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ACT English 2.5 Grammar and Usage 427 Views


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Description:

ACT English: Grammar and Usage Drill 2, Problem 5. Which tense is correct for this sentence?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:03

Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the word "swum." It's a real word. Seriously.

00:09

We're not kidding.

00:16

What should replace the underlined words below?

00:18

He has swum for three days, and he shows no signs of stopping.

00:34

Awesome, looks like we get to have more fun with past participles.

00:37

Hey, this is how we relax.

00:40

Okay, so we have to know that the past participle of the verb "swim" is "swum."

00:49

Since both (B) and (D) use the present tense "swam" instead, we can easily cross out both choices.

00:54

Yes, sometimes in life, things are easy.

00:56

Now we're left with choices (A) and (C).

00:59

Both use "swum," so we'll have to look to other parts of the sentence.

01:03

The verb "shows" signals that the swimmer is swimming in the present, which is good

01:07

for him because swimming in the past can be dangerous.

01:09

You know, like when the seas were filled with predatory dakosauruses.

01:18

Anyway, because "shows" is in the present tense, the answer we're looking for has to

01:22

be as well.

01:23

Therefore we can eliminate choice (C) because the helping word "had" is stuck in the past.

01:28

Good luck with the dakosauruses, pal.

01:30

The original sentence gets it right, because it takes the present perfect tense with "has

01:35

swum," which makes (A) the right answer.

01:38

We're sure this guy thinks he's cool because he can swim for three days straight, but he'd

01:41

be a lot cooler if he could do so in monster-infested waters.

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