Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite
2

Consider the following sentence:

Sam ran to the university pool.

Does the running action have an ending point in the past?

share|improve this question

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote accepted

Yes, because the action was completed. If the action wasn't completed, you would have to say

Sam is running to the university pool.

share|improve this answer
2  
Or was running, perhaps, in some narrative past continuous. – tchrist Nov 10 '12 at 19:07
2  
I think OP's specific point might be better illustrated by contrasting with "Sam ran towards the university pool." In that case, for all we know he might still not have reached the pool yet, but with "to", the implication is both the running and the getting to the pool are "past" actions. – FumbleFingers Nov 10 '12 at 20:04

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.