17
votes
Perfect fit for a grammatical error
3 and 4 are both grammatically correct, though 4 is clearly the most natural, so it is the correct answer according to the wording of the question, "the most appropriate option".
4 is ...
- 51.1k
13
votes
Accepted
weren't playing vs didn't play
Okay, so this is a very specific answer to a very specific question. In this specific case, where there are sports teams involved, there's actually a difference in how I, as a native speaker of ...
- 22.9k
9
votes
Accepted
I'm very tired because I travelled for several hours this morning
I dispute your premise. (2) sounds perfectly fine to me, and I am a native speaker. Consider the following, which has exactly the same grammatical form:
I'm very tired because I travelled all day ...
- 1,468
6
votes
Accepted
Past Perfect Continuous vs Past Simple
As is often the case with aspectual distinctions in English (perfect or not; continuous or not) both are possible, depending on how the speaker is choosing to present the temporal structure of the ...
- 77.1k
6
votes
Accepted
I repaired/was reparing my bike from 2 to 4pm
The difference is in whether you are choosing to present the activity as a completed whole, or as a process that continued. That is all.
There is no objective difference. There are no implications ...
- 77.1k
5
votes
Using past continuous to refer to past habits with adverbials of frequency?
They're all grammatical.
You could say
In those days, I was taking the train to work every day.
In those days, I took the train to work every day.
In those days, I would take the train ...
- 137k
5
votes
weren't playing vs didn't play
Complementing the British English perspective provided by SamBC, here's an American English perspective (more specifically Midwestern American English).
There's a slight linguistic difference between ...
- 4,248
5
votes
Accepted
"Words were different when they (lived / were living) inside of you"
It is correct. There is no grammatical requirement for clauses following the "when" conjunction to be in the continuous tense, especially not with verbs like "live" that already indicate a state, not ...
- 232k
5
votes
Accepted
Difference between Past continuous and Past perfect continuous
I think the sentence is wrong, it should either be "they had been playing football since 10 o'clock, meaning they started at ten and continued until a later time, or "they were playing football at ten"...
- 3,964
5
votes
I repaired/was reparing my bike from 2 to 4pm
In terms of literal meaning, they are equivalent. The difference is one of emphasis.
Main Events
The first reason to use the past continuous is to emphasize the main event of some story. If several ...
- 2,196
5
votes
Accepted
Past Perfect vs Past Continuous
These don't break any fundamental grammar rules, but are oddly phrased and not very natural.
"Last year" in many contexts refers to calendar years, (so last year was 2022) You could say, &...
- 232k
4
votes
Accepted
is it possible to use the past continuous with before?
Certainly. As with many choices of aspect in English, either is possible, and differs only in how the speaker wishes to refer to the events. The choice of watched implies that, for the purpose of the ...
- 77.1k
4
votes
Accepted
Can I use "Have been" with "Until" in this sentence?
It's not really correct, because "have been dealing" is the present perfect continuous (which is a present tense like the name says, talking about a present status!) but "until I stumbled" is talking ...
- 41.1k
4
votes
I was meeting vs. I met
As is very often the case with tenses in English, both are possible, depending on how you are choosing to view the temporal structure of the events, rather than on an objective difference in the ...
- 77.1k
4
votes
Before the party: Question about the past perfect continuous tense
In OP's first version, he was happy at time of speaking (the time when he was telling people about being happy).
In the second version, he was telling them about having been happy at some earlier ...
- 74.6k
4
votes
Accepted
I am reading or I was reading a book?
Like Colleen said, in spoken English you can say whichever makes sense to you or feels right in the moment. Either response would be perfectly natural.
It might be a little more common to say "I'...
- 21.1k
4
votes
Simple Past and Past Progressive - both possible in cases with defined period of time - Thomson (1986) says it should be Simple Past
In this case, the fact that the time-frame for playing football is "well-defined" (precisely specified) isn't relevant to the choice of tense - except that #2 would be far less likely if the ...
- 74.6k
4
votes
Accepted
Is " advertise" ok in this case?
to advertise for something is what you do when you are trying to get/obtain/find that something. So advertising for a concert doesn't make much sense (since "trying to obtain a concert" is ...
- 77.1k
4
votes
Past Perfect vs Past Continuous
You are still employed as a manager:
For the past year, I have been working as a manager.
You are no longer employed as a manager:
Until recently, I was working as a manager.
(Up) until two months ...
- 3,626
3
votes
Can this case be considered a substitution for the past continuous and future continuous tense
To me, as a native American English speaker, it seems reasonable to consider it a substitution for the past continuous. The sentence is more or less synonymous with:
He left the stage while the ...
- 1,643
3
votes
Using past continuous to refer to past habits with adverbials of frequency?
"He was going for a morning walk every day" is an unlikely form. The "used to" pattern would be preferred for this meaning: "He used to go for a morning walk every day". Simple past is also possible "...
- 232k
3
votes
The baby was sleeping or slept?
Both of the sentences about babies are correct, but they mean slightly different things. The former (... was sleeping...) suggests that something happened (or could have happened) and caused a change ...
- 1,482
3
votes
I lived Vs. I was living
Both sentences are grammatically correct but they imply different things. Because of this, one of them will be the better choice depending on the context. It is this match between hint and context ...
- 736
3
votes
Accepted
is the past simple possible here?
Yes ... but it doesn't really make much of a difference. Either was living or lived suggests the situation was temporary. For example:
When I was swimming every day, I got pretty tan.
The ...
- 88.5k
3
votes
weren't going vs didn't go
Your "didn't go north" example, as it stands, to me implies that your trip was completely cancelled. You were perhaps considering going north on that day, but the bad weather meant you didn't go north ...
- 970
3
votes
Accepted
Why using the past continuous tense when the action has already finished?
I was talking to A this morning, and I think he feels really bad about it.
I talked to A this morning, and I think he feels really bad about it.
Both are fine.
The former slightly highlights ...
- 12.2k
3
votes
Accepted
drove or was driving?
The simple past can be used to describe a single event in the past. This makes the meanings of "...because he drove" and "...because he was driving" very similar. There is a slight difference in ...
- 232k
3
votes
Accepted
usage of 'while' and 'when'
They are both perfectly fine. "While" may have a bit more of a sense of the occurrence happening over a length of time, i.e. during the condition given, and accordingly, "when" sounds a bit like it ...
- 1,827
3
votes
Accepted
past simple vs past progressive
One of the main rules for using the past progressive or continuous (was + gerund) is when the word when appears.
to be doing something when something else occurred.
Most grammars will explain it ...
- 49k
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