"If the situation being described is an ongoing or current one," Barbara had her eyeglasses on and her book opened next to the kid, explaining her the use of the past tense. "The present tense is needed, even in a past-tense context: Last week she admitted that she is really a brunette, not 'was'."
"Ah..." The kid rested her chin on her hand.
"Pairs of verbs that go together logically have to be kept in the same tense. Patricia described her trip to China and writes that the Great Wall really impressed her. Since "described" is in the past tense, and the writing contains her descriptions, "writes" should be 'wrote.' "
That was really boring. So many words to know that write is write and wrote is wrote. She raised her eyes and looked at the redhead. Helena sighed. "Why do I need to learn English if I speak English? That doesn't make sense."
"But you must learn to use it well," Barbara explained, turning the page.
"I use it well, you understand me."
"Helena, lots of people get into trouble with sentences that describe a hypothetical situation in the past. Now, we continue: 'If he would have packed his own suitcase, he would have noticed that the cat was in it.' That first 'would have' should be a simple 'had': 'If he had packed his own suitcase he would have noticed that the cat was in it.' Also 'The game would have been more fun if we had not 'would have' won.'
Helena heard her speak but was not understanding a word because her thoughts were in another place. Suddenly, she interrupted the red head "Why I must write the "h" if it don't make a sound? No one knows it's there when I'm talking."
"You are off topic; but I can tell you that is our idiom, and "h" helps us to speak. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Well," she showed her the book, "this sort of construction consists of two parts: a hypothetical cause in the past and its logical effect."
The kid crossed raised her eyes to her. "Why do we pronounce 'g' as 'j' sometimes? I don't see the sense."
Barbara sighed. "Helena, I need your mind on English past tense class. You are on other topics."
"George sounds like 'jorj' and fromage is pronouced as "fromaj" and ..." the child explained.
Barbara took a deep breath and leaned over the table to face the kid. "Helena, we are talking about problems when you write in past tense, not cheese. Understand? Focus on our lesson."
Helena moved her head back. Seemed as if the redhead didn't like that comment. "All right," she said.
"Well... back to topic," Barbara brushed her hair and took a breath. Barbara pointed at the book with her pencil. "The hypothetical cause needs to be put into the past tense: 'had.' Only the effect is made conditional: "would have." Note that in the second example above, the effect is referred to before the cause. Did you write that?"
"I'm on it..." the kid said writing in her notebook. "Give me a second."
Barbara turned the page looking for more examples, while the child wrote. After a few seconds, the kid put her pen on the table and looked at the red head.
"Finished?" Barbara asked.
"Yes... may I ask you something?"
"Yes," she said distractedly, marking a page.
"I was wondering why the plural of 'goose' is 'geese', but moose is not 'meese', it's 'moose'."
"What?" Barbara blinked.
"Goose is Geese," Helena explained, "but 'moose' is not 'meese' it's 'moose' when it should be 'meese'."
"Helena focus on our lesson."
"Who invented English?"
"That is not the topic." Barbara rolled her eyes.
"But that is not logical!" Helena protested.
"I don't care if it's not logical or not! We are in past tense class!" The redhead began to feel exasperated. "And we are here because you need to learn how to use the language well."
"How I could use it well when 'moose' is 'moose' and not 'meese'?" The child tried in her mind understand that.
"Your logic is illogical.". Barbara glared at her.
"My logic is logical." Helena crossed her arms.
"Focus on our lesson," the red head said with a hard voice.
"'Fish' is 'fish', but 'dish' is 'dishes'. 'Mouse' is 'mice' but 'house' is not 'hice', it's 'houses'. Is that logical?"
"Oh God!" Barbara rubbed her eyes.
"I don't have many 'hice', I have many 'houses', but it should be..."
Barbara covered the brunette's mouth with her hand. "Don't say another word..."
"But..." Helena mumbled under her hand.
"I said not another word!" Barbara pointed at her with her free hand. "All right?"
Helena nodded.
Barbara moved her hand back.
"You're mean." Helena faced her.
"And you ask so many questions." Barbara moved her face a few inches from hers.
"You are the English teacher."
"Yes, I'm the teacher and you are the student!"
"So, a teacher answer questions, no? Answer mine!"
"Ohhh.... just shoot me." Barbara moved back and waved her hand.
Helena blinked. "Why?" She didn't understand why she had said that.
"Oh shit..." Barbara mumbled to herself and covered her head with her hands. Selina had caught her again. In what moment had she had agreed to give English lessons to Helena?"
Selina pressed the doorbell of Barbara's apartment.
"Mom!" She heard Helena's yell and her steps running inside the apartment. She smiled. After a few seconds, Barbara opened the door; her smile disappeared when she saw Barbara's face; her hair was really a mess and her face showed fatigue.
"Do you feel okay?" she asked.
"Don't ask. How was your appointment?"
"Marvelous, we..."
"Mom!!" A yell made Selina turn and she saw her little girl running toward her with her school bag in her hand. She kneeled and Helena almost made her fall when she jumped in her arms.
"Ouch... As gentle as always. Hi, sweetheart... How was it?"
"Excellent, I learned a lot."
"Oh, that is good," Selina said, looking at Barbara. "Thanks so much, Babs." She stood up. "She has a lot of problems with the past tense."
"Don't worry; she understands it now. Took me a while, but now she gets it."
"Yes, I understand now." Helena looked up to her mother. "She explains very well."
"Really?" Selina asked, surprised. Helena never liked her tutorial professors and all of them said she was easily distracted with anything and had trouble with her. "I don't know how you did it, but thanks so much, Barbara."
"It's a pleasure." She smiled lightly. All she wanted an that moment was to go to sleep.
"May I come again to see her?" Helena asked her mother.
Barbara opened her eyes wide, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Half afternoon she had been talking to the kid about keeping her questions for another time. "What?"
"May I come back?" Helena looked at Barbara, hopefully.
The red head was shocked. "Are you kidding?"
"No, Helena," Selina said.
"Why not?" The child pouted.
"She just made an exception this day. She works and she..."
"I was a good girl. I behaved myself." The kid looked at the red head. "Tell her Barbara; I did all the things that you told me."
Barbara couldn't avoid a smile. That was true. The only problem had been her constant "questions" about grammar that she had in her head. "Yes, she did very well." She rubbed the kid's head affectionately.
"May I come again?"
"Okay, okay... We can do tutorials Mondays and Fridays at six o'clock. Right?"
The kid nodded happily.
"Barbara, you don't...." Selina said.
"Don't worry, Selina." Barbara interrupted her. "It's okay. I can help her a few weeks; I don't have so much work right now. And you can pick her up at eight."
"Oh... really?" Selina asked, surprised.
"Yes."
"Thanks so much:" Selina hugged her "You don't know how much trouble I've had looking for someone to help me with her."
"Don't worry."
"All right. Say bye to Babs, Helena."
"Bye Barbara." Helena gave the redhead a hug. "And thanks so much."
She said good bye to both and closed her apartment door. She leaned her back against it and closed her eyes. "I really said that?" she asked herself. Talking with the kid was a really hard job and she had told Selina she would keep helping her. It had been her and no one else. "Later, don't protest, Barbara," she said to herself looking at her watch. She still had work to do as Batgirl.