Microsoft Word Theoretical Course of English Grammar

Nino Kirvalidze
45
Simple present tense for past and future time 
There are three additional kinds of uses of the simple present: 
1.
 
The historic present refers to past time, and is characteristic of popular and fictional 
narrative style. It conveys the dramatic immediacy of an event happening at the time of 
narration(1) or for the imaginary one (2):
(1)
Just as we arrived, up comes Ben and slaps me on the back as if we’re life-long 
friends.
(2)
The crowd swarms around the gate way, and seethes with delighted anticipation; 
excitement grows, as suddenly their hero makes his entrance… 
2. The simple present is optionally used to refer to the past with verbs of communication 
to suggest that the information is still valid:
Jack tells me that the position is still vacant.
I hear 
that you need an assistant. The Bible prohibits the committing of adultery. 
3. The simple present tense typically occurs in main clauses with time-position adver-
bials to suggest that a future event is certain to take place according to the schedule: 
The plane leaves for Ankara at eight o’clock tonight. 
4.
 
The present simple tense refers to future time in conditional and temporal adverbial 
clauses:
He’ll do it if you pay him. 
I’ll let you know as soon as I hear from her. 
Simple past tense for past time 
There are three kinds of the simple past to express the past time; 
1.
The event or historic past is used with dynamic verbs to refer to a single definite event 
in the past. The event may take place over an extended period (E.g., 
The Normans invaded 
England in 1066
) or at the appointed time (
The plane left at 9 a.m.
).
2.
The habitual past is used with dynamic verbs to refer to past events that repeatedly 
occur:
We spent our holidays in Spain when we were children.

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Theoretical Course of English Grammar 
Script by prof. 
Nino Kirvalidze
46
3.
The state past is used with stative verbs to refer to a single unbroken state of affairs in 
the past:
I once liked reading novels
.
The habitual and state meanings of the past can be paraphrased by 
used to
: 
We used to 
spend our holidays in Spain when we were children.
Special uses of simple past tense 
There are three special uses of the simple past: 
1.
 
In reported (indirect) speech or indirect thought, the simple past in the reporting verb 
may cause the verb in the subordinate clause to be backshifted into the simple past:
She said that she knew you.
I thought you were in Paris.
2.
 
The attitudinal past is used to refer more tentatively and therefore more politely to a 
present state of mind:
Did you want to see me now? 
(
ეხლაც
გნებავთ
ჩემი
ნახვა
?) 
3.
 
The hypothetical past is used in conditional and complementive (i.e. object) subordi-
nate clauses to convey what is contrary to the belief or expectation of the speaker: 
If you knew him, you wouldn’t say that
. (condition)
I wish I had a memory like yours
. (object clause)
The implication of the conditional clause above (
If I knew him
) is that you do not know him, 
and of the object subordinate clause (
I had a memory like yours
) that I do not have such a 
memory.