 Sun Feb 19, 2006 10:56 am Got |
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Hi Emad,
You want to know why the missing verb appears as an apparent past tense in:
| Quote: | 1)It is about time we -GOT-----the answer .
a) got b)get c)getting
2)It is high time I-----GOT---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
This construction is described as the subjunctive and in English it is not possible in most verbs to distinguish between past simple (indicative) and past simple (subjunctive) In both of your sentences the verb got is past subjunctive and in effect means: we should get and I should get.
I would like to refer you to a piece I've written on the subjunctive, which may help. You'll find it in the index under the heading Subjunctive.
Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Phrasal Verbs/look |
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Alan
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Joined: 27 Sep 2003
Posts: 6907
Location: UK
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