Questions tagged [past-tense]
This tag is for questions related to usage of the past tense in English.
957
questions
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24 views
grammatical doubt over unfinished timeline contexts
Grammatically, we go with present perfect when referring to the actions where the time is still unfinished.
I have phoned him today.
I have watched a movie this week.
But to have a conversation over ...
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0answers
24 views
When providing more information about an event in the past, are we allowed to use present continuous?
While describing an event in the past, is it possible to use present continuous or present perfect continuous while still being grammatically correct? In order to explain my question a bit better, I ...
2
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2answers
86 views
“It had started to snow by 10 a.m. yesterday.” vs “It started to snow by 10 a.m. yesterday.”
I don't understand the timing in the following sentence:
It had started to snow by 10 a.m. yesterday.
I don't understand when it started to snow. And did it finish or is it still snowing?
Is this ...
-1
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0answers
36 views
Present subjunctive for past actions
I recommended that he speak to the manager.
The first clause is in the past tense but the second clause has a verb of present tense speak according to the rules of present subjunctive. My question, is ...
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0answers
59 views
The first paragraph of “Leviathan Wakes” is driving me crazy. What do you think about it?
I feel like the author gets his tenses all mixed up as soon as he finishes the prologue. At the very least, the first paragraph is difficult to parse. Check it out:
A hundred and fifty years before, ...
2
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1answer
29 views
Is this past tense or has this changed to present tense?
I'm sorta new to writing and I'm wondering is this past tense or has this changed to present tense?
"The hum of the bike quickly filled the air as Eddie finished drinking his water."
1
vote
1answer
33 views
Question aboute a quote from a TV show where I've noticed two different tenses in the same sentence
there is a famous quote from Game of Thrones Episode 10 season 3 where a character says "Any man who must say, "I am the king" is no true king. I'll make sure you understand that when I'...
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2answers
38 views
Is the tense of my sentence correct? [closed]
I have below sentence -
I should have turned left at that point to leave the road behind and pick another road to reach Washington
I am little concerned on the the word 'pick'. Should it be 'picked'?...
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0answers
34 views
“I wasn't expecting” vs.“I didn't expect”
Suppose someone drops by and you say "Hey, I didn't expect to see you today" or "Hey, I wasn't expecting to see you today".
What is the difference between those two sentences?
To ...
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0answers
10 views
While I was washing utensils in the kitchen, my mother relaxed/was relaxing [migrated]
While I was washing utensils in the kitchen, my mother ________(relaxed/was relaxing) on the sofa.
Which one is correct relaxed or was relaxing?
Is it okay to combine past continuous tense (was ...
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0answers
13 views
What tense should I use in these situations? [migrated]
"In March this year, I was seen/has been seen near his house..."
P.S.or P. P.?
4
votes
3answers
80 views
“Crossed-referenced”, “Crashed-landed”, and other twice-inflected verbs
For about a month now, I've been cataloging every compound verb I encounter that, for whatever reason, causes some people to inflect both of its components in the past tense (see title for examples). ...
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0answers
31 views
A question concerning Past Perfect continuous
He had been drinking milk out the cartoon when mom walked into the kitchen
I'm reading past perfect continuous in my grammar book and the rule says it is used for an that began before a certain point ...
1
vote
2answers
38 views
Past perfect or present perfect?
We didn't go to the party last night because we have had a fever
Or
We didn't got to the party last night because we had had a fever
I know the past perfect describes an completed before a certain ...
1
vote
0answers
19 views
Past perfect continuous and use of since
I came across the following sentence with an instruction to rewrite it in past perfect continuous using the given time expression in brackets:
Govind was working in this factory as a watchman. (since ...
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0answers
21 views
Difference in meanings for English past tense [duplicate]
Do they all mean the same thing, or are there any technical differences?
I worked at McDonald's.
I used to work at McDonald's.
I had worked at McDonald's.
1
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1answer
36 views
A question concerning Past Perfect Tense [closed]
I met him in London in 1996. I had seen him last five years before.
This is an example given for Present Perfect Tense in my grammar book. Does the sentence mean the last time the speaker had met the ...
0
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2answers
35 views
Will Today word change the sentence tense? [closed]
According to book I ma using, the author introduced the difference between past and simple as following:
My question is: if I didn't change today to yesterday will it makes difference?
I was in class ...
2
votes
2answers
29 views
Is “thinks I” in Melville's Moby-Dick used in the sense of “thought I”? [duplicate]
The following is just one of the examples of thinks I being used by Melville:
When, at last, his mind seemed made up touching the character of his bedfellow, and he became, as it were, reconciled to ...
1
vote
3answers
60 views
Past Subjunctive Sentence
If we started now we would be in time (but we cannot start now)
This is an example sentence in my grammar book for past subjunctive used after If. The sentence sounds to me a suggestion rather than ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
Use the ing form in past tense
I found a phrase "I still remember playing while ...", it was a past tense I suppose but why is there not the "to be" for the -ing form? Why is I still remember playing correct ...
0
votes
2answers
44 views
Two words related to “anachronism” but having exclusive references to past and future
I'd like to identify two words related to anachronism: one having an exclusive association to past, and the other to future.
According to Lexico, anachronism means:
A thing belonging or appropriate ...
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0answers
45 views
Can 'should' be used in past tense?
In the second line of the text, taken from 'Harry Potter',
" Yes,but it took a great deal of skilled Legilimency to coax it out of him.' said Dumbledore, 'and why should everybody delve further ...
2
votes
1answer
100 views
“had spent” vs. “spent”
Which tense would be appropriate in this case - past perfect simple or past simple?
"After he had spent some of the money, he decided to find his dream house."
or
"After he spent some ...
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0answers
23 views
“When did you last have” or “When did you have last”?
Which of the two is spelled correctly?
When did you last have your hair cut?
When did you have last your hair cut?
As you can see, have and last swapped their positions, is there any rule we use to ...
0
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0answers
36 views
Past Past Perfect
If we have one action, we can use Past Simple/Past Continuous
I found out
If we have two actions, we can use Past Perfect/Past Perfect Continuous for the one which is the most ancient and Past ...
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0answers
24 views
Using past simple tense after past perfect
When X happened, I had not taken my pills because I hadn't had them
with me.
When X happened, I had not taken my pills because I didn't have them
with me.
Is the second sentence ...
1
vote
1answer
58 views
Grammar in tenses
I'm writing something and I came across a dilemma, my friend told me the way I wrote it was wrong but I am certain I'm correct but I don't want to leave something that could be a mistake.. can someone ...
2
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0answers
17 views
Is the word “wished” here used for narrative or a hypothetical situation?
Jenny wished she hadn't been so careless
The answer key says that "wished" here is used for a hypothetical situation, but I fail to see how. Since the word isn't part of a conditional clause, shouldn'...
0
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0answers
31 views
Past Perfect with an emphasis on result of an action in the past
As we all know, one of the main ways of using the Present Perfect is describing actions which happened in the past, but are still true or have a very important result (from British Council):
We use ...
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0answers
18 views
Subjunctive Conditionals in the Past Tense
Is a sentence such as the one that follows grammatical and logical:
I was worried I would have lost a letter grade if I were to hand in the paper late.
I know the subjunctive, being a mood, can be ...
0
votes
1answer
15 views
Difference between past and present perfect
What is the difference between in the meaning :
I have never wanted to cook
I never wanted to cook
I have always wanted to do that
I always wanted to do that
Is it possible that we use the second ...
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0answers
28 views
I wonder why couldn't it be Past Continous in this exercise
They ............ (get) to the airport as the plane was landing.
I'm doing this exercise of completing with Past Simple, Past Continuous or Past Perfect Simple.
In the answer section I found got as ...
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0answers
16 views
Correct past tense for help with another word
I'm not sure if this sentence is grammatically correct:
'He was wrong by helping them took power'.
especially I'm asking about 'helping took power'. It should refer to someone who helped another one ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
I don't know which sentence is correct [closed]
I thought she had saved money.
I had thought she saved money.
Is 2nd sentence wrong?
I need your help.
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0answers
28 views
Modal Verbs and Sequence of Tenses
Should the clause “I would/should think” be followed by another also in the past, according to the rules of tense sequence?
I should think he was here [I think he is here now].
I should think the ...
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0answers
11 views
Present perfect tense and Past tense in a single sentence
I'm wondering whether consistency of tenses should apply in the following sentence:
I've attended events like Coachella and I always felt physically awful.
Should "I've" be replaced with "I" to be ...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
Which one should I use, past simple or past perfect?
In November 2001, he ran onto the pitch to play for Inter Milan against Lecce. The fans cheered; he hadn't played almost two years, since he _______ (damage) his knee... He fell down and didn't get up....
2
votes
1answer
37 views
Perfect Tense Stative verbs
I'd like you to tell me which one of my following sentences is correct. I am not sure if I have to use the past simple or present perfect.
I'd add that I want to talk about something which is still ...
1
vote
1answer
25 views
It was I or it is I (or both since it is just a matter of perspectives)
This confusion has been haunting me since I was fifteen. Please consider the following:
A. It was I who killed your mom.
B. It is I who killed your mom.
Question: As far as I know, we can apply two ...
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0answers
16 views
The present vs the past (when it comes to a range of possibilities covering dead and living people and if the answer is someone who has died)
Suppose there is a list of people who have been named as the candidates for being the best president ever. On the list are the incumbent and some ex-presidents, some of whom have died. How would we ...
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0answers
36 views
Present Perfect and Past Simple together
I just wonder if i have a possibility to mix these tenses in this way. For example, i say about things happened in the past. Can i use present perfect to show result of this sentences in present? I ...
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0answers
26 views
“if… were to…” form can only be used with unlikely but “possible” conditions, not for “impossible” conditions?
I am confused over the difference using "were to" and past forms in conditionals.
Was told that "were to" is only for unlikely but "possible" conditions but past form is for impossible/fantastical.
...
0
votes
1answer
44 views
Switching from have been to current tense in a sentence
While working on a project with a friend, we stumbled upon a grammatical problem.
These use cases have been modeled and help convey the game’s primary gameplay.
I'm uncertain whether or not it's ...
2
votes
1answer
42 views
Should we always use the past if the person is no longer alive or when we refer to a past state
When I want to point out that the person is still regarded as the best student till now, tho they have been gone or they are not a student anymore, what tense should I use, the present or the past? ...
0
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1answer
41 views
This sentence is Past Simple or Participle “The sheep all baaed in unison.”?
This sentence "The sheep all baaed in unison." is Past Simple or Participle?
And could give me somes examples of Past Simple and Participle using the word "baaed".
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0answers
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How can I describe an assumption of a past event? [closed]
Assume that Alice took an exam last week and she got its result yesterday. So she knows whether she passed the exam or not.
Now here is Bob. He does not know the result of Alice's exam yet. And Bob ...
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votes
1answer
33 views
How to say Lie/Lay [closed]
So, here's another one of the Lay/Lie questions.
How do you say "she is lying quietly on the grass, under the stars." in past tense?
She lay quietly on the grass, under the stars.
She was lying ...
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0answers
26 views
“used to be” with a fact [duplicate]
In the situation where we have:
It used to be thought that...
We use the past tense with the verb that follows since it's something in the past.
But what if the following is meant to be a fact?
I ...
0
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0answers
25 views
Present Perfect vs Past Simple - Distant Actions
If I’m talking about an action that happened in the distant past, I mean, an action that didn’t happen recently, I need to use the Simple Past? We can’t use the Present Perfect like that, can we?
