Ron’s ESL Blogs

There are five vowel letters: a, e, i, o, u among 26 English letters. When we talk about the differences between “a” and “an”,  we say that “a” is used before a consonant and “an” is used before a vowel. But ESL students often make the following mistakes in their writing:

- an university (X)

- a hour (X)

- a SUV (X)

- an one-time password (X)

- an unit (X)

- an European (X)

- a honor (X)

Why do students make these mistakes? Because they misunderstand their teachers. “An” is used before a vowel sound, not just a vowel letter. “U” is a vowel letter, but it has two pronunciations. When it is pronounced as a vowel sound, we use “an,” such as “an uncle,” “an umbrella,” but “a uniform,” “a university” because “u” in these two words is pronounced as a consonant.

“H” is sometimes not pronounced in an English word, such as “hour,” and “honor.” Since “h” is not pronounced, both words start with vowel sounds. So we should say “an hour” and “an honor.” In the words “hotel” and “half,” “h” is pronounced, so we say “a hotel” and “a half.”

“European” starts with a vowel letter “e,” but it is not pronounced as a vowel sound. So you need to say “a European.” It’s the same reason for “one-time.” It starts with the vowel letter “o,” but the letter is not pronounced as a vowel sound. So we should say “a one-time password.” We say “an SUV” because it starts with a vowel sound, although “S” is a consonant letter      – Ron Lee

When we talk about something that happened in the past, we use the past tense. However, there are also times when we use the past tense to express something else.

a). To express a wish
A wish is not something that happened in the past, but we need to use the past tense.
e.g.
I wish I had a car. (I do not have a car.)
He wishes he won the lottery.

In the above sentences, the past tense has nothing to do with the past time.

b). In the sentence pattern “It’s time …”
When “It’s time” followed by a clause, the past tense is used in the clause.

e.g.
It’s time we left.
It’s time we took design seriously.
It’s time you sold your old car.

Here we are not talking about what happened in the past. If I say “It’s time you sold your old car.” to you, you still have your car, and you are driving it.

c). To show politeness
Sometimes we use the past tense because we want to be polite. The past tense is more polite than the present tense.

e.g.
I wonder if you can come to dinner tonight.
I wondered if you could come to dinner tonight.
I was wondering if you could come to dinner tonight.

If you are inviting a friend, you use the first sentence. If you are inviting your boss, you probably will use the second or the third sentence. The third, the past progressive tense, is even more polite than the second.

d) In the “if” clause

We use the past tense in the “if” clause, if something is not a fact, or it’s unlikely to happen.

e.g.
If it rained tomorrow, I would not come. (I think it will rain tomorrow.)
If I got a raise, I would throw a party. (I don’t believe I will get a raise.)

When we use the simple present tense, it means that we believe it will happen.

e.g.
If it rains tomorrow, I will not come. (I don’t think it will rain tomorrow.)
If I get a raise, I will throw a party. (I think I will get a raise.)

Generally speaking, the past tense is used to express the past time, but there are special uses of the past tense. We need to pay attention to these special uses in learning English.

- Ron Lee

The present continuous tense is usually used to express something that is happening right now.
e.g.
I am listening to music.
He is smoking now.
However, the present continuous tense is frequently used to express the future.
e.g.
I am cleaning my house this weekend.
I’m picking up my sister at the airport tomorrow.
I’m seeing the doctor this afternoon.

From these examples, we can see that the present continuous tense can be used to express both the present and the future. The meaning is determined by the time phrase used. If “now” or “right now” is used, it means something is happening right now; if a future time phrase is used, such as “tomorrow,” “next month,” the meaning is that something will happen or will be happening in the future. Sometimes, there is no time phrase. The time is understood in the context.

When we use “ago,” we must use the past tense. This is what your grammar teacher told you. Here are a few sentences that you might find confusing.

I have been using this computer since three years ago.

She had done her homework two hours ago.

They should have started using it years ago.

All the above sentences use perfect tense with “ago,” and they are all correct. Why? Well, the first sentence is correct because “since” is used. When we use “since,” we use the perfect tense. When we use both “since” and “ago” in a sentence, “since” is a bigger brother, and we obey the bigger brother. The second sentence is in perfect tense, but it’s past perfect. To be more accurate, “ago” cannot be used with the present perfect tense, but the past perfect tense is okay. In the third sentence, “should” is  a modal verb which has no past form. When we need to express something happened in the past, we have to use “should + perfect tense” form.

“Ago” is  used with the past tense, and above are just a few exceptions.

- Ron Lee

Expert Teacher, Sidhartha Desai, answers your questions on English and English Learning. If you would like to submit your questions for publication, Click Here. (Questions may be edited)

Question 1:

I’m an ESL learner of English. I’m a bit confused about the following questions:

The Philippines __________ in the Pacific Ocean. (are)

Her family __________ sitting outside enjoying the fresh air.( is)

Why is that?

- ESL Learner

Answer 1:

Thanks for your question and you have every reason to be confused. It is correct to say: The Philippines is and not The Philippines are.

It seems tempting and reasonable to say The Philippines are because plural nouns are usually followed by the plural form of the verb. However, when speaking of one united group, such as: The Philippines, The United States, and other country names, we use the singular form of the verb.

Some of the confusion around The Philippines comes from the fact that it is an archipelago (a group of islands). So, if someone says: The Philippine Islands are… that would be correct. However, when simply referring to the formal country name, The Philippines, it should be The Philippines is.

The same principle is true for words like: the family, everyone, the government, the country, the city, the company, and the university.

All of the above words are describing groups, but they are all followed by the singular form of the verb because they represent one unified group.

- Sidhartha Desai, www.ExpertEnglishTeacher.com

Question 2:

According to my information, the word since comes with past simple. But, I found some sentences saying: It’s been a while since I have seen you? Can you explain this to me? Thank you.

- Osama, Lybia

Answer 2:

In American English the word since is commonly used with the perfect tenses. So, it is correct to say: It’s been a while since I have seen you.

In British English since is commonly used with present and past tenses. So, it is correct to say: It’s a long time since I saw you.

For more information on the different tenses in English, Click Here to read one of my previous blog entries.

- Sidhartha Desai, www.ExpertEnglishTeacher.com