Cours d'anglais gratuitsRecevoir 1 leçon gratuite chaque semaine // Créer un test
Connectez-vous !

Cliquez ici pour vous connecter
Nouveau compte
Des millions de comptes créés.

100% gratuit !
[Avantages]


Comme des milliers de personnes, recevez gratuitement chaque semaine une leçon d'anglais !



- Accueil
- Aide/Contact
- Accès rapides
- Lire cet extrait
- Livre d'or
- Nouveautés
- Plan du site
- Presse
- Recommander
- Signaler un bug
- Traduire cet extrait
- Webmasters
- Lien sur votre site



> Nos sites :
-Jeux gratuits
-Nos autres sites
   


Tenses/ help

Forum > English only || Bottom

[POST A NEW REPLY] [Subscribe to this topic]


Tenses/ help
Message from kidda posted on 20-08-2012 at 09:48:52 (D | E | F)
Hello !

Could you help me please?
I
have a new problem:
1" jane had prepared a beautiful candlelight dinner"; why is " had prepared " instead of "has prepared"?
2: "my boss was furious" ;why is "was" instead of "has been"?
Thank you for your answers.

-------------------
Edited by lucile83 on 20-08-2012 18:57


Re: Tenses/ help from floflor, posted on 20-08-2012 at 10:10:46 (D | E)
Dear kidda,

This time, we will start with sentence number 2: "My boss was furious." WAS is the past tense of the verb TO BE. The fact that you are telling a story (I guess) involves that all the verbs are in past tenses (and not present tenses, like the present perfect "has been"). Moreover, there would be no reason to use a present perfect here: My boss was furious in the past, but now he is not furious anymore (because he forgave me or something like that).
For sentence number 1, I imagine that the sentences that come before and/or after it are in the simple past (or the past continuous). The fact that this one is in the past perfect implies that the action described (preparing a beautiful candlelight dinner) happens before the actions described in the two sentences before and/or after. In addition to that, we do not use the present perfect here beacuse the story is not told in present tenses, but in past tenses.
Here is a rule:
- When an action begins and ends in the past, we use the simple past (sometimes the past continuous).
- When we refer to an action that beginns before the action we have just mentioned, we use the past perfect simple (sometimes the past perfect continuous).

Example: He hoped that his wife had prepared a delicious meal. The fact of "preparing a meal" happens before the fact of "hoping".
Have a nice week!

-------------------
Edited by floflor on 20-08-2012 10:11




[POST A NEW REPLY] [Subscribe to this topic]


Forum > English only


 


> INDISPENSABLES : TESTEZ VOTRE NIVEAU | GUIDE DE TRAVAIL | NOS MEILLEURES FICHES | Les fiches les plus populaires | Une leçon par email par semaine | Exercices | Aide/Contact

> INSEREZ UN PEU D'ANGLAIS DANS VOTRE VIE QUOTIDIENNE ! Rejoignez-nous gratuitement sur les réseaux :
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | RSS | Linkedin | Email

> NOS AUTRES SITES GRATUITS : Cours de français | Cours de mathématiques | Cours d'espagnol | Cours d'italien | Cours d'allemand | Cours de néerlandais | Tests de culture générale | Cours de japonais | Rapidité au clavier | Cours de latin | Cours de provençal | Moteur de recherche sites éducatifs | Outils utiles | Bac d'anglais | Our sites in English

> INFORMATIONS : Copyright - En savoir plus, Aide, Contactez-nous [Conditions d'utilisation] [Conseils de sécurité] Reproductions et traductions interdites sur tout support (voir conditions) | Contenu des sites déposé chaque semaine chez un huissier de justice | Mentions légales / Vie privée | Cookies. [Modifier vos choix]
| Cours, leçons et exercices d'anglais 100% gratuits, hors abonnement internet auprès d'un fournisseur d'accès. | Livre d'or | Partager sur les réseaux |