If the store _ open, I would have bought some food.Ĩ. If I hadn't driven so fast, I _ into an accident.ħ. If I hadn't lost my cellphone, I _ you.Ħ. I would not _ to see this movie if I had known how boring it was.ĥ. My mother _ this apartment if she had known it was so noisy.Ĥ. If you _ your last exam, you would have graduated in May.ģ. If they hadn't been drunk, the doorman _.Ģ. These are the kinds of time references where you can easily misunderstand English or give the wrong meaning when you speak.REMEMBER: The third conditional is used to talk about unreal situations in the past (things that were impossible, that didn't happen, etc.) - Choose the correct response for each of the sentences:ġ. Here is a table of time references showing Finished and Unfinished Past Time.Īt the bottom of the table, very important, you’ll find time references where you need to know the context in order to choose your verb tense. So, in the first sentence, we know that he is still in London, and in the second sentence, he is no longer in London. The verb in the second sentence is in the Past Simple, so the time is finished. The only difference between these 2 sentences is that the verb in the first sentence is in the Present Perfect Simple, so the time is Unfinished. He wrote many books during his time in London. He has written many books during his time in London. Sometimes, the choice of verb tense can change the meaning of a sentence. The answer ‘I sent it today’ uses the same Finished Past verb tense that is used in the question. Notice how, in the first and last sentences in this dialogue, the Present Perfect is used, because the speaker is referring to whether it has been sent or received at any time before now.īut in the other sentences, the speaker asks WHEN and asks about a specific time. So the Past Simple is used because he is asking about a time that is finished. For example, if we are asking about a particular time, we use the Finished Past tenses. But sometimes, parts of today can also be finished. We always know that yesterday is finished. It means, Past connected to Present, in other words, something that started in the Past and continues into the Present. So, Present Perfect actually means Present Past. And if something is Perfect, then it is complete, or in other words it is Past. This is because of their connection to NOW. Notice how the names Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous, both contain the word Present. But today, I just want to be sure that you understand the concept of Finished and Unfinished Past Time. I will cover all the Verb Tenses in the coming weeks. So far, I have covered the Present Simple and the Present Continuous. You can learn how to use all these verb tenses in my free DailyStep English Verb Tenses Series. Present Perfect Continuous (I have been doing) Past Perfect Continuous (I had been doing) Some verb tenses are ONLY EVER used for Finished Past, and other verb tenses are ONLY EVER used for Unfinished Past. Unfinished Past Time is connected to now. So, this is the concept, and it's simple:įinished Past Time is not connected to now. If your teacher tells you that, then it's time to get a new teacher. This is one reason why it surprises me when I hear some English teachers say that learning grammar is not important. But if you don't understand it well, you will make mistakes when you speak English, and you will sometimes misunderstand English speakers. The difference between Finished Past Time and Unfinished Past Time is easy to understand. Finished and Unfinished Past Time, and why it is important in English grammar.
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