Lin liqing
questions about describing a photo if I want to describe a photo,what kind of tense should I use? Since things shown by a photo was happening in the past,should I use past tense?is"carry out violence"correct?
Oct 26, 2014 2:44 AM
Answers · 6
3
Like this in American English... 1. In this photo, a man is kicking a ball. 2. In this photo, a girl is singing a Christmas Carol. 3. In this photo, a boy is crying because his father has been shot. 4. In this photo, my mother is hugging her friend. 5. In this photo, my brother is teaching his dog how to run the agility course. Or... 1. Oh, this is a photo of when my sister and I went to Hawaii. Look here. I am handing her a rose that I had bought at a florist shop. 2. Oh, this is a photo of when my brother and I went hiking up Mount Skinner. Look here, he is handing me the trail map so he can tighten the strap on his backpack. We were in our twenties when we took this photo. ** Notice how I switched to "he is handing". When I describe what is going on in the photo, I act as though it were taking place as the time I am describing it. Also... Mary: What is that a photo of? Mark: My birthday party last year. Mary: Is that Dan? Mark: Yes. Mary: What is he doing? Mark: He is trying to hit me in the face with a cake. Mary: Hahahaha
October 26, 2014
2
If I had a picture of my friends and me at the beach last summer, I would say, "Look! This is a picture of my friends and me at the beach! We swam (past tense), ate (past tense) hot dogs, and had (past tense) a lot of fun!" As you can tell, I'm mostly talking about the "event" of going to the beach. I could also say, "In this picture, I'm swimming (present progressive) at the beach! We went last summer." or, "In this picture, I'm eating (present progressive) a hot dog!" Make sense?
October 26, 2014
2
You describe a photo in present tense, and any actions you see use the continuous tense. Eg. There's a lady in a room, and she is sitting on a chair. Simply, you describe a photo as you see it at this moment. It could be a prehistoric cave-painting, but you'd still use present tense. You only use past tense if you're talking about the events around the time the photo was taken (not about what you see in the photo itself).
October 26, 2014
Yes, "carry out violence" is possible. You can find this exact phrase in a number of English articles and blogs.
October 26, 2014
it depends on the situation u describe u may use past tense or past continous tense
October 26, 2014
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