Emarebe
Verbal tenses Hi! I have a problem with verbs in this sentence: "My favourite room is my bedroom because I can do everything I want there, like listen to music or chat with my friends" Are "listen" and "chat" correct? Should I use the -ing form of the verb instead? Thanks a lot for your help
May 25, 2015 8:35 PM
Answers · 7
1
Here's an answer for you from Europe - a third continent! Your answer from Australia says you have to say 'listening', and your answer from the US says you have to use 'listen'. I think you can use either form. If you use the gerund, you're treating the verbs as nouns, as examples of the 'things' that you can do. If you use the base form (listen), you are referring back to what you can do: you can listen or you can chat. Either form is correct.
May 25, 2015
1
It's okay to use the present simple tense in this sentence, because you're talking about things you can ALWAYS do there. Consider this alternative: "I like to go to my grandmother's house, because I can eat whatever I want there and stay up late." In this case, the gerund (-ing) form wouldn't work, would it? When we talk about things that are always true, we generally use the present simple form of the verb.
May 25, 2015
You need to say "listening" and "chatting" since you need to you're using the verbs as nouns (ie. as gerunds). Otherwise it's fine.
May 25, 2015
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