Past tenses

Question

Hello, I have problems with the following sentences. Could you please tell me which ones are correct?
I eat only fruit for a week. or I was eating only fruit for week.
I drank wine for two hours or I was drinking wine for two hours.
In the past people eat a lot of vegetable or In the past people were eating a lot of vegetable.
I did the same job for 5 years or I was doing the same job for 5 years.
I attended a Spanish course for a month or I was attending a Spanish course for a month.

Thank you for your help

Dave Phillips · Accepted Answer

AnonymousHello, I have problems with the following sentences. Could you please tell me which ones are correct?

I eat only fruit for a week. or I was eating only fruit for week. No. I ate only fruit for a week.

I drank wine for two hours or I was drinking wine for two hours. Both depending how you use them but the second would be used more.

In the past people eat a lot of vegetables or In the past people were eating a lot of vegetables. The second is grammatically correct but , "In the past people ate a lot of vegetables" is better.

I did the same job for 5 years or I was doing the same job for 5 years.Both depending on how you use them.

I attended a Spanish course for a month or I was attending a Spanish course for a month. Again both.

Thank you for your help

CalifJim · Answer

I ~~eat~~ ate only fruit for a week. or I was eating only fruit for a week.
Following the pattern of the other sentences, I assume you meant "ate".

I drank wine for two hours or I was drinking wine for two hours.

In the past people ~~eat~~ ate a lot of vegetables or In the past people were eating a lot of vegetables.
As above.

I did the same job for 5 years or I was doing the same job for 5 years.

I attended a Spanish course for a month or I was attending a Spanish course for a month.
______________

The most natural and normal form is the first one in each pair. You would need a special reason to use the second one, because the forms with -ing emphasize the on-going nature of the action, and this emphasis is often used to form the background against which a more salient event occurs. Without the further context that could be provided by a real situation, I would be conservative and use only the first (non-continuous) forms.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for your answers

Past tenses

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions