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ACT English 3.5 Grammar and Usage 325 Views


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ACT English: Grammar and Usage Drill 3, Problem 5. Which choice uses the correct tenses for this sentence?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:03

Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the future tense. We'd be less tense about

00:08

the future if we knew whether the "flying cars" thing was really happening.

00:12

How would you correct the following sentence, if it needs correcting at all?

00:15

By the time I will go to South Dakota next year, I will visit 27 states.

00:25

OK, the phrase "by the time" actually requires the present tense even though the thing it's

00:30

talking about is happening in the future.

00:32

This is because by next year, the trip will be happening in the present. Mind-bending

00:38

stuff, we know.

00:39

This makes both (A) and (D) incorrect, because they each try to use the future tense too

00:43

soon in the sentence.

00:45

Both (B) and (C) get it right by using the present tense in the first part of the sentence,

00:49

so we'll have to look to the second part to decide between them.

00:52

All right, looks like we're going to need to use the future perfect tense here.

00:56

See, achieving the momentous landmark of visiting 27 states occurs between now and the South Dakota trip.

01:03

Since we're talking about something that has finished occurring by a specified point in

01:07

the future, the future perfect tense is the way to go.

01:10

Therefore we can ditch (B) and go with (C), because the presence of the helping verb "have"

01:16

places (C) securely in the future perfect tense.

01:19

Let's see...things to see in South Dakota... Mount Rushmore...aaaand...uh...Mount Rushmore...

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