His back was hurting / hurt after carrying the boxes.

Question

Good evening, everyone.In what context would you saya) His back was hurting after carrying the boxes.instead ofb) His back hurt after carrying the boxes.?

Clive · Accepted Answer

Where I felt that his condition was temporary.
eg He'll be OK in an hour.

Reegis · Answer

Hmmm, please note that I am asking about this very sentence - His back was hurting after carrying the boxes. It pertains to the past, so we already know if it was temporary.

I will try to describe the context and please verify if it makes sense.
Day 1: Let's imagine I meet John and see that he has back pain, and I say: His back is hurting after carrying the boxes.
Day 2: John's back pain is gone.
Day 3: I meet Frank and comment on John's health: His back was hurting after carrying the boxes. But guess what - it was gone the day after.

Is it a correct usage?

Clive · Answer

Yes, your example is correct. John's back pain lasted a day. In my original post, I said eg an hour.. I'd call both cases temporary.

It pertains to the past, so we already know if it was temporary. You are misinterpreting the word 'temporary'. The basic meaning is 'for a limited time'. We do not say that everything that happened in the past was 'temporary'.

Reegis · Answer

CliveYes, your example is correct. John's back pain lasted a day. In my original post, I said eg an hour.. I'd call both cases temporary.

Thanks for the confirmation. I must say that however this usage of the past continuous is very intuitive for me, I didn't come across it earlier on any grammar site. For example here http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/pastcontinuous.html we have 5 uses and it is not even mentioned.
Do you happen to have some favourite book/website with the comprehensive description of the English times?

CliveIt pertains to the past, so we already know if it was temporary. You are misinterpreting the word 'temporary'. The basic meaning is 'for a limited time'. We do not say that everything that happened in the past was 'temporary'.

Yep, this is the meaning I meant

My reasoning is that if something happened (started happening) in the past and is temporary (lasts for a limited time), then very likely we know its result at the moment of the speaking (it was limited so probably already ended).

Clive · Answer

I don't have favourites, but here are a few links you might like to look at.
Search for 'temporary'.

http://www.anna-grammar.com/worksheets/AGpastsimpcont_int.pdf

A continuous form indicates not only the time of an action but also the perspective of the speaker, i.e. how they see the action. A past simple form shows that the speaker sees the action as finished in some way, whereas a continuous form shows that the speaker sees it as unfinished or temporary in some way. I'd suggest you read our continuous aspect page for more on this, but please know this is a subtle distinction that usually takes some time and practice to master.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

http://www.eslbase.com/grammar/past-continuous

Reegis · Answer

Very helpful quote and links - especially the last two. Thanks Clive!

His back was hurting / hurt after carrying the boxes.

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