump through hoops of fire to get proper help for a new life like police reports, pictures, witnesses, etc. and that still might not work until they hurt the person that’s hurting them. On the other hand, you have your fame chasers and custody winners who use domestic violence as an excuse to get what they want. A prime example of this is there was an episode of Law & Order S.V.U. on television where a woman was going through a real serious custody battle with her ex-husband over there fourteen-year-old daughter. The woman was planning on leaving the state they lived in and her ex-husband found out, he showed up to her house in the middle of the night to question her, while there he grabbed her leaving bruises. Afterward, she filed raped charges on the man. Throughout the episode, the man denied raping his ex-wife but because of the bruising on her arms and his admitting being at her house without permission, he was put in jail. When it was time for him to go to court he made bail and came after his ex-wife lighting her on fire, she later died and afterward it was found out that the man really did not rape her.  

Christian scriptures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Christian scriptures - Essay Example The real purpose of the gospels is therefore to establish faith in Christ (NIV Compact Dictionary, p.226). The first three gospels i.e. of St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. Luke, have an â€Å"obvious and striking† (Catholic Encyclopedia) mutual resemblance, and grouped together are known as the Synoptic Gospels. Synoptic means of the ‘same view’. The fact that some material is common between the synoptic gospels also suggests that some of the synoptic texts were used as source material for the others. These synoptic texts contrast with the final fourth Gospel of St. John â€Å"whose relations with the other three is that of dissimilarity rather than of likeness.† (ibid) This gospel narrates â€Å"few incidents in common with the synoptists, and differs from them in respect to style, language, general plan, etc.† (ibid) That is, its content cannot be harmonized with the synoptic narratives. It also does not contain any parables as the other three. In short, whilst the Synoptic Gospels offer alternative but parallel accounts of the life of Jesus, the Gospel o f St. John the Apostle stands apart from them in terms of its content, coverage and approach. Nonetheless, all four gospels are intimately related in being related to Jesus’ life and teachings. Each gospel writer therefore presents a particular picture of Jesus in their own unique way. â€Å"Matthew concentrates on the relationship of Jesus to the Jewish faith†¦ Mark emphases action rather than teaching†¦ Luke stresses the blessings of salvation brought by Jesus†¦ [and] John reveals Jesus as the One sent by God the Father into the world to be its Saviour.† (Lion Handbook, p.470-472) So, Matthew writes for his fellow Jews, concentrates on Jesus as the Messiah, and carefully records what Jesus said about the kingdom of heaven. â€Å"Matthew’s gospel more than any other is the link between the

Labor Relations Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Labor Relations - Case Study Example In the second instance, the teacher reportedly lied in response to certain queries while being investigated. Lying is reported in response to queries over the copying and distribution of sheets as well as in response to queries over his relationship to a member of the African American community in school. The findings of the school board concluded that Daniel W. Burrell had lied under oath and this mandated that he be removed from service immediately. The Board’s position on the matter of distributing racially oriented jokes is also highly clear and the Board holds that Mr. Burrell had violated his responsibilities and associated expectations by the distribution. Moreover, Mr. Burrell was furnished with due process of law before dismissal in line with concerned laws over teacher’s rights. Therefore, there is little doubt that the proceedings of this case were carried out by the book in letter and spirit. A look at the relevant laws affirms such view points. Under law, a teacher may be dismissed from service for immoral conduct, incompetence, neglect of duty, substantial non compliance with school laws and fraud or misrepresentation amongst other things. Being a teacher, Mr. Burrell is supposed to serve as a beacon and as a role model to the community in general and to his students in particular. However, the distribution of racially discriminatory material is unjustifiable even if humour is speculated. Furthermore, under his freedom to teach Mr. Burrell could expose students to new streams of thought by using racial or otherwise socially compromising material but the racially centred jokes do not constitute such an intention. Therefore, the distribution of racially centred jokes through personal initiative has nothing to do with Mr. Burrell’s professional responsibilities. Instead, such behaviour deserves discouragement at an official level. Mr. Burrell had the