0
Anonymous Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Past Continuous or Past Perfect Continuous

Hello,
I have a little question about this sentence:
They were enjoying this for several days, when the weather took a turn for the worse.

Could somebody tell me if there is any explanation for using Past Continuous here? To me it seems to be correct, since the first part of the sentence can be treated as a background action. Yet I was told the only right tense which can be used is Past Perfect Continuous.

Thanks for your help

  

Top answer

Yes, say - They had been enjoying this for several days, when the weather took a turn for the worse. But you could also say - They were enjoying this for several days, when the weather took a turn for the worse.

— Clive

  • Yes, say - They had been enjoying this for several days, when the weather took a turn for the worse.
  • But you could also say - They were enjoying this for several days, when the weather took a turn for the worse.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

2 Answers
0

Yes, say -

They had been enjoying this for several days, when the weather took a turn for the worse.


But you could also say -

They were enjoying this for several days, when the weather took a turn for the worse.

0
0
anonymousThey were enjoying this for several days

A for-phrase of time does not often go together well with the past continuous tense.

No comma, by the way, because the subordinate clause comes after the main clause here.

CJ

0

Related Questions