Which sentence is right? I was asked by my boss to do something creative with their paper bags that we use when packing goods for customers. I keep thinking how should I say this one sentence to my boss when I'll be explaining my idea: - I wanted to paint those bags, but it would take me ages to do so, so I used graffiti spray. OR - I wanted to paint those bags, but it would have taken me ages..... I know I'm talking about the PAST, but I'm not sure if I should use 'would' or 'would have'. I researched the web in order to find some explanation but nothing helpful came up. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Past Pefrect vs. other tenses Can someone please explain it to me in an easiest way possible? I can't seem to understand it fully... Let's say I'm leaving my workplace and I want to say something to my fellow co-workers before I leave. Should I say: - I had not known you for a long time, but I feel like I'm going to miss you! - I have not known you for a long time..... - I didn't know you for a long time... Generally I get very confused about past perfect, present perfect or past simple. No matter how many grammar books I read. Thank you in advance.

Would be OR Would have been...? I always get confused by this. Let's say someone asked me if I wanted some tea. Should I say: - Yes, that would be nice. OR - Yes, that would have been nice. Generally I know that 'would have been...' refers to the past event that didn't happen, but could have happened (am I right??) I sometimes hear it in conversations relating to present or future and that confuses me a lot. Is there a general rule or something that could help me remember? Another confusing example is actually from my work, recently my boss has asked me if I liked that combination of clothes together or some other clothes (I work in a fashion boutique) and I didn't know if I should answer her with 'The second one would be nice together' or 'The second one would have been nice together'. Any help is greatly appreciated :)

Use of tenses - Present Perfect So here I have some sentences and I'm not quite sure which one is correct... or are they both correct to use? Is there any situation in which I cannot use one of them? 1. I always wanted to become an artist OR I have always wanted to become an artist ? (I would use Present Perfect here because that will mean I still want to become an artist, while Past Simple would tell us it is a past wish, which we no longer want to happen?) 2. I live in Ireland for 5 years OR I have lived in Ireland for 5 years ? (This one got me really confused. I still live in Ireland, so how can I say that it is 5 years now since I came here?) So, can someone please explain it to me in a way that is easy to understand? I looked into my English textbooks but they got me even more confused.

FCE Cambridge Exam Hello everyone! I'm considering taking an FCE Cambridge exam. Have any of you taken that exam or are you planning to do it? I'm wondering if it would be something helpful, for example when looking for work. Teachers - would you recommend that exam? I have just bought an online course in order to prepare myself for it :) Thanks :)

E-learning Hello dear italki users, I thought I might share this with you. It is a Polish website, but it can be transferred into English, Spanish or German. Some of the courses are free, just register yourself and try. So far I'm finding it quite helpful :) The main idea is to learn words, phrasal verbs etc. by repeating them. http://www.supermemo.net.pl Just click on the flags on the right side to change language :)

Important letter - please help! Hello Italki users, recently I had to write an important letter to local Housing Authority on behalf of my dad, I would be very grateful if you could correct it for me. Here it is: '' Dear Sir/Madam, In this letter I would like to explain some of the documents I have attached to my application. We didn’t fill out the Employer/Former Employer sections because we weren’t sure if that still applies to our situation. My wife has been working through ISS Recruitment in Naas for some time, but that employment ceased. I’m enclosing a letter from this recruitment agency stating that they don’t have any job positions available for my wife at the moment. I’m also enclosing her Jobseeker’s Allowance cheque to prove that she’s not employed. As for myself, my last employer is hard to reach, therefore I’m enclosing you a copy of the letter that was given to me by that company. In that letter you will find that I was made unemployed because they no longer needed my services. Since then, I have been looking for a job, but still without a success. I’m enclosing a copy of my Jobseeker’s Benefit receipt to prove my unemployment, as well as my daughter’s receipt, who is also finding it really difficult to get a decent job. My son is still at school. I hope that you will find these documents informative enough, and if not, please don’t hesitate to contact us. As for our tenancy agreement, we pay €600 monthly, before we paid €650. I’ve provided my phone number as well as my daughter’s number just in case. Last but not least, I would like to notify you that our landlord and we applied for Rental Accommodation Scheme, but it takes too long to process it and we still have no response from the Housing Authority. The lady we spoke to at the Kildare County Council advised us to fill an application for Rent Supplement. Yours Sincerely, xxx'' note: Naas, Kildare - these are towns, so don't correct them :) Thanks in advance!

Red Hair Discrimination? Hello everyone. I've had a job interview today in one of the supermarkets in my town. I thought it was going really good, until the manager told me that my hair colour is against their policy. My hair is dyed in bright red. Yes it is bright, but not fluorescent or tomato red. The manager told me that I would have to change my hair colour in order to work at their company. What a joke! It's not like I'm coming to work with fluorescent green mohawk on my head, right? I don't understand how can my red hair insult the customers or even my fellow co-workers? I wonder what would the manager think if I showed her my tattoos... I'm really disappointed.

What will you choose? :) What would you choose - having lots of friends but no true love; or having that one true love but no friends? Personally, I think that if your friends are TRUE friends, they will respect your decision no matter what. I chose to live with my boyfriend in Ireland while all my best friends still live in Poland. We meet once a year and we still remember about each other. So, what do you think? :)