This tag is for questions related to usage of the past tense in English.
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.
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 ...
2
votes
3answers
2k views
Question about interrogations in past tense
In regard to this answer, my question is similar but that answer is not clear. I want to know why we use base form of verb, e.g. 'go' to form the past tense instead of past form such as 'went'?
...
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 ...
5
votes
3answers
343 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 ...
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:
...
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?
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.
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.
12
votes
3answers
5k views
Why do we use 'did' with questions using the simple past tense?
Where did you go last night?
Where went you last night?
Is there a reason we say the first of the previous two sentences as opposed to the last one?
I know the second sentence is ...
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 ...
8
votes
1answer
764 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 ...
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 ...
21
votes
7answers
3k views
Is “must” ever grammatical as a past tense verb?
I have seen uses of must that appear to be in the simple past tense. Sometimes these seem grammatical, but sometimes not. Examples that help illustrate my confusion:
He knew he must go to New York ...
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?
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.
-1
votes
1answer
560 views
“Did it close” vs “Has it closed”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another?
What's the difference between the following?
Did the shop close?
Has the shop closed?
I suspect ...
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 ...
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
2answers
2k views
Past tense and “rather than”
I found myself with a sentence like this, using "accept" in the infinitive form after "rather than":
They left the club, rather than accept the terms.
But I'm unsure of its grammatical ...
6
votes
4answers
919 views
Tenses after “as if”
"I'll always remember this rule as if I had just learned it"
Do you consider this sentence grammatically correct?
The main clause refers to the future, so I guess that the Past Simple would ...
6
votes
2answers
19k views
'I get it' vs. 'I got it'
When someone tells me something, how should I respond, "I get it" or "I got it"? I have a feeling that "I got it" means "I already knew the thing before you told me," and "I get it" means "Now I know ...
1
vote
2answers
483 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?
7
votes
3answers
5k 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
773 views
Past tense of “must” when meaning logical probability
I'm wondering how to say this sentence in the past tense:
He must be very clever
I have seen that the past tense of "must" is "have to" but it doesn't sound good to me to say something like "he ...
3
votes
2answers
540 views
“Would you have liked to have been” vs. “would you have liked to be”
I was interested in the following sentence which appeared in an article titled “No Rest for the Weary” in The New York Times (February 15, 2008).
Would you have liked to have been president from ...
2
votes
2answers
433 views
Using verb tenses correctly
I'm trying to keep this descriptive essay in the past tense. I bolded the words of my concern (and italicized the ones I believe are in the right tense) in the following passage:
As a result of ...
2
votes
2answers
269 views
Is the past tense correct in “Did you know Fred was a doctor?” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicates:
He didn't know where New Jersey was…
Tense change: previous actions on something that's currently true
My wife and I were disagreeing about this today:
...
1
vote
1answer
2k views
What does “I was had” mean?
Maybe he would help me with Deborah's pablum, take turns pushing the wheelchair. It's good to have someone.
That reminded me that I had someone -- or perhaps I was had. In any case, Rita would ...
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
12
votes
10answers
24k 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 ...
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.
15
votes
4answers
731 views
Are the verbs that are conjugated to end in “-n” in the past related?
There are many words that in English are conjugated in the past tense to end in "-n": grow goes to grown, sew goes to sewn, throw goes to thrown, etc.. I'm guessing it was probably the regular ...
9
votes
3answers
4k views
“I didn't finish” versus “I haven't finished”
If I worked on something yesterday but it was not finished, should I use "I didn't finish it yet" or "I haven't finished it yet"?
2
votes
2answers
450 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, ...
0
votes
1answer
432 views
He has just been offered or he was offered
What are the differences in meaning between the below two sentences:
He was just offered a well-paid job with Radio Four. (Past Simple Passive)
He has just been offered a well-paid job with ...
10
votes
2answers
5k views
Past tense of “to wing”?
Is there a past tense of the verb "to wing," meaning to make up on the fly?
Inspired by a blog post of Wil Wheaton, quoted partially below.
"Is it from a recipe, or are you
winging it?"
...
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? ...
5
votes
2answers
159 views
Why is the progressive form used here?
In February 1825 he married Julianne Thiemer, daughter of a property owner and well-established glove-maker in Seesen. Heinrich, a cabinet maker without property, a Beiwohner(boarder), was marrying ...
5
votes
5answers
5k views
What is the past tense of “sync”?
I've always believed the past tense of sync ("I sync my phone with my computer") to be synced ("I synced my phone with my computer yesterday"). This question would seem to suggest either synced or ...
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?
3
votes
2answers
687 views
When and why is “flied” used as the past tense of “fly”?
Why is the form "flied" used in baseball instead of "flew"?
2
votes
2answers
1k views
“Until” and past perfect
Having seen one sentence in "Practical English Usage" by M.Swan (a very popular grammar book), I was really puzzled.
I waited until the rain had stopped.
The past perfect is generally used to ...
1
vote
4answers
154 views
A prediction made in the past that affects something we will do in the future
Please ignore the factual accuracy of this sentence and focus on the tenses used.
If the Mayans were wrong to end the calendar on Dec. 20, 2012, we'll use your donation to fund 2013 programming.
...
1
vote
4answers
930 views
Difference between “would have” and “would” in the following
When we talk about past habitual or behavioral events, what is the difference between the following two sentences?
Every once in a while I would go to this friend's house and we would get into a ...
0
votes
3answers
428 views
Present perfect and simple past
Here's a conversation:
Speaker1: I have already seen this film.
Speaker2: When have you seen it? [OR] When did you see it?
Speaker1: Last month.
Are both of the responses from Speaker2 ...
-2
votes
3answers
4k views
“I met” vs “I've met” [closed]
What's the difference between the following?
I met him in the UK.
I've met him in the UK.
Does the second sentence mean that the event was happened recently?
