Using Simple past and past progressiveSimple past or past perfect in this example“While” followed by simple past/past continuouspast simple vs past perfectCan the Past Progressive tense be used for habitual past?Past perfect and using before/afterBefore he became a writer , Conan Doyle studied medicine…past simple/past perfect issuePast perfect and use of “and”Past Progressive vs. Past perfect Progressive in this case?For two years, + past progressive or past simple?Simple Past Tense for duration of time
Is there a nicer/politer/more positive alternative for "negates"?
What features enable the Su-25 Frogfoot to operate with such a wide variety of fuels?
Review your own paper in Mathematics
Which Article Helped Get Rid of Technobabble in RPGs?
What is going on with gets(stdin) on the site coderbyte?
Why does AES have exactly 10 rounds for a 128-bit key, 12 for 192 bits and 14 for a 256-bit key size?
What is Cash Advance APR?
Why does the Sun have different day lengths, but not the gas giants?
A Trivial Diagnosis
What's the name of the logical fallacy where a debater extends a statement far beyond the original statement to make it true?
Why is the "ls" command showing permissions of files in a FAT32 partition?
How can ping know if my host is down
What is the duration of the spell Creation when used to create non-precious metals?
What are some good ways to treat frozen vegetables such that they behave like fresh vegetables when stir frying them?
Can you use Vicious Mockery to win an argument or gain favours?
Birthday Problem Paraphrased
Change the color of a single dot in `ddot` symbol
Why can't the Brexit deadlock in the UK parliament be solved with a plurality vote?
Why does Carol not get rid of the Kree symbol on her suit when she changes its colours?
Has any country ever had 2 former presidents in jail simultaneously?
It grows, but water kills it
What is the difference between lands and mana?
Making grids in QGIS
Why Shazam when there is already Superman?
Using Simple past and past progressive
Simple past or past perfect in this example“While” followed by simple past/past continuouspast simple vs past perfectCan the Past Progressive tense be used for habitual past?Past perfect and using before/afterBefore he became a writer , Conan Doyle studied medicine…past simple/past perfect issuePast perfect and use of “and”Past Progressive vs. Past perfect Progressive in this case?For two years, + past progressive or past simple?Simple Past Tense for duration of time
We had a chat while we waited for our flights.
Is Simple past also used after While? I saw it in a grammar book, and I'm not sure if it's correct.
grammar
asked Mar 18 at 9:46
SelenaSelena
214
add a comment |
We had a chat while we waited for our flights.
Is Simple past also used after While? I saw it in a grammar book, and I'm not sure if it's correct.
grammar
asked Mar 18 at 9:46
SelenaSelena
214
add a comment |
We had a chat while we waited for our flights.
Is Simple past also used after While? I saw it in a grammar book, and I'm not sure if it's correct.
grammar
asked Mar 18 at 9:46
SelenaSelena
214
We had a chat while we waited for our flights.
Is Simple past also used after While? I saw it in a grammar book, and I'm not sure if it's correct.
grammar
grammar
asked Mar 18 at 9:46
SelenaSelena
214
asked Mar 18 at 9:46
SelenaSelena
214
asked Mar 18 at 9:46
SelenaSelena
214
asked Mar 18 at 9:46
SelenaSelena
214
asked Mar 18 at 9:46
SelenaSelena
214
214
add a comment |
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
Do you have doubts because the simple past refers to a discrete past action with a defined beginning and end, unlike the "imperfect", in some languages?
It is grammatical (and it makes sense) to say while we waited because waiting does not have a defined beginning and end.
But if the action of the verb is something that does have a defined beginning and end, then it doesn't partner well with while:
They had a chat while I tripped over my shoelace.
That sentence would either cause some semantic dissonance or would be understood to mean that you were walking around repeatedly tripping over your shoelace.
Let's reverse that sentence:
I tripped over my shoelace while they chatted.
I tripped over my shoelace while they were chatting.
The second sentence there, with were chatting, is more idiomatic, to my ear. The first again has some semantic dissonance which makes it slightly comical.
And it's not comical because tripping is funny in a slapstick way:
The toddler tripped over his shoelace while his dad chatted about sports.
The toddler tripped over his shoelace while his dad was chatting about sports.
In the first, there is the sense that the toddler was repeatedly tripping, but in the second, only that a single trip took place during the time of the chat.
answered Mar 18 at 10:19
TRomanoTRomano
17.7k22248
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);
else
createEditor();
);
function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);
);
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f490211%2fusing-simple-past-and-past-progressive%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Do you have doubts because the simple past refers to a discrete past action with a defined beginning and end, unlike the "imperfect", in some languages?
It is grammatical (and it makes sense) to say while we waited because waiting does not have a defined beginning and end.
But if the action of the verb is something that does have a defined beginning and end, then it doesn't partner well with while:
They had a chat while I tripped over my shoelace.
That sentence would either cause some semantic dissonance or would be understood to mean that you were walking around repeatedly tripping over your shoelace.
Let's reverse that sentence:
I tripped over my shoelace while they chatted.
I tripped over my shoelace while they were chatting.
The second sentence there, with were chatting, is more idiomatic, to my ear. The first again has some semantic dissonance which makes it slightly comical.
And it's not comical because tripping is funny in a slapstick way:
The toddler tripped over his shoelace while his dad chatted about sports.
The toddler tripped over his shoelace while his dad was chatting about sports.
In the first, there is the sense that the toddler was repeatedly tripping, but in the second, only that a single trip took place during the time of the chat.
answered Mar 18 at 10:19
TRomanoTRomano
17.7k22248
add a comment |
Do you have doubts because the simple past refers to a discrete past action with a defined beginning and end, unlike the "imperfect", in some languages?
It is grammatical (and it makes sense) to say while we waited because waiting does not have a defined beginning and end.
But if the action of the verb is something that does have a defined beginning and end, then it doesn't partner well with while:
They had a chat while I tripped over my shoelace.
That sentence would either cause some semantic dissonance or would be understood to mean that you were walking around repeatedly tripping over your shoelace.
Let's reverse that sentence:
I tripped over my shoelace while they chatted.
I tripped over my shoelace while they were chatting.
The second sentence there, with were chatting, is more idiomatic, to my ear. The first again has some semantic dissonance which makes it slightly comical.
And it's not comical because tripping is funny in a slapstick way:
The toddler tripped over his shoelace while his dad chatted about sports.
The toddler tripped over his shoelace while his dad was chatting about sports.
In the first, there is the sense that the toddler was repeatedly tripping, but in the second, only that a single trip took place during the time of the chat.
answered Mar 18 at 10:19
TRomanoTRomano
17.7k22248
add a comment |
Do you have doubts because the simple past refers to a discrete past action with a defined beginning and end, unlike the "imperfect", in some languages?
It is grammatical (and it makes sense) to say while we waited because waiting does not have a defined beginning and end.
But if the action of the verb is something that does have a defined beginning and end, then it doesn't partner well with while:
They had a chat while I tripped over my shoelace.
That sentence would either cause some semantic dissonance or would be understood to mean that you were walking around repeatedly tripping over your shoelace.
Let's reverse that sentence:
I tripped over my shoelace while they chatted.
I tripped over my shoelace while they were chatting.
The second sentence there, with were chatting, is more idiomatic, to my ear. The first again has some semantic dissonance which makes it slightly comical.
And it's not comical because tripping is funny in a slapstick way:
The toddler tripped over his shoelace while his dad chatted about sports.
The toddler tripped over his shoelace while his dad was chatting about sports.
In the first, there is the sense that the toddler was repeatedly tripping, but in the second, only that a single trip took place during the time of the chat.
answered Mar 18 at 10:19
TRomanoTRomano
17.7k22248
Do you have doubts because the simple past refers to a discrete past action with a defined beginning and end, unlike the "imperfect", in some languages?
It is grammatical (and it makes sense) to say while we waited because waiting does not have a defined beginning and end.
But if the action of the verb is something that does have a defined beginning and end, then it doesn't partner well with while:
They had a chat while I tripped over my shoelace.
That sentence would either cause some semantic dissonance or would be understood to mean that you were walking around repeatedly tripping over your shoelace.
Let's reverse that sentence:
I tripped over my shoelace while they chatted.
I tripped over my shoelace while they were chatting.
The second sentence there, with were chatting, is more idiomatic, to my ear. The first again has some semantic dissonance which makes it slightly comical.
And it's not comical because tripping is funny in a slapstick way:
The toddler tripped over his shoelace while his dad chatted about sports.
The toddler tripped over his shoelace while his dad was chatting about sports.
In the first, there is the sense that the toddler was repeatedly tripping, but in the second, only that a single trip took place during the time of the chat.
answered Mar 18 at 10:19
TRomanoTRomano
17.7k22248
edited Mar 18 at 10:34
answered Mar 18 at 10:19
TRomanoTRomano
17.7k22248
answered Mar 18 at 10:19
TRomanoTRomano
17.7k22248
answered Mar 18 at 10:19
TRomanoTRomano
17.7k22248
17.7k22248
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f490211%2fusing-simple-past-and-past-progressive%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
