How does Fluffy, the cat, relate to our article today? Answer: absolutely nothing, but she's really cute, likes people, and hearing stories about super-hero cats in space, so hopefully, has attracted your attention for a little while. Yet ...

No, we're not referring to a gift from Uncle Fred or Aunt Ethel - at least not this time! Rather, we're referring to the tenses as used in English grammar. Whether we choose to speak or write in the past, present or future tense, can make a big difference to the success of any plain-English communications we may use.

Language is indeed a rich, colorful medium. English especially can seem incredibly lavish and diverse compared to some other languages in active use today - at least when we consider the wide range and variety of different words we can use to essentially share the same thought, idea or concept - often in subtly different ways. The flip-side of course, is the difficulty in learning English by people who's first language is something else entirely. Yet one word especially, can be deadly!