Questions tagged [past-tense]
This tag is for questions about the usage of tenses to refer to the past.
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Is it possible to combine present perfect and past simple in this sentence
Even if you have told us before we have been surprised because it has only been raining a little
Even if you have told us before we were surprised because it has only been raining a little
What ...
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Mention or had mentioned in my context
I received the parcel this morning. I was a bit surprised when I opened it that you did not enclose a book with the goods because I had mentioned in my answer to your last email that I preferred a ...
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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 ...
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Which tense should I use if I want to say that an activity was in progress?
I was in the middle of doing an activity. The doing of something was in progress in the indefinite past. It must have started but it is not known if it ended.
However, I don't want to add any other ...
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Every father "behaved/behaves" very boldly before they "got/gets" married. - What are the nuances?
Example 1
Every father behaved very boldly before they got married.
Example 2
Every father behaves very boldly before they gets married.
What are the nuances between them?
My interpretation:
...
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past perfect tense or past tense
The bus left an hour ago.
It has been an hour since the bus left/had left.
Could ‘had left’ be used instead of ‘left’ in thre second transformed sentence?
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it's high time or time
Do we always use past simple after "it's about time"?
It's about time we worked but it was about time we had worked or just worked and only past simple is acceptable after "it's time&...
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Can past simple mean annoyance in my example
I really worry because I have not received my order (made on 30/10/21). I already contacted you in December for the same reason and I only got a reply in January after sending many emails .
You ...
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Compared to or Comparing to?
I am not sure what is compared in this phrase but it seems that people believe it as the correct word.
She is nice, compared to you.
You're nicer, compared to him.
But why? What makes ...
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"That was all we needed" - Is this sentence correct?
"Same motive. Same will. That was all we needed to work together."
I wanted this to be more of a casual sentence so I skipped adding 'the' before 'same.'
But I'm not sure if the second part,...
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“Have you known” or “Did you know”?
First of all, I know it has been mentioned before but I'm not sure which is correct. I've been learning about the Past Simple and the Past Perfect and if I've understood correctly, well, in high level:...
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In what question(s), I can reply a past perfect tense answer?
Can a simple past tense question have a past perfect tense answer?
Q: Did you eat?
A: Yes, I had eaten.
Is the above correct?
As I wonder if a past perfect tense can solely exist without a simple ...
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Why using the past tense when one parent is dead but the children and the other parent are alive?
John met Mary in 2000. He died in 2023. They had three children.
Marc met Ann in 2001. He is alive. They have two children.
What are the grammatical reasons for the last verbs to be in past and ...
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which sentence is correct (dry or dried)?
Which is right?
The clothes are almost dry
or
The clothes are almost dried
Context: I washed my clothes yesterday. Today, before it rained, I took the clothes in. The said clothes are not wet and ...
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Why do we use "would" in "My dog wouldn't let us catch him" for a past event that happened only once?
Look at this sentence, please
My dog didn't let us catch him
I do understand that sentence but some people would say it like that
My dog wouldn't let us catch him
Why is that? Why do we use would ...
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present perfect continous or past perfect continuous in this case?
Wild Zeros started in Bordeaux in late 2007 - first gig in December of that year. Just a bunch of friends (ex or current members of Magnetix, Pneumonias, Mean Things, Skeptics, Wylde Tryfles…) who ...
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Can someone correct my mistakes? has had v had
Michael has been warned from the very moment he had entered the factory that Andy was a local version of a grim reaper. He was warned because everyone else had already worked with Andy
or
Michael ...
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Is my explanation good enough to justify the use of past perfect
So here I am at 50 Beck Road.The house is a pretty regular two-up, two-down affair, with the front door squared up to the pavement, Coronation Street style .It is the home of performance artist ...
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Past perfect usage in chronological stentences
I had eaten breakfast before I went to work.
Why do we use past perfect here since that sentence is chronological?
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Would past simple change the meaning of the sentence?
While drinking his tea, Billy had realised that the sleeping dog
hadn't moved at all. The dog had been silent and motionless since Billy arrived. In fact, why would he have moved? He seemed to be so ...
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"God reminded them that if they turned away from God, they would be cursed."
As for the use of ‘if’, especially when I’m not talking about ‘unreal’ situations, I’m confused about what is the correct way to use it when I talk about something that happened in the past. For ...
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Which action happened earlier?
Which action happened earlier in the following sentence:
“They had been wondering what had happened to their tent.”
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what is the difference between the past progressive form and simple past form in this sentence?
What is the difference between the past progressive form and simple past form in this sentence?
He purchased it at ten times the price the owner was asking and carefully hid it in his house.
If I ...
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Why is past simple better in this exercise
"Luckily he had brought a bottle of barbecue sauce with him to the barbecue, and he ____________ (survive) by drinking water mixed with barbecue sauce."
The test says only "survived&...
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Does a combination of Past simple + present perfect in one sentence sound very strange?
A book I am reading states that sentence (1) below sounds very strange, but it does not give any explanation about the oddness.
Joan walked out and has left her bag.
I have tried to figure out why (...
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the best dancer I ever saw
a. When I was in high school, there was this guy in our class who was the best dancer I ever saw.
Would you say that sentence corresponds to
When I was in high school, there was this guy in our class ...
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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 ...
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Have lived or lived?
I was preparing answers for the speaking part of the IELTS exam. I used the Past Simple like this "many famous people lived in my country such as
..." (I am talking about the people who died and were ...
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Why past simple in this sentence of Jane Austen's book "Persuasion"?
I found this sentence in Persuasion by Jane Austen:
Till he came and had examined the child, their apprehensions were the worst for being vague; they suspected great injury, but knew not where; but ...
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Past tense. "when Tom went [was going, would go, used to go] to high school."?
I'm confused with how to mention past habits.
If Tom is a student now, you say "Tom goes to high school", right?
If Tom already graduated, are these three all OK?
A-1) Tom went to high ...
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Can I use past perfect in this response?
I would like to know if I can use past perfect in this response:
Did not know that you would contact me again !!!
I had tried to contact so many times and did not receive any answer that I ...
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Is the usage of the Past Perfect tense possible in the context provided? [duplicate]
According to the answer key section the correct tense to use in the second sentence is Past Simple. I wonder whether it is possible to use the Past Perfect tense form "had written" here.
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Without context, is there any difference between "had been cancelled" and "was cancelled"?
I have an example sentence that goes like this:
I rang the station, and they told me that the train had been cancelled.
Is there any difference between that sentence and:
I rang the station, and ...
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How does the present perfect link the present with the past?
How can I determine the meaning of a sentence written in the present perfect?
For example,
I have played football for the national team.
Does this sentence necessarily imply that I am still playing ...
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What tense do you use in this case?
Context: you're talking with the person and he's saying some new info for you.
How would you answer?
I didn't know this. (Past Simple)
I hadn't known this. (Past Perfect)
For me the second is more ...
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Past and present in one sentence
Is it correct to use both past and present tenses in sentences where experiments lead to the discovery of general truth about smth, like this:
"Experiments demonstrated that in this solution ...
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Are these sentences correct to say "I don't understand what she said" and "I don't understand what she asked"?
Suppose I'm talking with someone and they say/ask something that I don't get it. Can I use the following sentences?
"I don't understand what she said"
"I don't understand what she ...
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Confusion with past and past perfect tense usage
I want to write a narrative in simple past tense. I have some confusion regarding the usage of past and past perfect tense. Kindly read the below narrative and provide guidance.
He asked me why I ...
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until today, does it include today
Until today, I have been getting on well with my boyfriend but this morning we had an argument and he made me cry
Is it possible to write that I don't think so:
"Until today" includes today ...
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have learned\have been learning\used to/would learn?
The parents have learned to let their kids speak.
The parents have been learning to let their kids speak.
The parents used to/would learn to let their kids speak.
I mean that that was certain process,...
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Present relevance or not , present perfect or past simple in this case
Sorry to contact you but I just realized that my last order ( two Comps on bin liner) made on discog were on Cd. I made a mistake. I thought they were on vinyl.
So I know that this order has already ...
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present vs past tense
I told her to light the lamp when it gets dark.
I told her to light the lamp when it got dark.
Which sentence is correct? If both are correct then what is the difference in meaning between them and ...
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Why did the author use past continuous in that sentence
I came from a scene that is more punk than the garage scene. The first concerts I was going to were punk, like at the MIROITRIE.for a year Then I went to Canada for a year
Why "was going"? Why past ...
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tense with until today
I have paid my electric bills until now.
The change is imminent if there is one.
I had paid my electric bills until now.
The change has already been done meaning I had paid my electric bills until ...
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Past continuous passive or Past simple passive
I was recently doing passive voice exercises when I came upon this sentence in "English Grammar in Use Supplementary Exercises", and here is the aforementioned sentence and the content of ...
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Past Simple or Present Perfect in a Subordinate Clause with 'Until'
I waited until he found out the truth before I attempted to explain myself.
OR
I waited until he had found out the truth before I attempted to explain myself.
Is Past Perfect necessary here? I ...
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Is it okay to use simple past and simple present in the same sentence?
If I am trying to describe my experience today, which one of these is correct?
Every time I thought I got it, every time I made it to the point where I was sure I understood it, the market proves me ...
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Usage of "Had been" and "Used to"
Are this two tenses convenient to use for the same purpose, for the event in the past that began, lasted and finished?
For example:
I used to live in London
I had been living in London
Where is the ...
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Why is Past Perfect used here?
This is an excerpt from "The Moon and Sixpence", by W Somerset Maugham, the very beginning of chapter 18:
had this in my workbook as an example of a specific use of past perfect (the use i ...
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Past Tense or Present Perfect [duplicate]
He placed an order OR He has placed an order. He has now be waiting for three weeks but no goods have arrived.
My question is: Does the first sentence denote the starting point of the following ...
Franziska