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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > help me out, please :)
help me out, please :)
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MartaZ
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help me out, please :)
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Hi guys, I �m a little confused and I thought the forum is the best place to ask :)
How would you complete the gap in the following sentence?
�Sorry I haven �t fixed the plug. I _________ (mean) to get round to it, but I just haven �t found the time. �
According to the key, it should be �I was meaning �. Is present perfect wrong here? If so, why?
Thanks in advance!
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1 Mar 2013
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yanogator
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Both "I meant to" and "I was meaning to" are correct and commonly used. The difference between the simple past and the past continuous is the emphasis. The simple past is for an action at a single time in the past. It is a simple statement that at a time before now, I had the intention of doing that. The past continuous emphasizes that the intention occurred over a period of time. Using "I was meaning to" tries to elicit a little sympathy from the person who has been disappointed.
I hope this helps you. Our tenses can be very confusing.
Bruce |
1 Mar 2013
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MartaZ
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Thanks a lot, Bruce! Now tell me, is �I �ve been meaning to but ... � wrong? If yes, why? |
1 Mar 2013
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dany.Tunisia 123
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i think the right answer is "i meant to", which means i really had the intention to fix it but didn �t find time and haven �t found the time until now to do it ! |
1 Mar 2013
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yanogator
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I didn �t even think of "I �ve been meaning to, but...". It is also correct, and maybe even the most commonly used of the three options.
Bruce |
1 Mar 2013
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