常见时态辨析

Grammar

⏹simple past, past progressive, past perfect

⏹verbs of perception

⏹special word order with as and though

⏹present participle phrases used as adverbials

simple past, past progressive, past perfect

⏹simple past tense: verb + -ed or irregular verbs

1) completed action in the past:

–I planted these roses a long, long time ago… (L22)

–A year and a half later, my grandfather became gravely ill. (L38)

2) habits or facts in the past:

–It was my way of saying thank you to God. (L24)

–I used to watch him pick roses for his mother. (L25)

3) duration in the past:

–For a moment he just stared off into the apple trees. (L10)

4) past tense of verbs such as want, wonder, hope is used for polite inquiries.

–I wondered how you liked the film.

⏹past progressive tense: was/were + v.-ing (present participle)

1) interruption in the past: Use the Past Progressive to indicate a longer action in the past that was interrupted.

–I was standing by his rosebush when an uncle came to tell me… (L49)

2) In 1), described above, the Past Progressive is interrupted by a shorter action in the Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.

–Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.

*In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the Past Progressive, a specific time only interrupts the action.

–Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.—I started eating at 6 PM.

–Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.—I started earlier; and at 6 PM, I was in the process of eating dinner.

3) parallel actions: two or more actions happening at the same time

–I was studying while he was making dinner.

–They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.

4) atmosphere: a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past

–When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his hands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service.

5) repetition and irritation with “always”: expressing the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past

–I didn’t like them because they were always complaining.

6) “when” vs. “while”: “when” is most often followed by the Simple Past, whereas “while” is usually followed by the Past Progressive.

–I was studying when she called.

–While I was studying, she called.

⏹past perfect tense: had + v.pp. (past participle)

1) completed action before sth. in the past: