My OperaUSES OF THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 4:14:56 PM
1. Completed actions
We normally use the Simple Past Tense to talk about events, actions or situations which occurred in the past and are now finished.
They may have happened recently:
- Sam phoned a moment ago.
or in the distant past:
- The Goths invaded Rome in A.D. 410.
A time reference must be given:
- I had a word with Julian this morning.
or must be understood from the context
- I saw Fred in town. (i.e. when I was there this morning)
- I never met my grandfather. (i.e. he is dead)
When we use the simple past, we are usually concerned with when an action occurred, not with its duration (how long it lasted).
We normally use the Simple Past Tense to talk about events, actions or situations which occurred in the past and are now finished.
They may have happened recently:
- Sam phoned a moment ago.
or in the distant past:
- The Goths invaded Rome in A.D. 410.
A time reference must be given:
- I had a word with Julian this morning.
or must be understood from the context
- I saw Fred in town. (i.e. when I was there this morning)
- I never met my grandfather. (i.e. he is dead)
When we use the simple past, we are usually concerned with when an action occurred, not with its duration (how long it lasted).
2. Past habit
Like used to, the simple past can be used to describe past habits:
- I smoked forty cigarettes a day till I gave up.
3. The immediate past
We can sometimes use the Simple Past without a time reference to describe something that happened a very short time ago:
- Jimmy punched me in the stomach.
- Did the telephone ring?
- Who left the door open?
4. Polite inquiries, etc.
The Simple Past does not always refer to past time. It can also be used for polite inquiries (particularly asking for favours), often with verbs like hope, think or wonder. Compare:
- I wonder if you could give me a lift.
- I wondered if you could give me a lift. (more tentative/polite)
Source: http://www.znanje.org/
(100%)
