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PAST TENSES

GRAMMAR I

exampleexplanation
last night we ate dinner in that Italian restaurant you like so much The simple past tense denotes activities or states in the past without any connection with the present. We are interested in WHEN the action took place. That is why the adverbial of time 'last night' is used to indicate the specific point in time when
she studied music while she was in Paris the simple past tense is used to indicate a DEFINITE PERIOD of a past time. In that case the verb has imperfective aspectual meaning and simple grammatical aspect
I was walking to the office that week the past progressive tense is used to indicate that an action was repetead but over a limited period of time. The adverbial of time 'that week' is used to indicate that the action was repetead ONLY during a period of time. The aspectual meaning is imperf
they were all the time telling lies the past progressive tense is used to express a repetead and SPORADIC action that shows (but not necessarily) annoyance, irritation, disapproval on the part of the speaker. The aspectual meaning is imperfective. The adverbial 'ALL THE TIME' reinforce the
he had been unconscious for several hours when we found him The past perfect tense is used to denote an incomplete past action that started before another past action and had lasted for some time. The aspectual meaning is imperfective and the grammatical aspect is perfect
she had been practising for a long time before she entered the competiton. the past perfect progresive tense is used to put emphasis on the duration of an action which started in the past and finished in the past before another past action or stated in the past. imperfective
she had been shouting all day, so that night she couldnt speak resultative past in the past. The past perfect progressive tense is used to express an action that lasted for some time in the past and whose duration caused visible result later on in the past . Imperfective
she had begun her studies when he left the past perfect tense is used to refer to a past action previous to another past action or stated in the past, It is used to express past in the past. 'earlier past' Perfective
Bill had injured his leg in a car accident, so he had to use a wheelchair for six months the past perfect tense is used to express an action which had started in the past and whose result were visible in the past. 'resultative past in the past' Perfect aspectual meaning
That was the first time i had been to Paris the past perfect tense is used with adejctives in the superlative degree and expressions such as 'the first/second, the only..' The verb phrase has perfective aspectual meaning and perfect grammatical aspect. Past time reference
he never drove faster than speed limit we use the simple past tense to express past habits that are now finished. The verb has imperfective aspectual meaning and simple grammatical aspect. Past time reference
if i were you, i would tell your parents the truth the simple past tense is used in dependent clauses (except in noun clauses of indirect speech) to express hypothetical meaning. The aspectual meaning is irrelevant, the grammatical aspect is simple
did you want to speak to me? the simple past is use in some contexts of everyday conversation, to refer to the present, in particular, to the present feelings of thoughts of the speaker or hearer. The aspectual meaning is irrelevant. The verb phrase has present time reference.
the children were playing football the past progressive tense is used when we are interested mainly in the past activy and in the duration of the activity. It is used to express a SINGLE activity in progress in the past. We dont mention when the action started and finished. Imperfective. p
it was raining when we left Orleans the past progressive tense is used to give background to a narrative (a story in the past tense) the aspectual meaning is imperfective and the grammatical aspect is progressive.
Created by: martinaa
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