I thought for a moment that she was going to cry.
He was about to raise his voice at me but stopped himself.
The ship was due to sail the following morning.
Referring to states rather than activities
4.69 Certain verbs are mainly used in the present simple or past simple rather than the present progressive or past progressive. These are called stative verbs. The most common stative verbs are listed in the Reference Section. They include verbs that refer to lasting emotions and mental states, such as love, like, want and know; verbs that refer to the senses, such as see and hear; and verbs that refer to permanent states, such as keep, fit and belong.
Do you like football?
I want to come with you. Where do you keep your keys?
Then I heard a noise.
Generally, these sentences cannot be expressed as, for example, Are you liking football?, I’m wanting to come with you, Where are you keeping your keys? or Then I was hearing a noise.
Rachel is loving one benefit of the job – the new clothes.
I’m liking grapes these days too.
I’m wanting the film to be deliberately old-fashioned.
Some people think this usage is incorrect, and it is usually avoided in formal texts.
Here is a list of verbs that are traditionally considered to be stative verbs, but that are sometimes used with present and past progressive forms:
forget
guess
imagine
lack
like
love
remember
want
You can use the present perfect progressive or past perfect progressive with some stative verbs in both formal and informal contexts.
I’ve been wanting to speak to you about this for some time.
John has been keeping birds for about three years now.
Then she heard it. The sound she had been hearing in her head for weeks.
Using time adverbials to indicate past, present, or future
4.70 In many statements, it is the time adverbial rather than the verb form that carries the time reference.
For example, a common use is to put time adverbials that normally refer to future time with the present simple or present progressive when it is used to refer to future actions. They can also be used with references to the future that are made in the past.
The company celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
After all, you’re coming back next week.
The farmer just laughed and rode away. So the next week I tried my luck at another farm.
We arranged to meet in three weeks’ time.
The adverbs now, today, tonight, and expressions involving this refer to a period of time that includes the present moment. They are used fairly commonly with all verb forms. This is because an event can be located before, during, or after the time specified by the verb form.
I was now in a Scottish regiment.
Your boss will now have no alternative but to go to his superiors and explain the situation.
One of my children wrote to me today.
I will ski no more today.
It’s dark today. ‘I went to the doctor this morning,’ she said.
He won’t be able to fight this Friday.
I’m doing my ironing this afternoon.
referring to an earlier or a later time
4.71 If you want to refer to time that follows a particular event or period of time, you use an adverb such as soon or later. You can use an adverb such as beforehand or earlier to refer to time that preceded a particular period of time or an event.
Sita was delighted with the house and soon began to look on it as home.
It’ll have to be replaced soon.
He later settled in Peddle, a small town near Grahamstown.
I’ll explain later.
I was very nervous beforehand.
You’ll be having a bath and going to the hairdresser’s beforehand.
She had seen him only five hours earlier.
This type of time reference is common with past and future forms. It is sometimes used with present forms when they are used to refer to past, future, or habitual actions.
Sometimes I know beforehand what I’m going to talk about.
I remember the next day at school going round asking the boys if they’d ever seen a ghost.
But afterwards, as you read on, you relate back to it.
Here is a list of adverbials that are used to refer to time in a relative way:
afterwards
at once
before long
eventually
finally
immediately
in a moment
instantly
later
later on
presently
shortly
soon
suddenly
within minutes
within the hour
~
the next day
the next week
the next month
the next year
the following day
the following week
the following month
the following year
the day after
the week after
the month after
the year after
~
beforehand
early
earlier
earlier on
in advance
late
one day
on time
punctually
Note that in this list presently means soon.
You can use early to show that something happens before the expected or planned time, and late to indicate that it happens after that time. On time and punctually are used to show that something happens at the planned time.
These adverbs come after the verb or at the end of the clause.
Tired out, he had gone to bed early.
If you get to work early, you can get a lot done.
He had come to the political arena late, at the age of 62.