Past tense --> Present?
476633
In addition, being stuck on the island shows Ralph's traits that are not desired in a leader.\n\nnice copying skills below
949793
Isn't he still Governor and didn't he also get reelected?  You speak in a past tense.
401701
It is past tense, you are maybe thinking that 'to go' implies current and active, this is true but the context of the rest of the sentance gives you the tense... 'They let us...', 'They did not let...', 'I let him go' etc (All past tense)\n\nLet without a modifier like 'will' or 'am/are' is past tense 'They will let us go'(future), 'They are letting us go'(present).\n\nThat's a good point!... Is the question mark meant to be inside the quotes? if so that makes it a question (not great grammar tho') probably should read 'They have let us go?'
57292
The past tense is a verb tense expressing action, activity, state or being in the past.\n\nIn English, there are two distinct types of past tense:\n\n   1. Present perfect (see perfect tense)\n   2. Preterite (or simple past)\n\nEach of these may also be found in the progressive (continuous) aspect.\n\n-----------------------------\n\nThe English continuous\n\n\nFormation\n\nThe continuous aspect is expressed with a regularly conjugated form of to be, together with the present participle of the main verb. For example, in the sentence "I was going to the store," the verb phrase was going is in the past continuous tense - that is, in the continuous aspect and the past tense.\n\nThe continuous aspect can be applied with any mood, voice, and tense, and in combination or not with the perfect aspect, although for obvious semantic reasons, some combinations are less common than others. Some examples of the continuous aspect include:\n\n    * We had been talking for hours. (indicative mood, active voice, past tense, perfect continuous aspect)\n    * If you're not going to be working on it the whole time, … (indicative mood, active voice, present tense, continuous aspect)\n    * … then I recommend you at least be working on it when the teacher gets back. (present subjunctive mood, active voice, continuous aspect)\n    * I wish I were being given more interesting tasks. (past subjunctive mood, passive voice, continuous aspect)\n\n[edit]\n\nUse\n\nThe continuous is generally used with actions that are actively on-going at the time in question, and does not focus on the larger time-scale. For example, the sentence "John was playing tennis when Jane called him" indicates what John was in the middle of doing when Jane called him, but does not indicate for how long John played, nor how often he plays; for that, the simple past would be used: "John played tennis three hours every day for several years."\n\nThe perfect continuous (have been doing), as a special case, implies that the action being described was interrupted at the time in question, and does not clarify whether the action resumed. For example, "John had been playing tennis when Jane called him" suggests that Jane's calling him interrupted his tennis-playing (whereas in the former example, it was possible that he simply ignored her call), and leaves open the possibility that what she told him required such urgent action that he forfeited his match and left.\n\nIn the present tense, the continuous aspect can be used to describe actions that have not begun yet; and in any tense, a similar effect can be achieved with the auxiliary "go" in its continuous aspect. An example of the former is "I'm taking three classes next semester"; of the latter, "I was going to do it if I had time, and then I didn't have time." In this use, this construction has a temporal (tense-like) quality in additional to its usual aspectual one.\n[edit]\n\nThe continuous in other languages\n\nWhile, as noted above, the term continuous is originally specific to English grammar, it can be extended to other languages that have similar constructions.\n[edit]\n\nFrench\n\nFrench does not have a continuous aspect per se; events that English would describe using its continuous aspect, French would describe using a neutral aspect. That being said, French can express a continuous sense using the periphrastic construction être en train de ("to be in the middle of"); for example, English's "we were eating" might be expressed in French either as nous étions en train de manger, or as simply nous mangions.\n[edit]\n\nJèrriais\n\nJèrriais constructs the continuous with verb êt' (be) + à (preposition) + infinitive. For example, j'têmes à mangi translates as we were eating.\n[edit]\n\nSpanish\n\nIn Spanish, the continuous is constructed much as in English, using a regularly conjugated form of the verb
142807
You should live in the present, the now.  \nIf you are living in the past, then you cannot see your future.\nIf you are living in the future, then you are unable to enjoy your present.
318657
depends on how you use it....\n\nI was lying down.\nHe is laying down.\n\nOne is past tense the other is present tense.
578410
"sang" is the past tense of "to sing"\n"sung" is the past participle.  that means you only use 'sung' when it's preceded by 'has' or 'have' or 'had'.\n\ne.g.\n\nShe sang wonderfully tonight.\nShe has sung better in the past.
271747
Present:\nI am\nyou are\nhe/she/it is\nwe are\nyou all/they are\n\nPast:\nI was\nyou were\nhe/she/it was\nwe were\nyou all/they were\n\nFuture:\nI will be\nyou will be\nhe/she/it will be\nwe will be\nyou all/they will be\n\nPresent Perfect:\nI have been\nyou have been\nhe/she/it has been\nwe have been\nyou all/they have been\n\nPast Perfect:\nI had been\nyou had been\nhe/she/it had been\nwe had been\nyou all/they had been\n\nFuture Perfect:\nI will have been\nyou will have been\nhe/she/it will have been\nwe will have been\nyou all/they will have been
943124
its very important you understand the difference between "has had" and "have had".  its confusing, but if you dont learn the difference, you'll probably struggle on other little things, and end up never really being fluent.  \n\n"have had" is a past-tense possession term.\n"has had" is a present-tense possession term.\n\n"he has had to go up and down these stairs 9 times today!"\n\n"at the end of the day he will have had 9 chances to drop this package off"\n\n"how many ice cream cones have you had today?"\n "i will have had 3 ice cream cones today."\n\n(often times one will be eating the 3rd ice cream cone while they say it this way.  otherwise, if you had already had 3 ice cream cones that day, and werent already eating another one, you'd say "i had 3 ice cream cones"  but you can say it either way. )\n\n"i have had many chances in my life to do whatever i want"\n\n"look at all the toys you have had!"
571841
Cute question.  I'm almost tempted not to try and answer but only agree that you are right, it is just a wrong form of speech.  The truth is, though, we hear it, and it does make sense.  I think it makes sense when the "now" is used not as a reference in time but a reference in a sequence of arguments or acts, a reference in space if you want.  You'll present arguments, and before your conclusion, derived from those arguments, you'll say "now then."  Or you'll do some things like prepare various steps in a recipe, then before you move on, you say "now then."  Is this just more obtuse?
820411
the sentence doesn't make sense...It has to be: My dog, Spot, lives for five years and then........-----or My dog, Spot, lived for 5 years..---the problem with the sentence is with it's tense...you can't live for 5 years in the current tense.
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The present tense is used for things that are either 1. regular habits or 2. always true.  For example: I wake up at 8am everyday.   The earth is round.  \n\nThe past tense is used to answer things that happened in a known or specific time.  For example: I went to the movies last week.  \n\nHowever, the question you are asking seems to be part of a poem or lyric.  Without further context, it would be impossible to ascertain who the people are or what they are doing.
1015996
Gone skiing.  In the present tense, it would be Let's go skiing.  To ski is a verb, not a noun.
469519
Simple Present\nSimple Past\nFuture\n\nYou can find more info online at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/esltensverb.html#presperf
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Was and Were are both passe tense\nwas is a singlar past tense and were is a more piural\n\n-she was here - refers to one \n-they where here - refers to more than one \n\nis and are can be use differently\nin present tense\n\n-Is she doing her homework-refers to one \n-Are they doing their homework-refers to more than one
46560
Were is past tense.  There currently are inequalities in America.  Location, background, religion, money issues and even language can be dividing issues.
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*****\nCongratulations, buck up, and continue with your research.  You are really a crazyboy having put up such an intelligent question, challenging the intellect of linguistics. When there is no such vast difference in 'was' and 'used to be' why such a long route to communicate a view. Every body can understand the same meaning, conveyed through any one of the said verbs, that the girl is not at present a Girl-scout but was in the past only.\n\nSimilarly, it may be either 'my mother would take' or 'my mother used to take' both can well be understood in the same sense as the speaker intends to convey.\n\nContinue with your rearch.