Adverb clauses of time and past tense

Question

Hallo thereI would like to know whether adverb clauses of time when telling something about the past are restricted to a specific tense like the simple past or whether they can contain a scope of tenses or even every tense that is linked to the idea of something happening in the past.When watching english lessons on the internet, I think I got a hint on that in most cases adverb clauses of time will have the simple past or the past progressive, but this might have been a misunderstanding as well.Are adverb clauses of time that tell something about the past restricted to certain tenses what concerns their conjugated verb?Thanks in advance for your answers.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

anonymousadverb clauses of time when telling something about the past

It is going to be related to the subordinator, the subordinating conjunction. It is the conjunction that relates the timeframe of the action in the dependent clause to that of the main clause.

Here is a good article on these conjunctions and how the tenses in the clauses are used.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/conjunctions-time

If the action in the past is a one-time event, simple past is used.
If the action happens over a period of time, the continuous tenses can be combined.
The action in the dependent clause can be interrupted by the action in the main clause. (continuous / simple past)

When we got on the plane to Malibu, I remembered that I had left my cellphone in the car. (simple past/simple past)
As we were getting on the plane to Malibu, I was thinking about last year's vacation there. (past progressive/past progressive)
While we were boarding the plane to Malibu, I suddenly realized that I had left my cellphone in the car. (past progressive /simple past)

CalifJim · Answer

anonymousI would like to know whether adverb clauses of time when telling something about the past are restricted to a specific tense like the simple past or whether they can contain a scope of tenses or even every tense that is linked to the idea of something happening in the past.

The only restriction is that you don't want such a clause with the present perfect, whether simple or continuous. Indicators of time are not used with these two tenses.

We have visited London before the recession of 2008 began. NO!
After the rain stopped, people have resumed their usual activities. NO!
The firemen have been rushing to the scene as soon as they heard the alarm. NO!
When the children won the first prize, the school has celebrated it with a party. NO!

Even with this restriction, you can still use the past simple, the past continuous, the past perfect simple, and the past perfect continuous in these situations.

CJ

Adverb clauses of time and past tense

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