tense for particular happening in the past but which occurs regularly

Status
Not open for further replies.

david11

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Tamil
Home Country
India
Current Location
India
What tense should be used when we talk about a particular happening in the past but which occurs regularly?

For eg; There is a regular power shut down in my city for two hours everyday. My internet doesn't work for three hours after the power resumes everyday.

Now the internet works properly. In this sentence I am referring to the present actions which happens regularly. I am confused what tense I should put in the place of "resume" when I convert the sentence into past. However, the power shut down still exists but the problem with internet is no longer there.

There is a regular power shut down in my city for two hours everyday. My internet didn't work for three hours after the power resumed everyday.

I know the above is not correct as it implies that I am talking about a particular action and not everyday. I know "used to" is the proper phrase but I am not sure whether it would suit here.
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
What tense should be used when we talk about a particular happening in the past but which occurs regularly?

For eg; There is a regular power shut down in my city for two hours everyday. My internet doesn't work for three hours after the power resumes everyday.

Now the internet works properly. In this sentence I am referring to the present actions which happens regularly. I am confused what tense I should put in the place of "resume" when I convert the sentence into past. However, the power shut down still exists but the problem with internet is no longer there.

There is a regular power shut down in my city for two hours everyday. My internet didn't work for three hours after the power resumed everyday.

I know the above is not correct as it implies that I am talking about a particular action and not everyday. I know "used to" is the proper phrase but I am not sure whether it would suit here.
If the event is still happening, you can say, "Every day the power shuts off for two hours and my internet doesn't work for three hours after it's back on." That is, you use the present, which is used for habitual events and actions.
If it only happened in the past, "Every day the power would shut off for two hours and my internet would not work for three hours after it was back on."
 

probus

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 7, 2011
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
I suggest a couple of small corrections to your post david11.

Everyday means commonplace, ordinary, routine. When you mean every day you must use every day rather than everyday.

If you choose to use e.g. you should not put for in front of it. e.g. is an abbreviation of exempli gratia, which in Latin means for example.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top