There’s a time and a place for everything

Posted by Pak Guru on March 30th, 2016 | 0 comments | EAP, grammar, IELTS, Part 3, speaking, Task 1, Task 2, tenses, writing

In the last 10 years there is an increase in aquaculture.

Context is important. Context is generally about time and place. If you want to contextualise time then you need to communicate meanings such as:

• time around now
• time up to and including now
• past and finished time
• past unfinished time
• future time related to the present
• etc.

Time context is achieved using carefully chosen verb tenses and time expressions. In the sentence above, “in the last 10 years” is a time expression that carries the meaning time up to and including now. In this case the correct tense is present perfect:

• In the last 10 years there has been an increase in aquaculture.

Create time context using verb tenses and time expressions. Make sure your verb tenses and time expressions match!