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English Grammar


Bob wasn't disappointed.

Florence Moulin
User since 2012
Posts: 3

3 Sept. 2013

Hi everyone, Can someone explain me what the tense used in this sentence founded in the lesson <h4 style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 220px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; ">Radio Rhubarb News And Traffic: A Look At Today's Headlines</h4> "Bob wasn't disappointed" Was + PP ? I never learn that ! Thanks

9 comments

  • User since 2014
    Posts: 2

    17 Oct. 2014

    Hello, my name is javi i'm from magalofes. How are you?
  • User since 2012
    Posts: 3

    10 Sept. 2013

    All right ! Thank you.
  • User since 2012
    Posts: 3

    7 Sept. 2013

    Thanks so much Pimpanella for this answer. Do you think we can use this tense although it's not a grammar tense ? Like an expression maybe.
  • User since 2012
    Posts: 3

    3 Sept. 2013

    Hi everyone, Can someone explain me what the tense used in this sentence founded in the lesson <h4 style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 220px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; ">Radio Rhubarb News And Traffic: A Look At Today's Headlines</h4> "Bob wasn't disappointed" Was + PP ? I never learn that ! Thanks
  • User since 2012
    Posts: 15

    10 Sept. 2013

    Hi -According to one of the GG grammar lessons related to the three principal tenses I think that in the sentence "Bob wasn't disappointed" the tense of the verb "to be" is the preterit also called past simple and the word "disappointed" an adjective as said by Thierry - If somebody else has a better explanation I'll be happy to see it. Have a nice day.
  • User since 2014
    Posts: 1

    16 Oct. 2014

    Here follows what Gymglish answered to me when I made this mistake :
    <span class="error">hasn't been</span><span class="explain">: </span>
    Using the present perfect (progressive) tense here, although
    grammatically correct, is unnatural and places emphasis on the fact that
    Bob currently lives in San Francisco, and continues to be pleased with
    his decision to live there. This is never indicated in context of the
    story.

    <span class="correct">wasn't</span><span class="explain">: </span> We
    use the simple past tense to describe a completed action in the past.
    So the right answer is a simple past.
  • User since 2012
    Posts: 288

    8 Sept. 2013

    Uh, I didn't mean that it was not a tense, but rather than I didn't know it's name ! (did I forget to say that I'm not comfortable with grammar at all ?)
    Maybe Thierry is right, in some cases the past participe can be considered like an adjective. But that construction is also used for the passive voice (the book was written, the job was done, the speed was limited) And, yes ! to be desappointed must be passive as well.
    But when we say "He was gone" "I was finished" ? It's hard for me to call this passive...
  • User since 2012
    Posts: 288

    6 Sept. 2013

    Hi Florence,
    I was going to answer that it was past perfect, but then I checked, and no, as Past perfect is made of HAD (and not WAS) + PP. So I don't know at all how it's called, but it seems very familiar to me (and I'm sure that helps you a lot ;-) it's quite similar to the past perfect, smthg which is past before smthg else past too. Well, I'm not good at explaining grammar, definitively.
    Let's try to make examples : The train was gone before he could catch it. (Do they catch trains in English, as we do in French ? Not so sure.) Or :
    When we were finished, we left.
    I'm sure you could use a better answer, if somobody had one.
    Have a nice weekend anyway !
  • User since 2012
    Posts: 54

    7 Sept. 2013

    Hi, I think that "disappointed" is an adjective in this sentence (to be disappointed). You'll find more explanation here : <a href="http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/disappointed">http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/disappointed</a> Have a nice weekend.

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