In Simple past^x, Tenses^x

This situation is indeed similar to the one discussed. Good point. Strictly speaking, the past perfect tense need not have been used in the "clouds" clause. It was likely used to show that the coming of clouds preceded the rain -- which is only logical, of course.So the past perfect...

Hi,Hi,Would you fill in the blank with the missing phrase. I am keen on finding out what verb do you mean 'what tense'? can be used. I am not particulary concerned about the nature of the phrase. Q: What does this English expression mean?A: If you say that, you are saying that it...

It doesn't have to be past perfect. Simple past is just fine.... the way I intended. ... the way I had intendedEither of the two tenses is correct.CJ

I agree with those who said it depends on the context, and they might be interchangeable, depending on what you have in mind.If me and my sweetheart are about to leave, I might ask "Did you lock the door?" or "Have you locked the door?", but if we were already on the road I...

Hi everybody,Why do all the Grammar books use the expressions "simple present" and "simple past", although all the other tenses start with the tense-marker and add the aspect-marker then: present progressive, present perfect, present perfect progressive, past progressive, past...

Hi everybody,I'm a teacher of English at a German Grammar School and after 12 years of experience I'm still wondering about the following puzzle:Why do all the Grammar books stick to the "confusing" expressions simple past and simple present, although it seems quite more logical...

. You don't have to try to stay in the same tense in a sentence unless the actions happen in the same tense. A single sentence can contain several verb tenses.Your sentence sounds like a fictional narrative, which might read like this:In the post-revolution era, John realized that he too had...

Does the following sentence strike you as a strange one? Thanks"Although the project has been technically challenging, I was able to identify a new role of xyz in the abc process."I thought the correct sentence should be"although the project HAD been ..., I WAS able to ..."The...

Yes. Your backshift interpretation seems right to me. But I don't see this as necessarily subjunctive. It comes off as a sort of borderline case to my ear.CJ PS. ... would have baked you a cake is the usual expression!

Interesting! You never taught me those conditionals! Does that mean that in English (like in Italian), it is possible to use the simple past instead of the subjunctive formed with the past perfect, in informal and casual English? The only example I know it's kind of common is substituting...