Questions tagged [simple-past]
Questions about the Simple Past tense.
278
questions
2
votes
2
answers
90
views
Using the present perfect or the past simple when referring to a deceased subject?
If there has ever been a man who has been faced with challenges of opposition both at home and away, then it is King David. First of all his father completely forgot about him when a prophet came ...
- 55
0
votes
0
answers
66
views
Run or ran correct? [duplicate]
Ewes are pasture ran all year on grass.
Or
Ewes are pasture run all year on grass.
Which is correct American English?
- 11
2
votes
1
answer
67
views
"How did you get in here? Security!" vs "How have you gotten in here? Security!" [closed]
I have been doing some exercises on Past Simple vs Present Perfect as that's the topic that gives me the most troubles... and I can't comprehend why this sentence is correct?
"How did you get in ...
- 143
0
votes
1
answer
74
views
Simple past tense?
Which is grammatically correct?
You are the prettiest girl I ever saw.
or
You are the prettiest girl I have ever seen?
Apologies if this has been asked before. First time here.
- 3
1
vote
1
answer
55
views
They hadn't finished playing by 10.30. / They didn't finish playing by 10.30 [closed]
They hadn't finished playing by 10.30.
They didn't finish playing by 10.30.
I have my own explanation what the difference is. Could you please agree or disagree with it?
Past perfect helps us to say ...
- 147
0
votes
1
answer
270
views
AmE_ The use of the simple past and the present perfect in the US for repeated actions until the present without specific time
There are situations about repeated actions until the present without specific time.
Here are some examples:
I visited/ have visited Paris two times. It is a beautiful city.
I think you should visit ...
- 53
1
vote
1
answer
226
views
Meaning of the sentence "The thieves had run away when the police arrived."
This is from the Quirk's CGEL section 4.24 - The past perfective:
Adverbials of time position, when used with the past perfective, can
identify either T2 or T3. Placed initially, they often identify ...
- 127
1
vote
1
answer
48
views
Simple Past vs. Present Perfect in a list
Consider these sentences:
(Simple Past)
I accepted the cars, hated the planes, ignored the boats, and romanticized the trains.
(Present Perfect)
I have accepted the cars, have hated the planes, ...
- 113
0
votes
2
answers
67
views
Simple Past or Past Perfect - Sequence of Tenses [duplicate]
Could someone help me understand which tense (Simple Past or Past Perfect) would be more appropriate in the following examples, and why?
I knew I asked the right person.
I knew I had asked the right ...
- 19
0
votes
1
answer
50
views
“He’s made new friends when he changed roles” [closed]
Present perfect and past simple in the same sentence?
He’s made new friends when he changed roles.
Is this sentence grammatically correct?
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
28
views
Simple past use in continous action [duplicate]
Reading Albert Camus's The Stranger and I found the following passage:
"As we ate, he started telling me his story"
I started wondering if there were other examples of simple past used with ...
- 139
0
votes
1
answer
138
views
Why is past simple being used in these sentences instead of past perfect? [duplicate]
I'm doing an Anki Deck that consists of "Advanced English Grammar" and I don't understand why in examples below I can't use the form I'm suggesting, but instead have to use the form that is ...
0
votes
4
answers
56
views
Use simple past or present? [duplicate]
Between these sentences:
Ten years ago he showed me the location of the stations. There was a bridge that connected them.
Ten years ago he showed me the location of the stations. There is a bridge ...
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
62
views
simple past or present perfect issue
I would like to ask the reason of using present perfect tense instead of past tense in the italic words in the sentence below:
She has gotten older since we last met her. She also seems to have ...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
1k
views
“Had started” or “Started”?
As the bath oil facility is where the fire had started, its proximity to the island fruit trees means the fires spread onto the orchard farm.
I didn’t use “has started” because it’s already done. I’m ...
user440675
0
votes
1
answer
133
views
We didn't know what to do, so we did nothing/ were doing nothing [closed]
I came across this sentence in one of my workbooks:
We were in a difficult position. We didn't know what to do, so we did nothing / were doing nothing.
The key suggests that this should make use of ...
- 59
0
votes
1
answer
48
views
Can leveraging only tense convey that some action is no longer relevant?
There are two sentences I myself come up with:
I haven't checked my inbox for the last few days.
I didn't check my inbox for the last few days.
Is #2 grammatically correct and idiomatic? Does #2 ...
0
votes
0
answers
33
views
is the first vs was the first [duplicate]
Which is correct?
George Washington was the first president of the United States.
or
George Washington is the first president of the United States.
(He will always be the first president of the United ...
- 1
-2
votes
1
answer
92
views
Why is James Bond saying "We didn't get yet"?
I've recently seen the trailer for the new James Bond movie and he is saying: "We all have our secrets. We just didn't get to yours yet".
Shouldn't have he said "we just haven't got to ...
- 105
0
votes
1
answer
44
views
Past simple or past continuous for process in the past?
Let's say that I have a computer program that had been doing one thing, but later that program was changed. Which statement would be more correct?
It was sorting by errors, but now it's sorting by ...
0
votes
1
answer
54
views
Reported/Indirect Speech and Past Simple with when. Can they get confused with each other?
Going straight to the point, let's say that I have a sentence like
He asked when the train arrived.
How can I tell whether this is a Past Simple (As soon as the train arrived he asked) or Reported ...
0
votes
1
answer
115
views
Present perfect vs simple past in main and relative clause [duplicate]
I would like to ask if the following sentences have different meanings. lately I've been overthinking about tenses which I've been using fluently my whole life. Specifically present perfect
Context: ...
-1
votes
2
answers
87
views
"cause" vs "caused" [closed]
I want to create a short and simple error message. But were confused with the usage of past-tense "cause"
Which one is correct?
Unexpected condition caused error
or
Unexpected condition ...
- 127
-1
votes
1
answer
59
views
Can we use specific time when using past simple with past perfect?
I wonder if it's possible and correct to put a specific time like this.
I had finished my homework at 6 am. before I went to school at 7 am.
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
40
views
What is the passive voice of a sentence that is structured as 'past perfect' before 'simple past'
For example, how would the sentence below be expressed in the passive voice?
I had completed all tasks before they arrived.
0
votes
0
answers
65
views
Past Perfect or Past Simple
I want to understand if we need to keep using past perfect in a long sentence. (in speaking and writing english)
For example,
"I want to tell you a story that happened to me in summer. I started ...
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Use of present perfect tense in news articles
When to use present perfect tense has always been confusing for me.
I know that it carries a sense of continuity from the past, but many times in news articles, I come across sentences with present ...
- 37
0
votes
1
answer
64
views
What's the difference between simple past and present prefect? I quite have a doubt with the below statements. Do they convey the same meaning?
Do these two convey the same meaning? And if not, what's the difference?
Judy had visited Thailand in 2014
Judy visited Thailand in 2014
- 3
0
votes
2
answers
1k
views
If “were tired” is correct grammatically, why is “was studied” not? [closed]
I was practicing english and I have a question.
Why is it correct to write:
We were so tired.
But it is not correct to write:
I was studied english.
I know that it is correct to write:
I studied ...
- 1
0
votes
3
answers
170
views
As she gathered or as she was gathering
I was studying for the ACT ,and I encountered a question.
There is a sentence:
Donna was surprised at my suggestion, but quickly began sharing my unbridled enthusiasm as she ___ the appropriate ...
- 17
-1
votes
2
answers
310
views
Verb tense confusion - how to correctly use past perfect in a past tense narrative
Okay, scenario: In a novel set in narrative past tense, there's a sentence, "We had become friends when nobody had liked him and it had seemed no one ever would." Is the past perfect being ...
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
450
views
What are the two tenses used in this passage? [closed]
Which are the two tenses used in this passage?
I have known my friend Rebecca for a long time. We first met at a friend's birthday party five years ago. We found out that we both liked techno and ...
2
votes
1
answer
3k
views
"I was no longer working for X" vs. "I no longer worked for X"
I'm a student learning English and recently helped a friend of mine write an important email in English. The text I gave him contained the following part:
I am sorry for not replying to your email, ...
- 2,062
0
votes
0
answers
29
views
"Value was fetched successfully" or "Value is fetched successfully"? [duplicate]
In an application I'm developing, a user is allowed to fetch a value using a button. Upon the value being successfully fetched, I need to notify the user. I used the following sentence.
The value was ...
0
votes
1
answer
110
views
Past simple or present perfect? [closed]
Is it better to say "I learned" or "I have learned English from a very young age"?
1
vote
2
answers
167
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 ...
0
votes
0
answers
37
views
Question concerning tenses
Lauren has coaxed her brother many times to go cinema with her but he never listens
Lauren has coaxed her brother many times to go cinema with her but he never listened
Which sentence is correct?
...
0
votes
1
answer
97
views
A question concerning use of simple past and present perfect tense
Do you think you saw me somewhere before
Or
Do you think you have seen me somewhere before
In my grammar books it says that the Present Perfect is never used with adverbs of past time. In such cases ...
0
votes
2
answers
118
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 ...
1
vote
1
answer
398
views
What is the difference between the simple past and the passive voice?
I always get confused trying to explain the difference between the past tense and the passive voice. If I say something like "The gym opened yesterday" or "The gym was opened yesterday&...
1
vote
1
answer
179
views
Present Perfect vs Simple Past
Can an American English speaker confirm whether the Simple Past tense is possible in the following sentences?
I didn't have so much fun for a long time.
You don't need to call him. He lost his phone....
- 187
0
votes
0
answers
39
views
Simple past or past perfect?
Is this sentence grammatically correct?
I had felt a strange panic as I was parted from it. (Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller)
It seems rather strange to me to pair the past perfect with the simple ...
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
135
views
Past simple- present perfect no time reference
I have a doubt between the usage of past simple and present perfect about the meaning of “indefinite past”
If I don’t mention or it’s not clear a time expression, Could I use the PP instead o PS?
For ...
0
votes
0
answers
34
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 ...
user380231
0
votes
0
answers
113
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 ...
- 17
0
votes
1
answer
41
views
What time need use?
What correct answer in the first case: worked or has worked? Or other? And why?
Seven years ago, while she (1)has worked part-time in a hospital, Emily became interested in medicine.
- 101
0
votes
1
answer
43
views
Past simple transforms to past perfect?
I had a leg injury. Past simple.
I had had a leg injury. Past perfect.
But if I add word "until" past simple transforms to past perfect:
I had a leg injury until I was 15.
Is this sentence correct?
...
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
29
views
Had vs Have had
I was wondering if the following phrases
I had no idea you were there
I've had no idea you were there
are both grammatically correct? As a rule, I've seen the 1st option much more often than the ...
- 113
0
votes
0
answers
42
views
Past Perfect or Past Simple? [duplicate]
I am writing a text on theatre. I would like to put in one sentence two different time references:
"The model has recently been popular in the academia"
AND
"It was theorized about 50 years ago by ...
- 740
1
vote
1
answer
57
views
Past Perfect Simple vs Past Simple
By the time he had reached the door, he remembered the pink diamond.
By the time he reached the door, he remembered the pink diamond.
Are both sentences grammatically correct?
Thank you!
- 11