Questions tagged [past-tense]
This tag is for questions about the usage of the past tense in English.
1,445
questions
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1answer
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In English, do we use the past tense to indicate hypotheticals?
I read an article titled COVID-19 is awful. Climate change could be worse.
In this case, why was could used instead of can?
If I say COVID-19 is awful. Climate change can be worse, wouldn't make sense?...
0
votes
3answers
25 views
have been accusing vs have been accused
I am learning Academic English. At one lesson, I found the following sentences:
Some people have been accusing X of starting it.
X have been pushing for more efforts to prevent this possibility.
I ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
can I use simple past tense in sentences that begin with when?
I am reading a test as follows:
When I got there, I found that the theatre
closed
was closed
has closed
has been closed
I know the answer should be 2 or 4. if I can consider the word "When"...
0
votes
2answers
12 views
Would have or would
Which one of these is correct?
She would have destroyed them if she wanted to
She would destroy them if she wanted to
To my knowledge the first one implies a hypothetical situation about something ...
0
votes
1answer
26 views
Why is the usage of Present Perfect in this sentence incorrect?
(...) I think I can safely say that, until this year, all of those holidays were wonderful. For example I have once spent six weeks on Crete, which I had not visited before.
My task is to find errors ...
0
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1answer
26 views
Can present perfect be followed by past simple in this case
Is there a difference between these two sentences
All the things I' ve had but can't keep
All the things I've had but could not keep
Is the second one ok as the non keeping happens at the end of the ...
1
vote
2answers
24 views
Past perfect vs past simple confusion
Should I say :
1-My hair was uneven for years.
2-My hair had been uneven for years.
For sure I'm talking about a past time.
0
votes
1answer
28 views
Can we use “would have had” to speculate about past?
Can we use "would have had " to make a guess about the past?
For e.g.
He would have had those dollars!
(We don't know if he has the dollars but he might have had them)
0
votes
1answer
19 views
Can I use the past perfect without an action described by past simple?
Can I use the past perfect without an action described by past simple?
For example:
Alex: There were people at the cinema?
Me: No, because it had just opened.
Another example
Alex: What had you ...
0
votes
1answer
40 views
can I use present perfect in this case
I received it this morning .It has been a long time coming but the long wait has been worthwhile!
I wrote this in the beginning of the afternoon, so can I use present perfect for these two verbs or ...
0
votes
0answers
21 views
Third Conditional with Couldn't have done
I'm digging in past possibilities something like (could have done, might have done)
And i found out that when we use could have done, might have done there is an if-clause, explicit or implicit.
And i ...
1
vote
1answer
20 views
Describing a dropped phone call
What can I say to describe a dropped phone call:
1- The phone call just dropped.
2- The phone call just cut out.
3- The phone call just disconnected.
0
votes
1answer
35 views
do we need to connect both sentences by using past perfect here
Sorry I saw your message on here too late. I had over 50 orders of Tommy and the commie new 7" to send so I was pretty busy and as the payment of this order didn't arrive I didn't even check it
...
0
votes
1answer
24 views
Can I use Past Simple and Present Simple in one sentence?
Actually I have two questions:
Can I use Past Simple and Present Simple together in the sentence: 'He looked stunned when he realized that she lives here'?! I know about Sequence of tenses but I'm ...
2
votes
2answers
27 views
Usage of perfect versus past
Fill in the blank using verbs given in bracket.
Thomas failed all his exams and left school with no qualifications, yet this 30 year old fire fighter ______(go) into the Guinness book of records by ...
0
votes
1answer
23 views
While I was washing utensils in the kitchen, my mother relaxed/was relaxing
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
24 views
Using Report speech
Am i using report speech correctly?
Should i have used present simple in this situation?
I brother to help me. I said that "this was up your alley". He said that "he would help" ...
1
vote
2answers
41 views
Can you reword conditional setence in subjunctive and still retain the same meaning?
For example
If he were alive today, he would've supported the independence movement.
Here the speaker is talking about somebody who has passed away in a present interview. Wouldn't it be more ...
0
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1answer
31 views
Have been vs Was
I have been brought up in London.
I was brought up in London
what is the difference in meaning between these two sentences?
0
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2answers
26 views
difference between had and have/has had
I am just confused about how to use have/has had
David has had a nice car.
David had a nice car.
May I know which sentence is correct and why, and please let me know how to use have/has had.
1
vote
1answer
17 views
What tense should I use in these situations?
What tense should I use in these situations?
In March this year, I was seen near his house.
In March this year, I have been seen near his house.
Should I use the past simple or the past perfect?
0
votes
1answer
21 views
Idiom's tense when writing a novel in past tense
If the novel is written in past tense, what tense should the idioms be when they are used by the narrator?
For example, consider the following passage:
The fight was over. John stood over the ...
0
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2answers
19 views
Is the tense for this sentence correct?
Brenda, as well as her brothers, watched/watches television until it is time for dinner.
What is the correct answer?I’m confused.
0
votes
1answer
36 views
I wish I knew / I wish I had known
I can't understand what's the difference between these sentences and which one is more correctly if (for example) during conversation with my friend I tell him about my wishing to make acquaintance ...
0
votes
2answers
30 views
Which sentence is correct and why?
Which sentence is grammatically correct and why?
"Does anyone know when did X unfollow Y on Instagram"
or
"Does anyone know when X unfollowed Y on Instagram?"
The example might not ...
0
votes
1answer
21 views
past tense or past perfect continous tense?
For the past several days, I was unable to get access to the internet.
Should I use past tense or past perfect continuous tense if at the time of writing, the internet access problem has already been ...
0
votes
1answer
46 views
Difference between Went vs Was going
What is the correct alternative for the following sentence?
When he lived in California, he____(went, was going to) to the cinema once a week.
1
vote
3answers
20 views
Why is the word “hit” here used as a third person singular instead of past participle?
According to Guinnessworldrecord.com, the most piano key hits in one
minute is 824, achieved by Domingos-Antonio Gomes (Portugal) in
Lisbon, Portugal, on 4 March 2017. I knew this sentence has to be
...
1
vote
1answer
24 views
It is even possible, that the train of my ideas would never have received the fatal impulse that led to my ruin
The following extract is from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I'd like to know why the present-tense verb "is" rather than the past-tense "was" is used:
If, instead of this remark, ...
0
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0answers
20 views
Shouldn't I use verb in base form when I use did?
I took an online class at English Live and the teacher told that the correct phrase is "What subject did you taught as a teacher?".
Isn't it "What subject did you teach as teacher?"...
0
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0answers
44 views
I insisted to my parents that I have/had to have a bedroom of my own
When we moved into the new (house/home ?),
I insisted to my parents that I have to have a bedroom of my own.
I insisted to my parents that I had to have a bedroom of my own.
Which tense is correct ...
0
votes
0answers
10 views
Coordination sentences with when
I'd like to speak about conditional sentence, could you tell me if my tense are right or if you would choose others?
I should have called you when you talked to her
She said she would have called me ...
0
votes
2answers
19 views
Past simple or Past perfect prgressive
which one is the correct sentence between the two and why?
Before I lost my job, I was working on some important projects.
or
Before I lost my job, I had been working on some important projects.
0
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1answer
22 views
What is the difference between had and had had in the sentences?
I had had the same dream.
I had the same dream.
What is the difference?
0
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2answers
26 views
I can’t understand the meaning of this sentence
“It seemed like weeks went by before you finally asked for my number”
Is that mean he asked numbers quickly or few weeks later?
Excerpt From
Thirteen Reasons Why
Jay Asher
This material may be ...
0
votes
0answers
26 views
Which one is correct? Is or Was?
Yesterday he told me he was gonna become a singer.
Yesterday he told me he is gonna become a singer.
Since what he told me is definitely going to happen in near future, then is it "is" or &...
1
vote
2answers
26 views
Is it Since or From?
I've had a doubt for some time!
Hi!
-I had back pain since 1995, phew! It's over! (I don't have anymore)
Is "since" suitable with my sentence? Or should I use "From"
I heard that ...
1
vote
1answer
34 views
Did + verb instead verb + ed
In one dialogue in a computer game, I've seen a sentence, "I did steal it!" instead of "I stole it!". Why can native speakers use I did + verb instead of verb + ed?
0
votes
1answer
19 views
Is Past Perfect correct tense in this sentence?
I have to send my opinion to my english teacher and I'm not sure if this past perfect tense is correct in this context. Firstly I used Past simple "the things we learned about", which also seems to me ...
1
vote
1answer
36 views
How should I say this “I already knew the answers” or “I had already known the answers”
The sentence looks like this:
I didn’t need to read the passage text because I already knew the
answers/I had already known the answers
I get it that “had” is used when we are talking about ...
0
votes
1answer
35 views
What’s the difference between these two “she saw”, “she has seen”? [duplicate]
I want to ask you what is the difference between these two sentences:
She has seen the real meaning in these messages
She saw the real meaning in these messages
And to know if both of them ...
0
votes
0answers
15 views
Using present perfect vs past simple in a context
Which sentence is more applicable to use :
1-Thank you, you got us this far.
2-Thank you, you have gotten us this far.
0
votes
0answers
32 views
Talking about a sequence of actions which happened in the past
For example, I want to tell how is my day was going.
I'd do it like this:
I woke up, then I went to a bathroom and washed myself, then I went to a kitchen and had a breakfast, etc.
Is it correct? ...
0
votes
1answer
17 views
Is the sentence clear enough without past perfect
In fact Rich sent all the goods he had on hold for me but he forgot to include in the parcel the book and the problem is that he moved just after sending the goods and did not take it with him.
...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
Can we use “now” with simple past tense as in “I saw it now”?
Can we use "now" with simple past tense? For example, Let's say someone is trying to show me something, but I can't see it. Right after seeing it, can I say, "Ok. I saw it now"?
1
vote
0answers
19 views
Why is the past tense used in a clause related to the present [duplicate]
The background is that I was doing C1 tests and got wrong the following:
It's time you ____ up your mind.
As it seems right to me, I wrote "make". However, the answer shows "made" as the correct ...
0
votes
0answers
26 views
Why do we use “used to” to form a past tense?
To propose a deed happening in the past, we can exercise the past form of the verb for that action or state. I know one of the usages of "used to" is for the construction of a past sentence.
How ...
1
vote
2answers
15 views
The past of run, ran, has also the meaning of crash into something?
I drove off the road and ran into a tree.
In some of my texts of English studies, there is this expression, and the meaning of ran is related to a crash in this phrase, is this correct? I didn't find ...
0
votes
1answer
18 views
Loved in a sentence
My husband loved having me over in his office.
My husband loves having me over in his office.
My questions:
Does loved here refer to the simple past or the past participle ?
Do both the ...
26
votes
4answers
5k views
Why do native speakers use the present continuous tense when talking about people in a picture? Why not the past continuous tense?
This is some sentences in a flyer test.
I took this photo by the lake last Saturday, Grandma. It looks lovely.
Do you know any of these people?
Yes, I do. The man who’s reading the newspaper ...
