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ESL forum >
Ask for help > Never
Never

ayda louhichi
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Never
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one of my students noticed in a paragraph this sentence " she never saves money" and he asked me why the verb "to save" is not put in the present perfect since we have "never" which is a signal word for the present perfcet. What may I answer?
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12 Nov 2009
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i_love_english
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In this particular sentence, she �s not talking about an experience she may or may not have had in the past or talking about her experience so far as regards money. In this sentence, she �s talking in the present tense about her habits regarding money management in general.
Hope that helps
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12 Nov 2009
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lizsantiago
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never is not a signal of the perfect tense have or has plus the verb is. |
12 Nov 2009
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ayda louhichi
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To Lizsantiago: "Never" is a word signal of the present perfect, the same as the words "already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now, recently,lately and many others..
To I love English: Thanks a bunch, it helps a lot. this is what I was trying to find out
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12 Nov 2009
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Zora
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Btw - "never" is also used with the Present Tense. It is not exclusive to the Perfect tenses.
i.e. : She never goes swimming on Tuesday.
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12 Nov 2009
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zailda
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In this case the verb is used to describe habits: She �s always broke. She never saves money.
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12 Nov 2009
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mazil
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in this example the speaker is talking about an habitual action. |
12 Nov 2009
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