[Grammar] plssss

[esmaa]

hi...
i want to ask smth..

i was busy ....
(it means i m not busy now or still busy?)

or

i was married

(i m free now_? )

when you called me yesderday, i was busy... (what about now? )

 

[SoothingDave]

This is a forum for English. Do not use text message talk.

Use capitalization and punctuation.

The past tense "I was busy" speaks about the past only.

"I was married" depends on context.

 

[esmaa]

the simple past

hi...
i want to ask smth..

i was busy ....
(it means i m not busy now or still busy?)

or

i was married

(i m free now_? )

when you called me yesderday, i was busy... (what about now? )

 

[~Mav~]

*** NOT A TEACHER ***

[STRIKE]hi...
i want to ask smth..[/STRIKE]

Hi,

I want (or I would like) to ask something.

i was busy ....
(it means i m not busy now or still busy?)

I was busy.
Does it mean that I'm not busy now, or am I still busy?

It means that you were busy at the time you are referring to. (Simple Past)

or

i was married

I was married.

(i m free now_? )

Am I free now?
Yes, you can put it that way. ;-)

when you called me yesderday, i was busy...
When you called me yesterday, I was busy.

(what about now? )
Who knows? ;-) We only know that you were busy when someone called you yesterday. Your sentence can imply that you are not busy now. Context makes it clear.

See above, and please note my amendments. Furthermore, always start your sentences with capital letters, always capitalise the personal pronoun, "I", and try to give some meaningful titles to your threads. "Plssss" is neither a word, nor does it give us a clue about what you would like to know.

 

[esmaa]

but...

I was a police...

(It means that you are not a police.. right?_)

 

[emsr2d2]

but...

I was a policeman/woman/officer...

(It means that you are not a policeman/woman/officer. Right?)

Not necessarily, no.

In 1979, I was a police officer.
In 1985, I became a nurse.
In 2004, I decided to rejoin the police force and I am a police officer still.

Saying "I was a police officer" means that you were a police officer in the past. It says nothing at all about the present.

 

[BobK]

Re: the simple past

hi...
i want to ask smth..

i was busy ....
(it means i m not busy now or still busy?)
It says nothing about that - either might be true (unless the verb is one that implies an ongoing condition - if you say 'My arm was broken yesterday', it still is!
or

i was married

(i m free now_? ) You could be. See above.

when you called me yesderday, i was busy... (what about now? ) No idea. You could say 'When you called me yesterday I was busy, but now I've got time on my hands' or 'When you called me yesterday I was busy, and I still am.'

Please spell and punctuate properly. In a forum like this we aim to help you get things right. It helps us if you make an effort in the first place.

b

 

[Barb_D]

I have merged the two threads in which you asked the same question.

Please do not do this - ask a question only once.

Thank you.

 

[5jj]

As others have said suggested, context is very important.

I didn't take a lunch break as I was busy. I shan't be finished until late tonight. (I am still busy).
I was busy this morning, but I can relax now. (I am no longer busy)

The new manager seemed to fancy me, but I was married, so nothing happened. My wife still laughs about it. (I am still married)
I was married when I first met Jill, but my wife left me the following year, and we divorced soon after. (I am no longer married to that wife).

I was a police officer when we married, so my wife knew I'd have to work unsocial hours at times. She soon got used to it, and doesn't complain any more. ( I am still a police officer.)
I was a police officer for twenty years. Then I had a bad accident and was pensioned off. (I am no longer a police officer.).,

 

[SoothingDave]

Take a sentence like "I was married in 1997." Depending on the emphasis when spoken, this could either be either telling the date one of one's wedding, or saying that "way back when" one was married (but are no longer).