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Redkiddy Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Past continious-past tense and when-while
Hello from Istanbul,
I have some difficulty in using past tense or past continious in these situations ,will you help me?:)
"The legend of the Ourang Medan
In June 1947,the Silver Star, an American ship, .................. (sail) near the island of Sumatra.
Suddenly, it ...................(receive) a call for help from the Ourang Medan, a dutch cargo ship.
When they ....................( find) it something ......................( be) strange.The ship didn't have any damage.
While members of the crew ...................(climb) on board, shivers .......................(run) down their spines.
Some of the men ......................(search) the ship for survivors while others ....................(tie)the two boats together."
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Here are the answers: sailed,received,found,was,were climbing,ran,searched ,tied
My questions are these:
Can we use "was sailing" insted of "sailed"?
"were running" instead of "ran" ?
"were tying " instead of "tied?
Thanks for advance
Note : What does "shivers ran down their spines" mean?
I have some difficulty in using past tense or past continious in these situations ,will you help me?:)
"The legend of the Ourang Medan
In June 1947,the Silver Star, an American ship, .................. (sail) near the island of Sumatra.
Suddenly, it ...................(receive) a call for help from the Ourang Medan, a dutch cargo ship.
When they ....................( find) it something ......................( be) strange.The ship didn't have any damage.
While members of the crew ...................(climb) on board, shivers .......................(run) down their spines.
Some of the men ......................(search) the ship for survivors while others ....................(tie)the two boats together."
------------------------------------------------------
Here are the answers: sailed,received,found,was,were climbing,ran,searched ,tied
My questions are these:
Can we use "was sailing" insted of "sailed"?
"were running" instead of "ran" ?
"were tying " instead of "tied?
Thanks for advance
Note : What does "shivers ran down their spines" mean?
Top answer
redkiddy Here are the answers: sailed,received,found,was,were climbing,ran,searched ,tied. My questions are these: Can we use "was sailing" insted of "sailed"? I would say YES .
- redkiddy Here are the answers: sailed,received,found,was,were climbing,ran,searched ,tied.
- My questions are these: Can we use "was sailing" insted of "sailed"?
- I would say YES .
- "were running" instead of "ran" ?
- NO "were tying " instead of "tied?
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6 Answers
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redkiddyHere are the answers: sailed,received,found,was,were climbing,ran,searched ,tied.
My questions are these: Can we use "was sailing" insted of "sailed"? I would say YES. "were running" instead of "ran" ? NO "were tying " instead of "tied?
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Hi,
A little help here, but I suggest to wait for the authorities.
Past tense - Action or event that happened in the past.
S + Vpast
We played basketball yesterday.
Past continuous - Action or events that was happening, going on at the same point in the past./ Two past events.
S + be(past)+ Ving
We were playing basketball yesterday
A little help here, but I suggest to wait for the authorities.
Past tense - Action or event that happened in the past.
S + Vpast
We played basketball yesterday.
Past continuous - Action or events that was happening, going on at the same point in the past./ Two past events.
S + be(past)+ Ving
We were playing basketball yesterday
00
Hi John,
P.S. This is my doubt!!
Prajwal
But I feel it can change the meaning of the sentence. "was sailing" conveys that the action was already being done, i.e. the ship was already sailing. "sailed" means that the action began at that time(June). Am I right?
Can we use "was sailing" instead of "sailed"?
Yes.
P.S. This is my doubt!!
Prajwal
00
To tell you the truth, Prajwal, I would write "was sailing" because that is my style.
There is no difference in meaning between "sailed" or "was sailing" ("sailed" is a bit too formal for my tastes).
This is a story and, as such, it seems more natural to me to use the past continuous.
However, "sailed" is grammatical - no doubt about it.
But the picture that "was sailing" paints in
There is no difference in meaning between "sailed" or "was sailing" ("sailed" is a bit too formal for my tastes).
This is a story and, as such, it seems more natural to me to use the past continuous.
However, "sailed" is grammatical - no doubt about it.
But the picture that "was sailing" paints in
00
Thank you for the answers,
I forgot to ask one more question.
"Some of the men ......................(search) the ship for survivors while others ....................(tie)the two boats together."
I am trying to understand the use of " when + past continious and while+past tense"
But in this example sentence I believe "were searching" and "were tying " are correct,too.
I forgot to ask one more question.
"Some of the men ......................(search) the ship for survivors while others ....................(tie)the two boats together."
I am trying to understand the use of " when + past continious and while+past tense"
But in this example sentence I believe "were searching" and "were tying " are correct,too.
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redkiddyHello from Istanbul,I have some difficulty in using past tense or past continious in these situations ,will you help me?:)"The legend of the Ourang Medan In June 1947,the Silver Star, an American ship, .....Sailed.. (sail) near the island of Sumatra.Suddenly, it ....received...
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