about the tense

[NIN]

Hello, teachers:
If someone talked about what he did like
"Today my dad and I go to the shopping mall."
It should be changed into "Today my dad and I went to the shopping mall .", shouldn't it ?
Thanks for your confirmation.

[Marius Hancu]

"Today my dad and I go to the shopping mall." [future time

"Today my dad and I went to the shopping mall." [past time

[OddThomas]

Yes, your point is correct.

[morpho]

Isn't it more correct,saying "My father and I are going to the mall" when we mean future event?

[NIN]

Thanks for your confirmation.
however, I am not very clear.
"Today my dad and I go to the shopping mall." [future


Since it 's future tense, I wonder why native speakers use the present tense.
I remember that I was taught that I can use present tense to experess something will happen in the future rather than present tense.
May I have your clarification?
Thanks a lot!

[Marius Hancu]

There are many correct ways of expressing the future time and the use of the simple present tense is just one of them. This is covered in any good grammar book. The reasons for it are hidden in the long history of the English language. I wouldn't venture to say why. Perhaps because the present is leading to the future:-)

[OddThomas]

Marius is right that English, like all Germanic languages, has no simple future tense. Future is always formed from the present tense.

Sometimes future is just the present tense with an adverbial to point into the future.Today my dad and I go to the shopping mall.
Sometimes future requires an auxiliary such as the verb be that makes the verb into the present progressive aspect.Today my dad and I are going to the shopping mall.
And sometimes future requires the traditional auxiliaries will or shall.Today my dad and I will go to the shopping mall.
Many other ways of writing about the future are possible, yet they always require a present tense form of the verb.

[NIN]

Thanks for your clarification.


Today my dad and I will go to the shopping mall.Today my dad and I are going to the shopping mall.


Today my dad and I go to the shopping mall.


Since they all impliy the future tense, I am wondewring if there are difference between the sentences to native speakers' ears.
Could you let me know the difference?
Thanks for your help!

[OddThomas]

This web site has a good discussion of verb tenses. You can look here for future: http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/simplefuture.html
and here for present tense (it has a short discussion on events in the near future):http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/simplepresent.html
These two places should tell you most of what you need to know.

[Rusty]

Quote:Today my dad and I will go to the shopping mall.Quote:
Today my dad and I are going to the shopping mall.
Quote:
Today my dad and I go to the shopping mall.

Since they all impliy the future tense, I am wondewring if there are difference between the sentences to native speakers' ears.
Could you let me know the difference?
Thanks for your help!

Hi NIN. I have "a native speaker's ears." Here is how I would understand the meaning of these sentences.
"Today my dad and I will go to the shopping mall." It's a fact. It's all settled.

"Today my dad and I are going to the shopping mall." That's our plan.

"Today my dad and I go to the shopping mall." Here is a list of things we are going to do this week: Today we go to the mall. Tomorrow we go to the library. Day Three we visit the museum. Day Four we take the city tour and Day Five we catch our plane.

[Marius Hancu]

"Today my dad and I will go to the shopping mall." It's a fact. It's all settled.

"Today my dad and I are going to the shopping mall." That's our plan.

Could you separate "settled" and "plan" for me, Rusty?

[Eddie88]

Rusty is correct. Oh, how lucky we are being natives.

[Rusty]

Could you separate "settled" and "plan" for me, Rusty?
It's all settled = there is no longer any question or discussion about the outcome.
We have a plan = that is our intention, but things might change.

[Marius Hancu]

OK, thanks for clarifying your meaning.

[alexxis]

hey NIN,

if i understand that right ur original question was not about future tense but rather about past tense. If so, i guess the sentence would look better as follows:

That day (instead of today) me and my dad went to the shopping mall.

if u r refering to the past u have to change the adverb of time as well as the verb.

i hope i am not mistaking, but this is how i remember it from school.

otherwise all the above given grammar tips about the future tense r correct.

hope this helps..;)

[Rusty]

hey NIN,

if i understand that right ur original question was not about future tense but rather about past tense. If so, i guess the sentence would look better as follows:

That day (instead of today) me and my dad went to the shopping mall.

if u r refering to the past u have to change the adverb of time as well as the verb.

i hope i am not mistaking, but this is how i remember it from school.

otherwise all the above given grammar tips about the future tense r correct.

hope this helps..;)
Here is NIN's original question:
Hello, teachers:
If someone talked about what he did like
"Today my dad and I go to the shopping mall."
It should be changed into "Today my dad and I went to the shopping mall .", shouldn't it ?
Thanks for your confirmation
"Today my dad and I went to the shopping mall" is correct if he is speaking later on the same day.
That day (instead of today) me and my dad went to the shopping mall.
"That day" is OK if he is talking about a day that he has already mentioned in the past. Both speaker and listener have to know which day he is referring to.
"...me and my dad" should be "my dad and I' as this is the subject of "went."

[OddThomas]

Yes, the question was about the past, which we answered, but the question led to a discussion about the future that was much more fun. Thanks for jumping in, alexxis. :)