ESL Blogs

My friends, today I will tell you how to use the tenses correctly speaking about the past actions not related to the present and how to use them if some events were in the past, but some of them are taking place now or are expected in the future.

The Sequence of Tenses in a story about the past actions not related to the present.

The first thing you should remember is the following: if you write or say any complex sentence with one or more subordinate clauses, one of the predicates must be in the Past Simple Tense. It is like the origin of coordinates for using other tenses because only the Simple Past tense tells us, when the action took place. Other tenses rather describe the process. Besides, if we speak about the past, we should use only the Past Tenses and the Future in the Past. The best example of such a sequence of the tenses is the author's words from the third person in any fiction.

So, there may be 3 different cases. Let's consider an example with one subordinate clause where the predicate in the main clause is in the Simple Past Tense.

1. Both actions were simultaneous. In this case we should use the Past Simple or Past Progressive tenses in the subordinate clause:

I knew he was busy (that moment).

I thought they were playing tennis (that moment).

2. The action in the subordinate clause took place before the action in the main clause. In this case, we should use The Past Perfect Simple or The Past Perfect Progressive in the subordinate clause:

He said he had been to the movies the day before/yesterday.

He didn't notice her red eyes and didn't realize she had been crying (before he saw her).

3.The action in the subordinate clause took place some later than the action in the main clause.  In this case, we should use The Future in the Past Tenses in the subordinate clause:

He said he would call the next day.

He said he would be lecturing at 11 am the next day.

Now, if there are two or more subordinate clauses, we should analyze the sequence of actions to use the tenses correctly. Here are the examples from my tests:

a)   When he came to school, he recalled he hadn’t learned what he had been assigned.

b)   When she entered the kitchen, he had already laid the table and was waiting for her.

c)    He said he would have sold the old car before he bought a new one.

Let’s consider them.

a)   First, a student was assigned to learn something, then he didn’t learn it and only later, when he came to school he realized it. So, his coming to school was the last action in this sequence. He recalled his not doing anything for class WHEN he came to school while he had been assigned and he hadn’t learned it BEFORE he came there. Both earlier actions must be in the past perfect tense.

b)   First, he laid the table and started waiting for her. So, he was waiting for her WHEN she entered (the last action). He had laid the table BEFORE she entered.

c)    He said that some later (in the future past) he was going to sell the old car BEFORE buying a new one. So, the verb SELL must be in the future past perfect tense.

Here is an example of a story written from the third person.

The plane was flying through the rain and the mist. A flight attendant came up to one of the passengers who asked when the plane landed at last. They had been talking about something for a few minutes when another passenger passed by them along the aisle. The flight attendant took an order and went to the bar to fill it. Before he returned to the cabin, he had discussed with another flight attendant the soccer game that had been the day before.

The Sequence of tenses in a dialogue or a story where some events were in the past, but some of them are taking place now or are expected in the future

In such a conversation or a story we use all the tenses.

1.    If the events were in the past and are not related to the present, we use the sequence of tenses described above.
2.    If some events are taking place now or related to the present, we use the present tenses. We also use the present simple tense it we speak about axioms, laws, rules, geography, natural science, etc.
3.    If they are expected in the future, we use the future tenses.

Here is the example of a story told from the first person. Just imagine that I am telling you about my yesterday.

Yesterday I met my university mate I hadn't seen for ages. He said he had got married and has a son. He said they are living in Texas but are going to move to Florida soon. We talked about this and that and he said he will call me the day after tomorrow.

As you can see, I have used the past tenses telling about yesterday and the actions before yesterday (past perfect). However, I have used the present tenses speaking about the actions or facts that are still the same today. I also used the future tense meaning a day after tomorrow as it hasn't come, yet.

Now, I'd like to add a few words about YESTERDAY/THE NEXT DAY, TOMORROW/THE NEXT DAY, etc.

Let me use the calendar dates. TODAY is Feb. 17. So, YESTERDAY is the day before today, Feb. 16. TOMORROW is Feb. 18 that comes after TODAY. Now, if we speak about Feb. 2, the DAY BEFORE is Feb.1 and Feb.3 is the NEXT DAY. The same about HERE/THERE, THIS/THAT and so on. Just imagine, I am telling you about some party, for example my birthday party in December, at my place (and I am at home now).

On my birthday my friends came to greet me. The day before, they told me they would come to my place. So, when they arrived, I was glad to see them here, in my house. I remember our sitting at this table talking about our youth.

Are my explanations clear enough? If they are not, ask me your questions, please! And now, are you ready to practice a little?

Here is your task. Please, write some sentences (or, better stories) using both types of sequences. It would be nice, if you write two stories: from the third and from the first person.