The Past Tenses: Grammar File Section 1: Tenses

GRAMMAR FILE
Section 1: Tenses
THE PAST TENSES

A. THE PAST TENSE SIMPLE
 FORM:
REGULAR VERBS: SHORT INFINITIVE + “-ED”
IRREGULAR VERBS: THE SECOND FORM OF THE VERB
 USES:
1. The simple past is used to locate a situation at some specified time in the past, in the
sense that the speaker must have a DEFINITE TIME in mind suggested by means of
adverbs. The situation described by the simple past takes place before the present
moment, meaning that NOW is excluded.
Eg. (1) I last saw John about 5 years ago.
2. The simple past can be used without a definite time adverbial if the sentence refers
to a comparison between present and past conditions.
Eg. (2) Bucharest is no longer what it used to be.
 VALUES:
1. DEICTIC VALUE
The simple past is used with a deictic adverb of time ( yesterday, two years ago, last
night, in 1789, etc.) , in which case the event in time is established in relation to the
moment of speaking (NOW). The time of the event is clearly anchored in the past.
Eg. (3) The French Revolution began in 1789.

(4) They went to Spain 3 years ago.
2. NARRATIVE VALUE
The simple past is the tense of narratives, whether of real or of fictional events. In this
case, the tense is no longer accompanied by a time adverbial, but is rather governed by
the laws of the narrative mode.
Eg. (5) “It was, as I say, a little game we all indulged in to some extent. Even so, it
was Ruth who took it further than anyone else. She was the one always pretending to
have finished anything anyone happened to be reading; and she was the only one with
this notion that the way to demonstrate your superior reading was to go around telling
people the plots of novels they were in the middle of. That’s why, when she started on
‘Daniel Deronda’, even though I’d not been enjoying it much, I closed the book, sat up
and said to her, completely out of the blue….”
Kazuo Ishiguro, “Never Let Me Go”
3. HABITUAL VALUE
The Past Simple is used to describe an event that was recurrent during a certain given
interval in the past
Teacher: Elena Lucia Popescu

GRAMMAR FILE
Section 1: Tenses
Eg. (6) He played football every day when he was younger.
(7) My cat bit and scratched everyone who touched her.
4. PAST PERFECT VALUE

This is a value derived from the contrast between simultaneous past events and past
events occurring in a sequence
Eg. (8) John took off his coat and sat down. (sequential)
(9) He stared and wondered at the evidence before him. (simultaneous)
The events in example (8) are performed in a sequence, so changing the order of the
events would change the meaning of the sentence, whereas the events in example (9)
may be reversed without changing the meaning of the sentence.
5. PRESENT TIME VALUE
This represents a special development of the normal past meaning, which appears in
everyday conversation making reference to the present feelings or thoughts of the
speaker.
Eg. (10) A: Did you want me?
B: Yes, I hoped you could give me a hand with the cleaning.
The use of Past Simple by speaker B renders the request indirect and thus, more polite.
Moreover, the past form avoids a clash of wills, allowing speaker A to either accept or
decline the request. The use of past by speaker A, also avoids the meaning of imperative.
 TIME ADVERBIALS:
YESTERDAY
LAST week; month, year, etc.
A week; three months, six days AGO
 TRANSLATION:
The Past Simple is the equivalent of the Romanian ‘Perfect Compus’.
B. THE PAST PROGRESSIVE

 FORM: WAS/ WERE + VB-ING
 USES:
The Past Progressive describes situations in past time that parallel situations that take
place at the moment of speaking (Present Progressive).
 VALUES:
1. TEMPORARY VALUE
The Past Simple indicates temporary/ incomplete activities of limited duration. It may
refer to activities in progress at a specific moment in the past or to temporary
activities extending over longer 9unspecified) period of past time.

GRAMMAR FILE
Section 1: Tenses
Eg. (11) I was having a shower at the time, and I didn’t hear the phone. (activity in
progress at a particular moment in time)
(12) I was reading a book that evening. (incomplete action)
2. HABITUAL/ ITERATIVE VALUE

It describes a habit that extends only over a limited period of time, which is generally
specified.
Eg. (13) He was repairing his own car those days.
3. FUTURE VALUE
It parallels the use of Present progressive with a future value, being its equivalent in
Reported Speech.
Eg. (14) Jane said she was working on her project that night.
4. EMOTIONAL VALUE
The use is similar to that of Present Continuous, to express annoyance or irritation. It
It is generally used with frequency adverbs such as always, continually, forever, etc.
Eg. (15) As a young boy he was always climbing the trees in the garden.
5. TEMPORAL FRAME VALUE

It supports the background description in a narrative, providing a temporal frame
around another action expressed by Past Simple.
Eg. (16) It was nearly autumn and starting to get chilly. The veterans were spending
more time indoors and generally going back to whatever routines they’d had before
the summer.
Kazuo Ishiguro, “Never Let Me Go”
 TIME ADVERBIALS:
AT THAT TIME; THOSE DAYS, THAT YEAR, etc.
 TRANSLATION:
The Past progressive is the equivalent of the Romanian IMPERFECT
C. THE PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

 FORM: HAD+ PAST PARTICIPLE (THE 3RD FORM)
 USES:
Past Perfect Simple is similar to Present Perfect, but it is temporarily placed on the past
axis.
1. It refers to an event that starts in the past and lasts up to a specific moment (THEN).
Eg. (17) By the time they arrived at the cinema, the film had already started.
2. It occurs in both main and subordinate clauses introduced by when, after, before,
until, by the time.
Eg. (18) After they had identified the body, the police made a list of suspects.
 TRANSLATION:

GRAMMAR FILE
Section 1: Tenses
The Past Perfect Simple is the equivalent of the Romanian MAI MULT CA PERFECT.
D. THE PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

 FORM: HAD+BEEN+VB-ING
 USES:
The use of the progressive aspect simply reinforces the ideas of continuity of an activity.
Eg. (19) They had been sleeping for hours before we could manage to get in touch with
them.
 TRANSLATION:
Due to the Progressive Aspect, The Past Perfect Progressive MAY be translated with the
Romanian IMPERFECT.

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GRAMMAR FILE

THE PAST TENSES

Eg. (1) I last saw John about 5 years ago.

Eg. (3) The French Revolution began in 1789.

Kazuo Ishiguro, “Never Let Me Go”

Teacher: Elena Lucia Popescu

Eg. (6) He played football every day when he was younger.

(7) My cat bit and scratched everyone who touched her.

4. PAST PERFECT VALUE

(9) He stared and wondered at the evidence before him. (simultaneous)

5. PRESENT TIME VALUE

Eg. (10) A: Did you want me?

B: Yes, I hoped you could give me a hand with the cleaning.

B. THE PAST PROGRESSIVE

Teacher: Elena Lucia Popescu

2. HABITUAL/ ITERATIVE VALUE

5. TEMPORAL FRAME VALUE

Kazuo Ishiguro, “Never Let Me Go”

C. THE PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

Teacher: Elena Lucia Popescu

D. THE PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

Teacher: Elena Lucia Popescu

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