Al salam Aleaikum,
As I promised you I am trying to improve my English, so I am receiving a weekly newsletter through BBC LEARNING ENGLISH.
last week they sent me a report about the ICE FESTIVAL in China, and I came across this sentence:"BUT THIS YEAR, THERE ARE FEARS THAT ICE WILL HAVE MELTED LONG BEFORE THEN".
the question is: what do we call this kind of tense?, and why didn't they use :" would be melted ...."?
one more thing, I would like to know if i can keep asking these kinds of questions to you Mr. tony, I mean is it OK to you or not?
thank you for you help,
KHAWLA
Dear Khawla
Second question first, this is a great way to use the weblog and I am DELIGHTED that you have signed up for the BBC email and asked this question.
As Firas has kindly said in his comment, this tense is the Future Perfect. Do you have this in Arabic? It refers to a time in the future when we 'look back' to what will have happened. It is the same concept as the Present Perfect looking back to what has happened.
Usually we use the preposition by to indicate the limit of the future moment, such as in:
By January 2009, G W Bush will have been US President for eight years.
So put yourself in the future and imagine what has happened and then you will have understood the Future Perfect.
I echo Firas' advice to refer to Raymond Murphy's classic grammar study/reference book English Grammar In Use. You cannot go wrong with using this self study / practice book + CD ROM.
Carry on reading, studying, asking questions and improving!
Excellent work and initiative, young lady!
Tony
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9 comments:
IELTS classmate (Khawla),
Iam sure that Mr. Tony will suffice your question, but allow me to gather my opinion with our “Captain” advice. If you had the book: English Grammar In Use – Third Edition for Raymond Murphy – chapter number 24, you would know that this tense is called “future perfect tense”. The future perfect tense is used to say that something will already be completed BEFORE A TIME IN THE FUTURE. I quote from the book the following examples:
1- Sally always leaves for work at 8.30 in the morning. She will not be at home at 9 o’clock- she will have gone to work.
2- We are late. The film will already have started by the time we get to the cinema.
From the above examples, it is depicted that when we talk about something (event) that might occur in the future, we should utilize the future perfect tense (will have done) to talk about an event before that.
The book is available in (All Prints) near the B.C and I have already advised Ahmed to purchase it. You can use it for perfect (speaking and writing).
All the best,
Good morning all,
I would like to thank you Mr. Tony for your help, I do appreciated really, and I will (Carry on reading, studying, asking questions and improving!) God willing.
For my IELTS colleague, thank you very much for clear explanation and regarding the book you mentioned I have the second edition with answers and it is really an excellent source of grammar knowledge.
Now, I would like to share with you a new word I get it through BBC website, it is: NUMPTY. (Please do not tell me you come across this word), any way even if you know it I have to share it with you.
It is an adj, the noun is: NUMPTIMESS (used especially for politicians).
And it can come as plural (not so often): NUMPTIES.
Thank you,
Next time new information.
khawla.
hello again,
this word has two uses:
* gentel use= silly billy, or novice
* stronger use = idiot, or prat.
thank you.
Hello Khawla,
Thank you for the words sharing. As I told Mr. Tony before that this “Blog” is a great source English vocabulary. You were right! The word “numpty” has not crossed my vocabulary knowledge before. I have looked over it through Cambridge dictionary – Iam certainly confident that you have the same source – but, have not found it. This makes me think that it is (English slang) rather being a (formal English). The question here: what is your source (dictionary/book or any other source) for finding such words’ meaning?
Captain Tony: what do you think?
Note: I have not mentioned that Iam an English expert. The reason behind my advice to use “English Grammar in use” that it was dedicated to me two years ago from an English teacher and I have found that it can intensively help its users (intermediate English learners) to avoid grammar mistakes during their sentences build up while talking and writing. As for you, I do not think that you would have a problem this time to get band 7.
Standing by for new information,
Thanks and regards.
Hello again,
Pleas I do not like to be misunderstood by any one even though it happens sometimes. What I meant that I have the book is :( I should have checked the word before asking which I did not do), we are all learning and will remain students forever since informations are updated regularly.
Now for my source of this word, it is BBC LEARNING ENGLISH. I searched in the dictionary as you said before and could not find it.
Regards.
Brothers and sisters - some debate and communication at last!
Khawla, my dear, please don't think you were casting yourself as an 'expert'. Firas and I admire your initiative!
As for 'numpty' and 'numptiness' it a slang word and very much a 2007 new word - hence, no dictionary reference and it was a new word totally for me as well!
My daughter Dana used it, jokingly when Zeena was over last month. Zeena's teachers have used this word, rather disparagingly, when telling off pupils at the British School. It is very, very informal and shows how careful you must be in using such slang terms.
My guess is that it is some kind of Cockney rhyming slang for "Humpty Dumpty" from the children's nursery rhyme - i.e. a fat, silly person who sits on a wall and falls to pieces...
You could use more neutral words such as:
silly billy
twerp
twit
nit
ninny
nincompoop
nitwit
clot
fool
idiot (!)
imbecile (!)
cretin (!)
Take your pick! Again it depends on the context and are you being playful and teasing or cruel and insulting? Be careful, very careful! Words can pack a very hefty punch!
Old bloggers - great work!
New bloggers - where are you? It's your loss...
BFN
Captain Tony
Salam to you all,
Thank you Mr. Tony and brother Firas for your comments and your admiration.
I was pretty sure that the word is a slang word, and you are quite right that we have to be careful when using such word.
I am working now with an Australian diabetic educator who is using many informal words and I think she would be very pleased to hear such word because she wanted me to learn some of their street language instead of dictionary words.
Regards.
Captain Tony and Khawla,
Thank you for keeping me open the “Weblog” everyday. As I said before, this “Blog” is a great source to know new words and learn advices that help us to deal with the English language. I think if I had the time before, I would have been an English academician (Ph.D) holder.
I remember that many people – especially who studied abroad – do not know anything about “future perfect tense” or how to use it and when. I do remember when I started using this tense in the work (correspondence letters), my project manager used to delete the sentences contained this tense although his civil engineering degree was from the United states claiming that it is unusual phrases. I think when we go through the book (English grammar in use) we will discover many phrases that we used to say/write them wrongly and we will discover many things interested also.
Captain Tony, thank you for your help to assess my friend’s essay.
Thank you Khawla for your work.
Standing by for new information/ essay.
Hello again!
Here is my latest take on the derivations of "You, numpty!"
My current house guest from UK, a very pleasant young man called David, says the word came from a children's TV programme and it is used in a playful sense when talking to children or teasing someone!
Another form could be "You, silly sausage!"
So remember that "numpty' is an affectionate or kind way to criticise someone. The word "prat" is very, very offensive and crude (that would be a "red card" foul use of language!)
Definitely, try to use these colourful, idiomatic expressions, but be careful not to 'cross the line' (a line that is invisible and that Native Speakers instinctively know WHERE it is and adapt their language to WHO they are speaking to and WHAT is the context.)
Good luck!
Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
BFN
Tony
Apart from Khawla, Firas, Ahmed and Maha you all seem to have gone into winter hibernation mode! Come out and smell the fresh air!
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