Past continues past perfect continous or both?

[Heaven]

Hi natives and teachers all,

Which one is correct? Past continues, past perfect continous or both.
What is the reason, please?

1.I was woken up in the night because the neighbours had been having a party.

2.I was woken up in the night because the neighbours were having a party

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1. There was a man, who was waiting for somebody, standing outside the cafe
2. There was a man, who had been waiting for somebody, standing outside the cafe


Many thanks,

[Maeve]

Heaven,
In the "party" example the correct version is:

I was woken up in the night because the neighbours were having a party.

The past continuous is used here because the party is in progress at the time of the action of waking.

For "had" to be correct, the party must be over:

The front lawn was a mess because the neighbours had been having a party.

Likewise in the second set of sentences, the past continuous is correct.

There was a man, who was waiting for somebody, standing outside the cafe.

The past perfect is used with the simple past to indicate an action that was in progress before another action in the past:

The man, who had been waiting for someone, lost patience and walked away.

[Heaven]

Maeve,

Thank you so much for the immense assistance. It helps me a lot.
I am trying to write something based on What you said. If I'm wrong, let me know, please.

As I found, I have to use past perfect progressive with the simple past When an action had been happening before something else happened, But I have to use past progressive with the simple past when something happened in the middle of something else:

But now there is another question, please:
Is that correct about present perfect progressive too or.. hmmm i'm confused again!?

Ex: The man, who has been waiting for someone, loose patience and walk away.

All the best,

[Maeve]

But now there is another question, please:
Is that correct about present perfect progressive too or.. hmmm i'm confused again!?

Ex: The man, who has been waiting for someone, loose patience and walk away.

Short answer, yes, you would use the simple present in the main clause, like this:

The man, who has been waiting for someone, loses patience and walks away.

But, if you are writing a narrative, you are not likely to be writing a narrative in the present tense. I suppose your sample sentence would make sense as a stage direction.

NOTE on LOOSE:
You have confused two different words: lose and loose. You want the verb lose. Its parts:

lose (loses) lost (has/had) lost

(Remember: the third person present verb in English usually ends with -s.)

The other word, loose, can be used as a verb, but more commonly it is an adjective or adverb.

Ex.
Verb: loose loosed (has/had) loosed
Meaning: "to free, to let go" as in
They loosed the horse into the pasture.

As a descriptive word loose means "free, not confined."
Ex.
She likes to wear her long hair loose.
This screw has come loose.
This chair has a loose screw.
Watch out for the loose cannon.

[Heaven]

Hi,

Wow, Complex

Thank you so much for correction
After your helpful hint and explanations about these two words, I tried to find them in contexts to learn more. it seems "loose" doesn't use as much as "lose" in English. Maybe I didn't come across them, Accidentally.

Anyway I've tried to write a short text includes them based on my search in contexts and dictionary.

While I was reading about "lose" & "loose", I lost my mind, But It wasn't the end
When I found "Lose my head" can be used instead of " lose my mind". I don't know if It can be loosely translated as each other or not .
It was near I lost my cool, but I told myself there's no time to lose. on the other hand I read it in an article that "for every minute we're angry, we lose
sixty seconds of happiness and sixty seconds of peace!!"
Don't worry I 'm not angry! I 'm trying to use them for more learning.
Sometimes I lose interest and want to loose my wish . I think you couldn't understand What I meant about the last sentence. the answer is simple. That is a malapropos sentence in my cotext that I didn't know how to put it on!
Finaly, please help me otherwise I'll probably screw it up and lose everything!!!

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I refered to a dictionary and found "loose" can have different meanings:
1. (NOT FIXED): She likes to wear her long hair loose.
2. (NOT TIGHT) This screw has come loose
3. (NOT EXACT) It's only a loose translation of the poem
4. (IMMORAL)
5. (EXPRESS FREELY) the minister loosed an angry tirade against the leader of the opposition

Likewise, "lose" can have different meanings according to its position in a sentence.

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Sorry , I have questions again!

1. I checked "loose" in two dictionaries.
I wonder we have two kinds of verbs for this word

In one of them it was as you said : "loosed; loosing"
But in other it was : "loosen"
What is difference between them, please?

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2.I suppose I can use "lose" and "loose" in the same sentence or phrase according to the sense in below sentences.

I lost my wish ( I had a wish but It was impossible to gain so i lost it)
I loosed/loosened my wish ( I had a wish but I prefered to loose it)
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a loose wish ( A wish that someone preferred to leave it)
a lose wish ( a wish that someone wanted to gain but they couldn't)
in the last one I don't know if I could use "lose" as an adjective.

Confused happens again!?

Many thanks in advance,

[Maeve]

Heaven,
All your sentences use the forms of lose correctly. That last sentence is a little odd, but I suppose that one could "loose a wish" on the world as one might "loose the dogs of war."

One can loosen a sandal strap, or loosen the reins. The bumpy road has loosened the axle.

As I understand the difference, to loosen something is to ease the tightness of it without freeing it or letting it go entirely, while to loose something is to let it go completely, to set it free.

You wouldn't "lose a wish." You could lose an opportunity. You could lose your chance at something. You could be disappointed in your wish.

"A loose wish" makes no sense. (unless you're telling a story in which wishes fly about like butterflies and one gets away!)

A "lose wish" is not English.

By the way, to lose one's mind is not the same as to lose one's head.

Ex.
I had so many demands on my time yesterday that I thought I would lose my mind! (i.e., go crazy)

When the curtain went up, I completely lost my head and ran away. (i.e., panic)

[Heaven]

Thank you so much for your clear answers. I Almost could get all points .I certainly couldn't thank you enough for your kindly assistance.
I really tried to not overwhelm you with questions, but I couldn't .

I search in below online dictionaries:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/

http://www.dictionary.cambridge.org/

http://dictionary.reference.com/

To find the meaning of loose the dogs of war, but it was in none of them.
So would you mind letting me know the meaning of this idiom, please? (Is that an idiom?)
And are you familiar with some online sources that I can find these rare words and phrases, please?
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And about "lose one's head"
I found the meaning of that in http://www.dictionary.cambridge.org
And it is in below.

"lose one's head"
to suddenly become very angry or upset
(i.e. He usually stays quite calm in stressful situations but this time he really lost his head.)

I want to know if this idiom means both "panic" & "angry" depend on its position in a sentence?


Many thanks ,

[Maeve]

Heaven,
You're certainly keeping me on my toes!

to lose one's head means to lose control of one's behavior. The reason for this loss of control can be any emotion - anger, panic, fear, sorrow, happiness.

The expression probably derives from an earlier expression, to keep one's head which means to retain self-control in a crisis.

loose the dogs of war -- I was thinking of a speech (recalling it incorrectly, as it happens) in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar:

...Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,

With Ate by his side come hot from hell,

Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice

Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war...

The image is of a hunter unleashing his dogs to pursue game. The ghost of Caesar, furious at having been murdered, causes his faithful followers to wage war on his assassins. "to loose the dogs of war" would mean to begin an attack.

As for learning rare words and expressions, one of the best ways is probably to google the specific word or phrase. Looking over a lot of them at one time, as in a specialized reference. could be counter-productive.

Keep those questions coming.

[Heaven]

Thank you so much, Maeve, for letting me ask my further questions.
It is immensely appreciated.

All the best,

[prince]

Originally Posted by Maeve

Heaven,
In the "party" example the correct version is:

The front lawn was a mess because the neighbours had been having a party.

.[/b]

thank u very much, really i enjoyed ur answer but excuse me i am a beginner to intermediate student and i need ur help please:

why make it we harder on ourself? why didnt just say:

The front lawn was a mess because the neighbours had a party.

sorry, i know mayb i appear weak in english but i loved this website and i enjoy the daily mail

PS: i thank any comment on my posts so please dont regret...even in grammar or vocabulary or the way i build sentences
thank u