Question

2 out of the 6 sentences below have problems with verb tenses: (inappropriate

shift, wrong tense/form, etc.) Identity Them

1 Everyone was shocked to learn that someone was able to steal the jewels.

2 Tomorrow morning I will be in Havana to gather more clues to solve this crime.

3 This morning, the police chief had given me an important assignment.

4 The police called me to help because i had cracked many difficult coses in the past.

5 It was a difficult assignment, and investigators were stumped. so they ask me to help.

6 I am confident that we will collect all the clues and return the jewels to London soon

Answer 1

The two sentences with verb tense issues are: Sentence 5 (providing 'asked' instead of 'ask') and sentence 6 (which could improve consistency by saying 'we are collecting').

Step-by-step explanation:

The two sentences with verb tense problems are:

• Sentence 5, which should use "asked" instead of "ask" to maintain the past tense narrative: "It was a difficult assignment, and investigators were stumped, so they asked me to help."
• Sentence 6 has an issue because it inappropriately shifts from the present tense "I am confident" to the future intention "we will collect", which might not be considered a tense issue typically, but the shift disrupts the flow. It could be rewritten to maintain consistency, such as: "I am confident that we are collecting all the clues and will return the jewels to London soon."

Answer 2

I found 3 potential problems, so there may be a typo in one of the sentences you posted. Number 4 may be okay as is, but I've included it here, and you can compare to your assignment.

3 This morning, the police chief had given me an important assignment.

Corrected: This morning, the police chief gave me an important assignment.

4 The police called me to help because i had cracked many difficult cases in the past.

Corrected: The police called me to help because i have cracked many difficult cases in the past.

5 It was a difficult assignment, and investigators were stumped. so they ask me to help.

Corrected: It was a difficult assignment, and investigators were stumped, so they asked me to help.