Verb tense question?

Question

If I want to say:

I would like to go to the future to see what (has) become of the sun. I would also like to see if humans (have) colonized other planets.

Is 'has' and 'have' correct here? I wonder if for 'has' I should use 'will' .... I am confused in the second sentence because I am talking about the future, but an event that then will be in the past.

Ugh.

Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

I like the first sentence the way you have written it.  I think "..what will have become of the sun" sounds wrong.  That construction would be used to ask, for example, "what will have happened to the sun by the year 2075?"  "will have happened" is used to indicate something happened earlier in time than another, in this case, going to the future.

The next sentence:  English uses the simple present to express future time, especially in "if" clauses.  It would not be standard to use "will" in an "if" clause about the future.  (I can think of exceptions, but definitely not your sentence).  Anyway, I think the present perfect--have colonized--is the suitable choice because it indicates unfinished time in the present, and the words occur in an "if"clause.

This answer is long and perhaps too complicated, but I wanted to give you a complete one.

Answer 2

Okay.

Maybe the sentence would be better if like this:

1. I would like to go to the future for me to see what does the sun looks like. I would also like to see if human already colonized other planets.

2. I would like to travel to the future to visualize what does the sun (has) become. I would also like to see if human beings (have) colonized other planets.

Your verb tense is correct but you should know how you put it in proper places and expressing simple words in other words.

Your welcome.

:-)

Answer 3

The way you have it is perfectly correct. "What will become of the sun" is also correct, grammatically, but while you may wonder what will become of anything, you cannot SEE it. Similarly, you could also say "I wonder if, by the year (3,000), humans will have colonized other planets."

The difference is that you do your seeing in the there and then (i.e. the hypothetical "present".) you do your wondering now, about the "future."