| Unanswerable posts? | How do you find 'relevant' old threads? |
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#16 (permalink) Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:32 am Why do your posts disappear after they are answered? |
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. I might as well weigh in here, as it is an interesting question. It's not easy, and I really cannot take sides, since I am of two minds myself (or maybe, each mind could take a side).
What I think is that simple present sentences #9 and #10 do sound quite odd and out-of-place when written out in sequence as they are, but that within a weather reporter's monologue, they would be natural options to the will- future. A lot depends on the context-- 'of course' suggests that the weather has been consistent and expected, and yay! for simple present; on the other hand, the first sentence ('things will improve') indicates a change in the weather, and yay! for will- (or going to-) future.
I haven't seen the original test, but if the student is tested on those verb forms, woe is s/he. . _________________ Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's |
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Mister Micawber Language Coach

Joined: 17 Jul 2005 Posts: 7438 Location: Yokohama, Japan
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#17 (permalink) Sun Nov 12, 2006 8:55 am Why do your posts disappear after they are answered? |
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Hi,
For the record our testee doesn't have to feel too woebegone because they have a choice of words rather than a choice of tenses.
A _________________ English as a Second Language You can read my ESL story Good Bye Summer |
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Alan Co-founder

Joined: 27 Sep 2003 Posts: 9209 Location: UK
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#18 (permalink) Sun Nov 12, 2006 9:58 am Why do your posts disappear after they are answered? |
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Hi,
One last effort:
Tomorrow it will rain, of that I can be sure, but never mind the sun comes out at the end of the day and so all is not lost, the birds sing and window cleaners get on with their work and everyone knows that all these things follow although the sentence starts with a future verb form. Believe me.
A _________________ English as a Foreign Language You can read my EFL story Adverbs |
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Alan Co-founder

Joined: 27 Sep 2003 Posts: 9209 Location: UK
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Tamara I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 25 May 2006 Posts: 1577 Location: UK
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#20 (permalink) Sun Nov 12, 2006 10:52 am Why do your posts disappear after they are answered? |
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Hi Alan
Yes, I know and use the simple present like that, too. It's just that the test sentence doesn't work for me at all in the context that's given.
But, ultimately the reason this whole conversation got started was the fact that a test taker asked a question specifically about the word "disappears" and the question was deleted. I hope he or she has now found all the explanations for using "will disappear" vs. "disappears". 
Amy |
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Yankee I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 16 Apr 2006 Posts: 8265 Location: USA
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#21 (permalink) Sun Nov 12, 2006 11:06 am Why do your posts disappear after they are answered? |
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| Tamara wrote: |
I’m aware that the American-style forecast is normally done with the Future tense, whereas some British forecasts also allow using the Present one(s)... but, even more simply, to me, soon appeals to will, except for the cases of those special narratives that are done – entirely - in the Present tense. |
Hi Tamara
That's not true. You will also hear all kinds of different tenses in an American weather forecast when the meteorologist refers to the upcoming weather -- including the simple present, the present continous, the 'be going to' future, the 'will' future, even the future continuous.
I'm just extremely uncomfortable with what I see as a lack of contextual justification for using the simple present tense in the test question. And, I have to admit, the fact that the sentence appears in an elementary level test also irritates me.
Fortunately, the sentence in question tests vocabulary rather than tense. 
Amy |
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Yankee I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 16 Apr 2006 Posts: 8265 Location: USA
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#22 (permalink) Sun Nov 12, 2006 17:48 pm Outside window cleaners |
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| Alan wrote: |
| (...) window cleaners get on with their work (...) Believe me. |
I believe you (believe me!), but I wish someone had told me straight away about outside window cleaners in England when I first went to live there. Imagine my surprise (or was it fright? – I can’t remember) one day when a shadow suddenly appeared at the bathroom window on the first floor (by British standards)! Thank goodness it was a frosted glass window! |
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Conchita Language Coach

Joined: 26 Dec 2005 Posts: 2826 Location: Madrid, Spain
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| Unanswerable posts? | How do you find 'relevant' old threads? |