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Eff Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Tense usage
From then on, British authorities were aiming to destroy the Scottish clan system.
Should I use past continuous here?
Thanks a lot.
Should I use past continuous here?
Thanks a lot.
Top answer
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- " ?
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7 Answers
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Have you considered "From then on, British authorities were have been aiming to destroy the Scottish clan system." ?
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Hi, Eff!
I second Gramfin's advice on using the Present Perfect Continuous.
Because we use that tense to talk about things
that started in the past and have been in progress for a period until now.
I second Gramfin's advice on using the Present Perfect Continuous.
Because we use that tense to talk about things
that started in the past and have been in progress for a period until now.
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Hi,
Please note that the original statement referred only to the past. The modifed one suggets that the present British Govt. still wishes to destroy the Scottish clan system.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is going to lose a lot of Scottish votes if this is still true today!
Best wishes, Clive
Please note that the original statement referred only to the past. The modifed one suggets that the present British Govt. still wishes to destroy the Scottish clan system.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is going to lose a lot of Scottish votes if this is still true today!
Best wishes, Clive
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I see. So the thing is that I shouldn´t use FROM THEN ON because this means "from then on till now"? And it actually isn´t true now:-)
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Hi,
So the thing is that I shouldn´t use FROM THEN ON because this means "from then on till now"? And it actually isn´t true now:-)
No, it's the Present Perfect that makes the meaning 'until now'.
'From then on' just means from that point onwards. It could be 'until now' or it could be to some later point in the past.eg
From then on, British authorities were aiming to
So the thing is that I shouldn´t use FROM THEN ON because this means "from then on till now"? And it actually isn´t true now:-)
No, it's the Present Perfect that makes the meaning 'until now'.
'From then on' just means from that point onwards. It could be 'until now' or it could be to some later point in the past.eg
From then on, British authorities were aiming to
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Do you really mean the British authorities? I think maybe you mean the English authorities (as British would also include the Scottish authorities).
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Hey Nona, that´s true!
Source: Wikipedia: After 1745, British authorities acted to destroy the Scottish clan system in parliamentary acts of extreme vengeance.
Source: Wikipedia: After 1745, British authorities acted to destroy the Scottish clan system in parliamentary acts of extreme vengeance.
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