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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Slept vs. was sleeping vs. had been sleeping
A. I slept all night.
B. I was sleeping all night.
C. I had been sleeping all night.
1. Suppose I'm telling my friend the next morning about what happened last night, which of the above is most natural?
2. What is the difference in meaning between these sentences if they are all grammatical?
3. If I add the phrase "for six hours straight" at the end of each sentence, will they still be grammatical?
4. I usually read that the past perfect should have another past event reference. In C, do you think the other past event reference needs not be said because the end of the night is the implied past reference?
D. I haven't thought of that until now.
E. I hadn't thought of that until now.
F. I have never felt so alone until now.
G. I had never felt so alone until now.
5. Which verb tense in each pair above is grammatical with the expression "until now"?
6. If both are possible, what is the difference and which is more natural?
I would be very happy for your kind assistance. Thank you.
B. I was sleeping all night.
C. I had been sleeping all night.
1. Suppose I'm telling my friend the next morning about what happened last night, which of the above is most natural?
2. What is the difference in meaning between these sentences if they are all grammatical?
3. If I add the phrase "for six hours straight" at the end of each sentence, will they still be grammatical?
4. I usually read that the past perfect should have another past event reference. In C, do you think the other past event reference needs not be said because the end of the night is the implied past reference?
D. I haven't thought of that until now.
E. I hadn't thought of that until now.
F. I have never felt so alone until now.
G. I had never felt so alone until now.
5. Which verb tense in each pair above is grammatical with the expression "until now"?
6. If both are possible, what is the difference and which is more natural?
I would be very happy for your kind assistance. Thank you.
Top answer
1. A is the shortest and clearest, but B is also common. C is not common in speech and is passive, which some grammar style books discourage.
- 1.
- A is the shortest and clearest, but B is also common.
- C is not common in speech and is passive, which some grammar style books discourage.
- 2.
- A gives a simple fact.
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7 Answers
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1. A is the shortest and clearest, but B is also common. C is not common in speech and is passive, which some grammar style books discourage.
2. A gives a simple fact. B gives the idea of a process ("sleeping") being done.
3. The phrase would not work with "all night" since the night is longer than six hours. You could say I slept/was sleeping/had been sleeping/ for six hours straight at
2. A gives a simple fact. B gives the idea of a process ("sleeping") being done.
3. The phrase would not work with "all night" since the night is longer than six hours. You could say I slept/was sleeping/had been sleeping/ for six hours straight at
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Thank you, Lakshwadeep, for your explanation. It was really helpful. Just a follow up question below:
D. I haven't thought of that until now.
E. I hadn't thought of that until now.
Between D and E, I see D is the natural thing to say. However, I tried to google "hadn't thought of that until now" in quotes. I wonder wh
D. I haven't thought of that until now.
E. I hadn't thought of that until now.
Between D and E, I see D is the natural thing to say. However, I tried to google "hadn't thought of that until now" in quotes. I wonder wh
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As I think about it, I also have seen the past perfect used. Perhaps the "thought" (as a noun) is one past event and the "not thinking" is the further past event, which would make the past perfect tense work. I guess this would happen because the sentence must come after the thought is made, which often is not by a different person. Also, it could be that the simple past "didn't think" sounds clo
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Thank you, Lakshwadeep, for that clarification. I really appreciate it. I'm just curious...personally, as a native speaker, which would you say: "haven't thought or hadn't thought...until now"?
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I personally can't say because I am confusing myself on which one I normally use. "Haven't" is what I would likely use.
I think either one is used by native speakers, but some searches on google, without quotes, showed haven't receiving more hits than hadn't.
The past perfect would be used if the event was completed in the past, while the present perfect would be used if it was
I think either one is used by native speakers, but some searches on google, without quotes, showed haven't receiving more hits than hadn't.
The past perfect would be used if the event was completed in the past, while the present perfect would be used if it was
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Thank you, Lakshwadeep, for that clarification. That was helpful.
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