第8章　时　态 8.4　一般过去时和过去进行时

8.4　一般过去时和过去进行时

8.4.1　一般过去时的用法

1) 一般过去时（The Simple Past Tense）主要表示一个过去发生的动作（a）或存在的状态（b）：

a. I got to know her in 1998. 我是1998年认识她的。

My grandfather died last year. 我祖父是去年去世的。

When did this happen？——It happened in the Han Dynasty. 这是什么时候发生的事？——是汉朝时发生的。

How did you get the job? 这工作你是怎么得到的？

b. I didn't know her at that time. 那时我还不认识她。

They loved each other for twenty years. 他们相爱了二十年。

She suffered a lot in her childhood. 小时侯她受了很多苦。

He believed that he was right. 他相信自己是对的。

2) was和were的用法：

was用于第一、三人称单数（a），其他情况都用were（b）：

a. She was a lawyer. Now she's a senator. 她过去是律师，现在是参议员。

He was very busy last Friday. 上星期五他非常忙。

The party was a great success. 晚会很成功。

The train was ten minutes late. 火车晚点十分钟。

I wasn't interested in going. 我没兴趣去。

b. The girls were not very happy about it. 姑娘们对此不太高兴。

We were both late for the meeting. 我们两人开会都迟到了。

Where were you yesterday? 昨天你在哪里？

Most of them were fishermen. 他们多数人都是渔民。

Some of us were students at that time. 那时我们有些人还是学生。

We weren't in town that day. 那天我们不在城里。

3) 前一会儿发生的事也要用过去时表示：

She was here a minute ago. 她前一分钟还在这里。

George came in just now. 乔治刚才来过的。

Who told you this? 这事谁告诉你的？

Did the telephone ring? 电话铃响了吗？

也可以表示过去习惯性的动作：

We often played badminton together. 我们经常在一起打羽毛球。

Sometimes we heatedly discussed these problems. 有时我们热烈地讨论这些问题。

4) 在叙述性文字（如小说、故事等）中用这个时态时特别多，例如：

Laura was born in Bristol. Her parents came from Ireland. Laura's father was a customs officer. Unfortunately, he died a few years ago. Laura grew up in the suburbs of Bristol. She started her education at a local school. When she was 18, she went to Bristol University. She majored in economics. While she was at university, she joined a folk group and started singing. When she was 21, she was married to Tony Harper. Now they have two children.

5) 在日常谈话中也常会用到它：

Who said it? 这话谁说的？

I didn't know you were here. 我不知道你在这儿。

I was glad to get your letter. 我很高兴收到你的来信。

I thought they were with you. 我以为他们和你在一起哩。

How did you find your way home? 你怎么找到回家的路的？

已去世者的情况一般用一般过去时表示：

Edison was a great inventor. 爱迪生是伟大的发明家。

My grandfather lived a very simple life. 我祖父过着简朴的生活。（表示他已不在人间）

8.4.2　过去进行时的用法

1) 过去进行时（The Past Continuous Tense）主要表示过去某时的一个动作正在进行，过去时间可以由一个状语表示出来：

What were you doing when I rang you up? 我给你打电话时你在干吗？

I was having a bath (at that time). （那时）我在洗澡。

You were then working in the post office, weren't you? 那时你在邮局工作，对吧？

I was writing a letter when she called. 她来时我正在写信。

I was busy yesterday. I was preparing for the exams. 昨天我很忙，我在准备考试。

At that moment, I wasn't doing anything. 那会儿我什么也没干。

I was thinking of you all those years. 那些年我一直惦记着你。

有时候时间由上下文表示出来：

Jane was in town. She was doing some shopping. 简在城里，在买东西。

The bride was wearing a pink dress and carrying a small bouquet. 新娘穿着粉红色的裙服，手上拿着一小束花。

He was sitting alone on the deck. 他一个人坐在甲板上。

Someone was following her. She was scared. 有人跟着她，她很害怕。

A small orchestra was playing. 一支小型管弦乐队在演奏。

They knew what they were working for. 他们知道在为什么而工作。

I didn't know you were still waiting for me. 我不知道你还在等我。

I asked him to tell me what was troubling him. 我让他说出他的烦心事。

这个时态还可以用在状语从句中：

He met the bride while he was studying in California. 他是在加州上学时遇到新娘的。

He lost his purse when he was strolling across a meadow. 他在草地上散步时把钱包丢了。

I got to know her when I was working in a pharmacy. 我在药房工作时认识了她。

While the water was heating, I began cooking. 烧水时我开始做饭。

2) 过去进行时可以用来描绘一幅景象，作为描绘的开始：

A fire was burning and a cat was sleeping in front of it. A girl was playing the piano and singing softly to herself. Then there was a knock at the door. 炉火烧着，一只猫睡在炉火前。一个女孩在弹钢琴，轻声对自己唱着，这时有人敲门。

She was sitting at the window, watching the evening invade the avenue. Suddenlysheheardsomeonecallingherfromdownstairs,andsherecognized the voice. She stood up quickly. 她坐在窗前，看着暮色渐渐笼罩大街。突然她听到楼下有人叫她。她听出了这声音，迅速站了起来。

在故事中间也可用这时态来描绘一幅景象：

At last we got to the top of the mountain. White snow covered everything. People were sitting in groups of three and four. Some were lying on their backs. When they saw us, they were very happy and shouted: "We thought you had lost your way!" 最后我们爬上了山顶。白雪覆盖着一切，人们三五成群地坐着，有的人仰面躺着。他们看到我们时非常高兴，高声叫到：“我们还以为你们迷路了哩！”

在小说中我们常可看到这样的段落。

8.4.3　过去进行时和一般过去时的比较

1) 过去进行时和一般过去时的基本差别是，过去进行时表示一个正在进行的动作，而一般过去时表示一个业已完成的动作。试比较下面的句子：

2) 有些动词本身并不表示动作完成，如rain， snow， cough， wear， feel， wait， stay， work等，这时用两种时态意思上差别不大：

3) 用进行时态时有时有感情色彩，特别是带有always， forever， constantly这类状语时，如：

He was always ringing me up. 他老是给我打电话。（厌烦）

She was always working. 她总是不停地干活。（赞扬）

The old lady was forever grumbling. 这老太太老是嘀嘀咕咕。（厌烦）

He was constantly changing his mind. 他老是改变主意。（不以为然）

4) 有时用过去进行时表示现在的想法，可以显得客气一点，如：

I was wondering whether you could give me some advice. 不知你能否帮我出点主意。

I was thinking maybe he could go by taxi. 我在想或许他可以坐的士去。

I was hoping you could reconsider our proposal. 我希望你能再考虑一下我们的建议。

8.4.4　表示过去某时预计要发生情况的用法

有些结构可以表示过去某时打算要做的事或预计要发生的事，如：

1) 过去进行时（仅限于come， go， leave这类动词，可参阅第8.2.2节）：

He was busy packing， for he was leaving that night. 他忙着收拾行李，因为那晚他就要走了。

Mr. Brown was coming to dinner. 布朗先生要来吃晚饭。

She told me she was going to Boston. 她告诉我她准备去波士顿。

We were very excited as we were flying to Europe the next morning. 我们很激动，因为第二天早晨我们就要飞往欧洲了。

2) was going to：

She said she was going to come early. 她说她一早就来。

Judy was going to meet me, but she was ill and couldn't come. 朱迪本来是要来和我会面的，但她生病了没能来。

When I arrived, the train was just going to start. 我到时火车正要开出。

3) be about to（表示“就要”、“即将”发生某事）：

He was about to go out when the phone rang. 他正要出去时电话铃响了。

I was just about to explain when she interrupted me. 我正要解释，她打断了我的话。

It was seven o'clock. The show was about to start. 七点钟了，演出即将开始。

4) be due to（表示“定于”）：

He was due to speak that night. 他定于那天晚上发言。

Mary was due to leave at 2 o'clock. 玛丽定于两点出发。

The conference was due to start in 2 weeks' time. 会议定于两周后开始。

She was due to graduate in the coming summer. 她将于这个夏天毕业。