essay tense please help?
955649
If the book is a fictional story, you should decide if the story is about events in the past or in the present, and use the corresponding tense.  With history, even history immediately past, the past tense is most appropriate.  But Maria is right about Harry Potter - you can treat stories like this as though they're taking place as the reader reads.
823477
I think this might help you with your essay.\n\nhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/
1098557
Both sentences are quite OK as they stand.  Changing the tenses - as some answerers have suggested - would also subtly change the meanings.\n\nE.g.\nElsie disagreed with the group and resigned.  (She did both these things yesterday or last week).\nElsie disagreed with the group and has resigned.  (She disagreed with them yesterday and has just resigned very recently as a result).\n\nSharon has set her cap over her eyes and (has) laid a towel over her legs to protect herself from the sun.  (The 'has' in brackets is understood - this is called ellipsis.  This sentence suggests that you are sitting next to her and telling someone - perhaps by phone - what she has just done.)\n\nSharon set ... (The change of tense suggests that she did both things yesterday or last week etc.  This is a more 'usual or bland' meaning).\n\nTo lay a towel over your legs - or any other part of your body - is perfectly grammatical (past tense = laid a towel ...) whatever anyone else says.
1006994
I don't really understand your question.  Do you mean from past tense to present or from a simple sentence to a complex one or what?  Please add details.
432522
for starters, a few corrections...\n"i have worked there for four years" is poor grammar.\ninstead, it should be "i worked there for four years."\nand that's past tense... not present tense, and certainly not present perfect.\n\npresent perfect - action happened at an unspecified time before now... the exact time is not important.\nexamples:\n\ni have been to the mall.\nhe has never been on an airplane.\nmy math scores have improved since i started studying.\nman has walked on the moon.\nit hasn't stopped raining yet.\nshe has discussed her problem with many people.\n\npresent perfect continuous - something started in the past and continues up to now.\nexamples:\n\ni have been waiting for twenty minutes.\nshe has been working there since july.\nhe has been feeling depressed lately.\ni have had my car for two years.\nlately, i have been doing all of the work.
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.
1073556
Copy and paste your essay to me and I will check it, explain any mistakes and give you the correct tense.
1005770
hi..\n\nmight this link v'll help u\n\nhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/one.htm
409943
If this is a true evaluation, you have to talk about the subject being evaluated, which happens to your group. You could keep saying "the group" over and over, but that will get pretty lame after a while. I would reccomend that you just go with it, use "we." After all, you are part of the group. I don't think your teacher/prof will mind. As for past tense, that really only applies to discussing literature. You should be ok with talking in past tense about things that are done and over with.
189933
Show a paragraph or sentence that has improper grammar and incorrect punctuation and have the students rewrite the paragraph or sentence with the proper grammar and punctuation.\n\nExample:\nPractice Sentences\n1. They be the best drawings I ever seen.\n2. Our bus arrived in miami at 320p.m., and we was very tired.\n3. Wow The beaches in Cancun are nice.\n\nAnswers:\n1. They are the best drawings I have ever seen.\n2. Our bus arrived in Miami at 3:20 p.m., and we were very tired.\n3. Wow! The beaches in Cancun are gorgeous.
500303
Use a verb in past tense (hacer - mandar - pedir and such verbs that denote you asked for something or you ordered something) and the main verb in infinitive.\n\nFor example:\n\nI have the car fixed: [Yo] hice arreglar el auto\n\nThey have the house cleaned: Ellos mandaron limpiar la casa
640980
Both sentences are grammatically correct when examined alone.\n\nThe first is talking about a situation in the present.  You would use this expression when you give a gift to someone.\n\nThe second is talking about a future situation.  You would use this expression when you were talking about a movie that the other person plans to see in the future.
493595
Um.. the tenses are kinda of.. i think if you sed \nJuntos cocinamos la cena, vamos de compras y al cine.. that might b better..
943190
Number one problem right off the bat: you are shifting tenses. You dashed and you waited, as in past tense. Then your sister "comes" to you in present tense. Make it all the same.\n\n(dashed out of the gate)...why were you in such a hurry? (I dashed out of the gate, nearly dropping my books, and hoped I would make it to the sidewalk in time. If I was late, my sister would bail, and I'd end up walking home alone) or something like that.\n\nGet rid of the (I waited for ten minutes) that's like saying, "nothing happened for ten minutes". Use that time to explain who Michelle is. (I hit the sidewalk at precisely 3:02, gasping for breath and flushed in my face -- but at least I was there. My older sister, Michelle, was just coming down in the street. Her school was three blocks away, which was the only reason I got to meet her at this spot.) \n\nget rid of (as minutes passed by) again, that's saying, as nothing happened for a while. (we made our usual trek back home, through the park, down the alley by the post office, and onto Beale Street.) Use every line to give your reader more information.\n\n(a big black dog with cherry beady eyes staring back at us.) overall, not bad. but where is this dog? is it behind a fence. right in front of you? how close? do you have time to run away?\n(a big black dog with cherry beady eyes had come onto Beale Street, right onto the street where we were walking, and was standing right in front of us. he growled and started edging closer.)\n\ndetails add to the picture, make it easier for people to see.\n\n(we both stopped quickly when I asked my sister..) too much going on in that sentence. break it up. (we both stopped abruptly, staring back at the dog. he was directly in our path, and behind us was nothing but brick. I whispered to Michelle, "what do we do now? he's blocking our only way in.")\n\n(Michelle paused to think, careful not to make any sudden noises. We reached for each other's arms, and slowly huddled together. "What if we go to Claire's house?" Michelle offered. It's not too far away. I think we could make it.")\n\nagain, get rid of the (we ran for about three minutes). not very descriptive. (we ran fast as lightning, swerving our way down Beale Street, the buildings around us nothing but a blur. we could hear the dog running behind us, barking and snapping. I'd never seen Michelle run so fast.)\n\nand lastly, change (we just sat there and hung out) try something like (we made it to Claire's house safely, and we bombarded her door with frightful poundings. Claire let us in and listened to our story, which we must have told her a dozen times over. We were so scared we didn't want to walk back home. So we spent an hour on Claire's couch, retelling the horror of the vicious dog of Beale Street, until our dad came and fetched us at 5:00)\n\nhow's that?
647749
The first one is correct.\n\nThe second would be correct if you changed the is to has.\n\nHTH
471440
Since it is not proper to use first or second tense in an essay, you could say "the author."  Be sure to back up your opinions with facts or research.
1182438
This is fine as it is. The few grammatical mistakes that there are just aren't worth correcting.\nGood job, and good luck on your speech!