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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > present    

present



mirela.sorina
Romania

present
 
the match started/has started  at 5 pm/
 
which one is correct?

29 Nov 2011      





yanogator
United States

This is a single occurrence in the past, so it is "The match started at 5 pm".
 
Bruce

29 Nov 2011     



ueslteacher
Ukraine

We use past simple for the action which took place at a stated time in the past, so:
The match started at 5 p. m.
Sophia

29 Nov 2011     



w3hw3t
Turkey



w3hw3t
Turkey

i think it depends on the whole text.Either of them might me i guess

29 Nov 2011     



cagreis
Portugal

"started" = Past Simple for definite and finished past actions - we �re always interested in the WHEN

29 Nov 2011     



mirela.sorina
Romania

how do I know so sure it is past? 5I may be talking at 5.oo pm!

30 Nov 2011     



Lina Ladybird
Germany

Oh dear, I have accidentally removed my post instead of editing it... Disapprove
 
I �ll write again later, haven �t got any time left right now, because I must go and teach a bunch of nice adults! ;-))
 

30 Nov 2011     



Apodo
Australia

@mirela.sorina    At exactly 5.00pm I would say �The match is starting now �

Any time after 5.00pm (even the next day) I would say:
 
The match started at 5pm.
 
If someone arrived while I was watching the match (after 5.00pm) I could say:
 
The match started at 5pm. (simple past when an exact time is given)
or
The match has started.

30 Nov 2011     



mirela.sorina
Romania

I agree but if I say just 5 pm, I would not know for sure that is a past; it may as well be a vague period ;

30 Nov 2011     



yanogator
United States

But the choices you gave us at the start were "started" or "has started", so it was clearly in the past.
 
Bruce

30 Nov 2011     



Lina Ladybird
Germany

@mirela
 
5 pm is definitely NOT "a vague period" but a certain point in time!
 
So if it �s lunchtime and you want to say that the football match is in a few hours, you can just use the Simple Present and say: The match starts at 5 pm. (Because it �s a scheduled future arrangement.)
 
Hope this helps... ;-)
 
You can also check the following link:
 
http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/future.htm#4 [scroll down until you see the heading "Scheduled events"].
 

30 Nov 2011     

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