Some doubts about the past tenses

Question

Howdy!Here are some seemingly simple sentences, but I'm not sure how to complete them.1. At noon Martha was here. She ___ me about ther plans.a) was telling b) told (I'm leaning towards this one, if I can say so)2. When she came here for the first time, she ___ how to get to the toilet.a) asked (I'm leaning towards this one, if I can say so)b) was asking3. Seven years ago I ____ for the FBI. I ____ for them for over 10 years and tht was the best time of my life.a) was working/was working (I'm leaning towards this one, if I can say so)b) worked/was working If someone could please explain me whether both options are possible or just one of them in each example. I'd be grateful for an explenation.Thank you!PS. is it OK to say during six days ?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

.
1. Right

2. Right

3. I don't think either answer is natural. I suggest 'worked/worked' or possibly 'was working / worked'.

If someone could please explain me whether both options are possible or just one of them in each example. I'd be grateful for an explenation. The past progressive is usually used for a durational background action within which another point action occurs; otherwise, it is used to emphasize the duration of a past action. None of your examples seem to do that.

PS. is it OK to say during six days ?-- It sounds quite odd to me.m 'During' works like the progressive (as defined above) 'I was sick for six days.' ' During the six days that I was sick, I couldn't eat anything.'
.

Anglista2008 · Answer

surprise, surprise... a teacher of my sister's told her that the correct answers where "was telling" and "was asking" (the forst 2 sentences) ... the question is - why would she say so?

as for "during" I see that "the" is necessary, isn't it?

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Angelista,

1. Martha was here at noon. She told me about their plans.

The first sentence suggests that Martha is not here anymore, otherwise we would say "Martha has been here since noon", or even "Martha arrived at noon/ Martha got here at noon". But because she is not here anymore, she has obviously finished telling you her news, so we use the past simple - She told me...etc.
However, we can use "was telling" if something else happened or was happening at the same time. Eg-
Martha was here at noon. She was telling me about their plans when John interrupted us.
Martha was here at noon. She was telling me about their plans whilst I was making lunch.
(We can also say "She told me about their plans whilst I made lunch")

2. When she came here for the first time, she asked how to get to the toilet.
We would probably say "she asked where the toilet was", "she asked where the bathroom was", or, even better, "she asked to use the bathroom". "Get to" sounds like it's her final destination or the purpose of her trip. It just sounds odd.
We can't use "was asking" because both the action and the time are finished. We would use "was asking" in the following context:
She was asking where the bathroom was when the bomb went off.

3. Seven years ago I was working for the FBI. Seven years ago I worked for the FBI.

Both these sentences are correct, and either can be used. The first sentence emphasises the fact that you worked for them for a period of time, whilst the second sentence emphasises the fact that you worked for them. We often use the first form when we are telling stories or accounts:
Seven years ago I was working for the FBI. They had me doing all kinds of things, some of which I don't feel too great about now. There was this one time, about '96, when they sent me on a mission to Alaska...etc, etc.

We would probably use the second form when we are being more concise. For example -
I worked for the FBI for a while but didn't like it much so I moved to New York. I got a job in an office, saved enough to put a deposit on a house, got married, and now we have three children and a mortgage.

I worked for them for over 10 years and that was the best time of my life.
We must use the past simple because you have specified the time - over 10 years.
Otherwise, we can say "The best years of my life were those I spent working for them". "Working" in this sentence has become the gerund.

We cannot say "during six days". We must say "over six days".
Eg.
He refused to eat, and over the next few days we watched as he became thinnner and thinner.
Martha explained their plans to me over lunch.
It will be interesting to see what happens over the coming weeks.

I hope that helps!
Good luck

Mister Micawber · Answer

.
1-- Because the teacher is ignorant? The progressive would be possible only in the first sentence, and then only if further context demonstrated the speaker's fascination with the tale.

2-- I don't believe that 'the' is a requirement; it just appeared in my example.
.

Anglista2008 · Answer

thank you,

I'd like to delve a bit into details here. Can it be a matter of aspect? Depending on whether an action is complete (the perfective aspect) or incomplete (the imperfective aspect).

Can asked and was asking be examined from the point of view of aspect?

cu! best wishes,

Anglista2008 · Answer

anybody <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/> ?

CalifJim · Answer

Re: aspect. Perfective aspect is shown in English through the simple past. But imperfective aspect can be shown through the simple past also, as well as through the past progressive. Often adverbs and/or other elements of the sentence "come to the rescue" when needed.

He asked me three questions. (perfective)
He asked me questions all day long. (imperfective)

So it's not possible to say that English has a specific form for perfective and another specific form for imperfective aspect, as is so in several other languages.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

1. At noon Martha was here. She told me about her plans. [End of story.]

1. At noon Martha was here. She was telling me about her plans ... when an elephant crashed through the ceiling.

was telling sets up a background for possible further action, "builds suspense". We usually expect more to follow. Of course, it doesn't have to be as dramatic as the example above.

1. At noon Martha was here. She was telling me about her plans. You are not going to believe what she has in mind.
1. At noon Martha was here. She was telling me about her plans, and I was shocked when she came to the part about how she was going to ...
___

2. When she came here for the first time, she asked how to get to the toilet. [End of story.]
2. When she came here for the first time, she was (just) asking how to get to the toilet when ... another elephant crashed through the ceiling!

2. When she came here for the first time, she was continually asking how to get to the toilet. I think she might have been drunk.

And yet,
2. When she came here for the first time, she continually asked how to get to the toilet. I think she might have been drunk.
___

3. Seven years ago I worked for the FBI. I worked for them for over 10 years, and it was the best time of my life.

work is already an activity, so the -ing form is not needed to make us think of it as an activity. But again, the -ing form may be used to suggest a background against which something else takes place.

3. Seven years ago, while I was working for the FBI, a curious incident occurred involving an elephant.

___

Verbs that suggest a state or continuity of activity, like work, rest, sleep, etc., are not typically used with a for + time phrase.

I [worked / rested / slept] for three hours is almost always preferable to I was [working / resting / sleeping] for three hours.

... unless you want to indicate repeated episodes of the state or activity thus:

I was working for three hours every day on that project during 2008.
She was sleeping for 12 hours a day during her illness.

... although the simple past would do as well in these:

I worked for three hours every day on that project during 2008.

She slept for 12 hours a day during her illness.

Again, the progressive form just sets up more expectation that further information will follow.

CJ

Some doubts about the past tenses

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