This tag is for questions related to usage of the past tense in English.
0
votes
2answers
283 views
Present or Past tense to describe a past condition which is still present?
Scenario: My friend John has a personality disorder, intensely paranoid for example.
Can I say:
There were three events last year that told me John had a problem.
or can I say:
There were ...
3
votes
2answers
892 views
“They knew what mercy is” vs. “they knew what mercy was”
They knew what mercy is.
They knew what mercy was.
Mercy is something that always exists so can I say is as in the above example?
1
vote
3answers
1k views
When do I use present perfect tense instead of the simple past?
I've finished my work.
I finished my work.
When do I use one or the other?
6
votes
3answers
10k views
Difference between 'haven't …yet' and 'didn't… yet'
I was wondering what the difference was between a sentence with have and one with do.
For example this one:
They haven't started yet.
They didn't start yet.
Is there a difference? ...
6
votes
2answers
707 views
“Would fly” versus “would have flown”
I am not a native speaker of English. Could anyone please tell me which sentence is correct?
If I had money, I would fly to Spain.
If I had money, I would have flown to Spain.
4
votes
3answers
434 views
Tense change: previous actions on something that's currently true
I'm describing a situation that happened in the past. To explain it, I want to use a description that is both true now and true when the situation happened.
Specifically, I want something like:
...
2
votes
2answers
736 views
How to describe the future in the past
I've always used would as the past tense of will:
Present: Tomorrow, I will go to the beach.
Past: The following day, I would go to the beach.
However, in response to my question on ...
1
vote
3answers
2k views
How can I use the verb “sad” in the past continuous?
How can I use the verb "sad" in the past continuous? E.g.:
I was crying.
I was missing.
What should be the sentences for sad or upset in past continuous? Why do some words like the two ...
4
votes
3answers
5k views
“I just ate them” and “I've just eaten them” — What's the difference in American and in British?
I know there are differences between American and British English in this area. So when answering, please specify whether you speak American or British English.
8
votes
1answer
758 views
UK English: Is “dived” a valid word?
Proofing a manuscript, I found this in the middle of a chase scene:
Spotting an opening, I dived into it and was horrified to find it was a dead end.
Is “dived” a valid past tense of the verb ...
2
votes
2answers
447 views
Should the past perfect be eschewed?
The past perfect serves a purpose: When describing things that happened in the past, it allows us to discuss things that happened before (i.e., in the past’s past). However, a procession of had, had, ...
3
votes
5answers
3k views
“Got promoted” vs. “Was promoted”
Should I use got or was in the sentence below?
Many years thereafter, he ... promoted to [...]
This might be somewhat related to this question, but I'm not sure.
Edit:
After reading some of the ...
3
votes
4answers
545 views
“Today” in the past
Let's say I'm talking about some day in the past. In formal writing, I would use:
Earlier that day, I had lunch with my boss.
But is the following also correct?
Earlier today, I had lunch ...
7
votes
3answers
4k views
“Had better” — what is the meaning of this grammatically?
I'm interested to know why we use had better for recommendation. Technically we're speaking of an action that hasn't yet occurred. Like he had better leave a tip means he hasn't yet left a tip, but I ...
6
votes
2answers
5k views
Is “should” ever used as past tense of “shall”?
Looking at the dictionary, I read that should has origin as past tense of shall. In the modern English, is should ever used as past tense of shall?
ORIGIN Old English sceolde: past of shall.
2
votes
6answers
12k views
Is “would” the past future tense of “will” or just a modal verb?
What's the difference:
Would you give me some advice?
Will you give me some advices?
18
votes
4answers
3k views
“Cancelled” or “Canceled”?
Cancelled or Canceled ? Which one is right?
You have successfully canceled the registration
or
You have successfully cancelled the registration
2
votes
3answers
500 views
2
votes
4answers
263 views
“when I clicked on video file nothing has happened”
when I clicked on video file nothing
has happened.
Is that correct?
26
votes
5answers
6k views
What's the negation of “I used to be”? Surely not “I didn't used to be”?
What is the negative form of "I used to be"? I often hear "I didn't used to be" but that sounds awfully wrong in my ears.
5
votes
3answers
342 views
“He didn't know where New Jersey was”
I know the past tense carries the past tense in every dependent clause, but referring specifically to places or to things that are eternal, like the Earth, seems a bit weird and therefore we sometimes ...
1
vote
3answers
608 views
Complicated sentence in the past: did vs. would do
Consider the following:
On my way back home from work I recalled what my boss had asked I did - turned off the lights before I went. Hence unfortunately I had to drive all the way back to the ...
18
votes
2answers
1k views
When do you use “learnt” and when “learned”?
Is learnt UK English and learned US? Is it that simple?
I’m used to using learnt, but my US spellchecker says it is wrong.
5
votes
3answers
626 views
Use of past and progressive tense
Can someone tell me which, if any, of the following sentences are correct:
When she walked in, he was laying on the bed.
When she walked in, he was laid on the bed.
When she walked in, he ...
4
votes
6answers
3k views
Are “might” and “should” past tenses of “may” and “shall”, respectively?
According to the dictionary definitions (e.g. in Merriam-Webster) , "should" is the past of "shall" and "might" is the past of "may":
But are these modal verbs really used as such? I know they are ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views
When will “Present Perfect vs. Past Tense” cases be affected by culture?
Regarding actions taken in the past, besides the differences those two tenses have semantically, my teacher shared that it could be a British vs American English case.
When talking about past ...
5
votes
2answers
7k views
Is “earnt” a real word?
Is the past tense for the word "earn" "earned" or "earnt", and does the word "earnt" even exist?
21
votes
6answers
25k views
Which is correct: “troubleshooted” or “troubleshot”?
Troubleshooted is not a word, but troubleshot is.
Is this really the correct word to use?
I always feel like saying:
I troubleshooted it.
vs
I troubleshot it
For some reason, it just ...
12
votes
10answers
23k views
Is “errored” correct usage?
If "errored" is not a valid word, then how should I say:
The program errored at line 44
I guess I could say:
The program threw an error at line 44
But why is "errored" wrong? Is there a ...
33
votes
3answers
3k views
Why do some words have two past tense forms (e.g. “dreamed” vs. “dreamt”)?
While perusing ShreevatsaR's answer to this question, it occurred to me that my own verbal usage is out of step with what I see in current American literature. When speaking in the past tense, I ...
10
votes
2answers
5k views
Why do people sometimes use the past perfect form of a verb when the past would suffice? (e.g. “you had mentioned”)
I noticed that my American friends tend to use the past perfect form when they use the verb mention in its past form, almost despite of the context of the sentence. I hear them say
"you had ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
Why are the past and present tenses of “read” spelt the same?
and only have different pronunciations?
4
votes
2answers
4k views
What is the difference between “I forgot” and “I had forgot”?
I forgot versus I had forgot. What is the difference between the two phrases?
1
vote
2answers
479 views
Why do you write “occurred” but “listened”?
The past tense of to occur is occurred (not occured), but the past tense of to listen is listened (not listenned).
Why? What is the general rule that is applied to make the past tense of a verb?
9
votes
4answers
2k views
When is the present perfect tense used instead of the past tense?
When is the present perfect tense used instead of the past tense?
I know that the present perfect tense is used when some adverbs (e.g., never, ever) are present in the sentence.
