English Exam

Quick Quiz...

1. Which of the following sentences is correct?  And why?
a) We were going to paint the house, but Carlos was sick.
b) We would have painted the house, but Carlos was sick.
c) Both
d) Neither

2. Please explain why different tenses (present perfect versus present perfect continuous) are used in the bolded sections of the following sentences:
a) Since 2000, I have been traveling on my own.
b) Since they met, they have become better friends.



For the past few weeks I have been tutoring one of Carlos's nieces in English.  Last year she was in the regular English class, but now has moved up to the advanced class and is thus a bit behind.  So I have been helping her out.  For about an hour and a half once a week, I review with her both what she has learned in class and what she has missed.  Unfortunately, the majority of her problems are with grammar and it turns out that I sometimes, um, don't know the answer.  I mean, I know what sounds right, but I can't explain why it is correct.

I understand that speaking English does not qualify one to teach the language, but I figured since I spent most of this past year learning Spanish I could just emulate my teacher.  So we just have conversations repeating one or two grammar points and I answer any specific questions that she has.

So you now probably understand the point of the quiz - I need answers for next week :)