The hall resonated with music.

[99bottles]

The hall resonated with music.

I found this sentence on Macmillan Dictionary online. I wonder, does the meaning change if we use the present continuous? Is it wrong to say The hall was resonating with music?

Edit: Also, this sentence I found on Merriam Dictionary, does its meaning change with the present continuous?

The siren resonated throughout the city.

 

[jutfrank]

You can safely assume that if you change the tense of any verb phrase, then you change the meaning as well.

Both past simple and past continuous work in the context you give, with the usual difference in meaning.

 

[99bottles]

You can safely assume that if you change the tense of any verb phrase, then you change the meaning as well.

Both past simple and past continuous work in the context you give, with the usual difference in meaning.

Shall I assume that resonated with means it was full of music for one moment only whereas was resonating with means for longer than a moment?

 

[jutfrank]

Shall I assume that resonated with means it was full of music for one moment only whereas was resonating with means for longer than a moment?

No. Using the past simple shows that you conceive the resonating as a single, simple action. It doesn't say anything about the length of time that the action lasted. It just shows how you understand the action in relation to time. Think about other cases of the past simple such as I lived in Athens for twenty years.

Using the past continuous is a way to show that the action is conceived to be a continuous action over a period of time.

 

[99bottles]

No. Using the past simple shows that you conceive the resonating as a single, simple action. It doesn't say anything about the length of time that the action lasted. It just shows how you understand the action in relation to time. Think about other cases of the past simple such as I lived in Athens for twenty years.

Using the past continuous is a way to show that the action is conceived to be a continuous action over a period of time.

So, in the sentences I wrote in the OP, the meaning doesn't really change. Right?

 

[jutfrank]

If you change the tense of any verb phrase, then you change the meaning as well.

 

[99bottles]

If you change the tense of any verb phrase, then you change the meaning as well.

Yeah, but in that sentence, I don't feel the meaning changes -- what changes is the way you perceive it. But maybe I'm wrong.

 

[jutfrank]

I don't quite understand what you mean by 'the meaning changes'. Please explain.

 

[99bottles]

I don't quite understand what you mean by 'the meaning changes'. Please explain.

What do you understand when you hear 'the room was resonating with music'?

What do you understand when you hear 'the room resonated with music'?

 

[emsr2d2]

What do you understand when you hear 'The room was resonating with music'?
I understand that, at the time of writing, the resonating was happening.

What do you understand when you hear 'The room resonated with music'?
I understand that, at the time of writing, either the resonating was happening or it had finished.

emsr2d2

 

[99bottles]

If it had finished, shouldn't we say, The room had resonated with music?

 

[emsr2d2]

If it had finished, shouldn't we say, The room had resonated with music?

Not necessarily, no.

I was there earlier today. The room resonated with music!

 

[99bottles]

Not necessarily, no.

I was there earlier today. The room resonated with music!

I see. The room resonated with music when I was there. And we use the present continuous when we want to stress the duration.

 

[Phaedrus]

The hall resonated with music.

I found this sentence on Macmillan Dictionary online. I wonder, does the meaning change if we use the present continuous? Is it wrong to say The hall was resonating with music?

I think that the difference in meaning between those two sentence is analogous to the difference in meaning between the sentences He laughed and He was laughing.

 

[jutfrank]

What do you understand when you hear 'the room was resonating with music'?

What do you understand when you hear 'the room resonated with music'?

We understand a difference in aspect. That's usually, and quite rightly, considered to be a difference in meaning. I've already explained this briefly in post #4.

What do you understand when you hear 'The room was resonating with music'?
I understand that, at the time of writing, the resonating was happening.

What do you understand when you hear 'The room resonated with music'?
I understand that, at the time of writing, either the resonating was happening or it had finished.

You (emsr2d2) seem to have made a mistake here. In both cases the resonating happened before the time of writing. Both tenses are past tenses, which obviously means the action in both cases is in the past relative to the time of writing.