'Verb tenses'

Question

Could you please, check if my explanations for the usage of the underlined verb tenses are correct? If not,please, tell me why.

1) Sue hasn't eaten anything today, but she ate a lot yesterday.

(here the present perfect tense is being used because since the day started up till now she hasn't eaten anything, but till the end of the day the situation can change = a situation that started in the past and comes up to the present moment).

But if I had written: "Sue didn't eat anything today, but she ate a lot yesterday.", in this case the reader/listener would have had an idea that the day already finished, and she didn't eat anything, wouldn't he?

2) Dawson had been taking a shower when his father arrived. Here I could also rewrite it by saying: Dawson had taken a shower when his father arrived, couldn't I ? The only difference is that in the first example, when the second action (when his father arrived) took place, the previous one(Dawson had been taking a shower) was in course. While in the second example, when the second action happened, the first one had already taken place. Am I right?

Thanks,

Tillia

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

You understand the use of the tenses correctly.

Sue didn't eat anything today, but she ate a lot yesterday.

The above sentence can't be said when 'today' is over. You could say it when, for example, Sue has gone to bed and fallen asleep and it seems extremely unlikely that she will wake up and eat something before midnight.

CB

Yankee · Answer

Anonymous2) Dawson had been taking a shower when his father arrived (2a). Here I could also rewrite it by saying: Dawson had taken a shower when his father arrived (2b), couldn't I ? The only difference is that in the first example, when the second action (when his father arrived) took place, the previous one(Dawson had been taking a shower) was in course. While in the second example, when the second action happened, the first one had already taken place. Am I right?

Hi Tillia
In sentence 2a, it sounds very much as though 'taking a shower' had just ended. Perhaps he had just turned off the water (or was still wet, or was just stepping out of the shower, etc.) at the moment his father arrived. In sentence 2b, the shower was completely finished at some point before his father arrived. It would be quite common to add the word 'already' to the sentence:
had already taken a shower.

If you want to clearly indicate that the shower was in progress at the time his father arrived, you should use the past continuous:
Dawson was taking a shower when his father arrived.

Anonymous · Answer

Hi, Cool Breeze

Thanks for your help.

Best wishes,

Tília

Anonymous · Answer

Hi, Yankee

Thank you very much for the help.

Best wishes,

Tília

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