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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
I read vs. I was reading
Hi everone. I would like to ask someone to help me solve this problem that hasn't allowed me to sleep for months 
In English when you list a number of things you did in a sequence you generally use the past simple. However, there is often a difference that with tha past simple I mean the action was completed, while with the past continuous you only talk about the activity, not its completetion. So, "I read a book" means from start to the end. But, "Yesteday at 6.30 I was reading a book." doesn't imply the completition. Now, if I want to list a few things I did yesterday afternoon, which would a native speaker use? "Yesteday afternoon I had a nap, I did the washing up, planted some flowers in the garden, did my English homework, read a book, made dinner ....." or "Yesteday afternoon I had a nap, I did the washing up, planted some flowers in the garden, did my English homework, I was reading a book, made dinner ....." It doesn't sound natural to me to interrupt the line of the past simple tenses with the past continous, however, I do not want to say that I read the book from start to end. Maybe I only read a chapter, or a few pages. Thank you.
In English when you list a number of things you did in a sequence you generally use the past simple. However, there is often a difference that with tha past simple I mean the action was completed, while with the past continuous you only talk about the activity, not its completetion. So, "I read a book" means from start to the end. But, "Yesteday at 6.30 I was reading a book." doesn't imply the completition. Now, if I want to list a few things I did yesterday afternoon, which would a native speaker use? "Yesteday afternoon I had a nap, I did the washing up, planted some flowers in the garden, did my English homework, read a book, made dinner ....." or "Yesteday afternoon I had a nap, I did the washing up, planted some flowers in the garden, did my English homework, I was reading a book, made dinner ....." It doesn't sound natural to me to interrupt the line of the past simple tenses with the past continous, however, I do not want to say that I read the book from start to end. Maybe I only read a chapter, or a few pages. Thank you.
Top answer
Say ' . '. I read a book does not always mean 'I completed it'.
- Say ' .
- '.
- I read a book does not always mean 'I completed it'.
- The context usually makes the meaning clear, eg I read a book for five minutes.
- Or you can say eg i read part of a book.
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4 Answers
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Say ' . . planted some flowers in the garden, did my English homework, read a book, made dinner .....'.
I read a book does not always mean 'I completed it'. The context usually makes the meaning clear, eg I read a book for five minutes. Or you can say eg i read part of a book.
I read a book does not always mean 'I completed it'. The context usually makes the meaning clear, eg I read a book for five minutes. Or you can say eg i read part of a book.
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Anonymous It doesn't sound natural to me to interrupt the line of the past simple tenses with the past continous, however, I do not want to say that I read the book from start to end. Maybe I only read a chapter, or a few pages. Thank you.The past continuous is not natural there. Say "I read for a bit" or "I read a few pages of my book."
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