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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Why Past Simple instead of Continuous ?
Hello. English is my second language and there's still things I get confused about. Things I understand, but can't exactly find explanations for.
I'm interested in this passage and why the sentences there use Simple Past tense instead of Past Continuous.
" The wind howled. Lightning stabbed at the earth erratically, like an inefficient assassin. Thunder rolled back and forth across the dark, rain-lashed hills.
The night was as black as the inside of a cat. It was the kind of night, you could believe, on which gods moved men as though they were pawns on the chessboard of fate. In the middle of this elemental storm a fire gleamed among the dripping furze bushes like the madness in a weasel’s eye. It illuminated three hunched figures. As the cauldron bubbled an eldritch voice shrieked: “When shall we three meet again?” "
Sentences like "The wind howled" and "Thunder rolled back and forth" seem to me like they are continuous actions in the past. The wind still howled when the thunder rolled (back and forth seems like a continuous action to me...). I'm confused why they should be this way if the actions are not finished at the specific time. And then "It illuminated three..." - is this a continuous action or not?
Thanks in advance.
I'm interested in this passage and why the sentences there use Simple Past tense instead of Past Continuous.
" The wind howled. Lightning stabbed at the earth erratically, like an inefficient assassin. Thunder rolled back and forth across the dark, rain-lashed hills.
The night was as black as the inside of a cat. It was the kind of night, you could believe, on which gods moved men as though they were pawns on the chessboard of fate. In the middle of this elemental storm a fire gleamed among the dripping furze bushes like the madness in a weasel’s eye. It illuminated three hunched figures. As the cauldron bubbled an eldritch voice shrieked: “When shall we three meet again?” "
Sentences like "The wind howled" and "Thunder rolled back and forth" seem to me like they are continuous actions in the past. The wind still howled when the thunder rolled (back and forth seems like a continuous action to me...). I'm confused why they should be this way if the actions are not finished at the specific time. And then "It illuminated three..." - is this a continuous action or not?
Thanks in advance.
Top answer
Anonymous I'm confused why they should be this way if the actions are not finished at the specific time. It is narrative; the author just wishes to establish the setting, not each activity. Using past continuous prepares us for another instantaneous action within the continuous actions, but all those continuous forms would just be a distraction here.
- Anonymous I'm confused why they should be this way if the actions are not finished at the specific time.
- It is narrative; the author just wishes to establish the setting, not each activity.
- Using past continuous prepares us for another instantaneous action within the continuous actions, but all those continuous forms would just be a distraction here.
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2 Answers
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AnonymousI'm confused why they should be this way if the actions are not finished at the specific time.It is narrative; the author just wishes to establish the setting, not each activity. Using past continuous prepares us for another instantaneous action within the continuous actions, but all those continuous forms would just be a distraction here.
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AnonymousSentences like "The wind howled" and "Thunder rolled back and forth" seem to me like they are continuous actions in the past.It's the author's choice to use the simple past. It heightens the suspense to describe a dramatic moment in the past.
The reader obviously knows from experience that the actions probably lasted for quite some time.
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