Adverbs and adverbial phrases of time combined with the past dynamic

Adverbs and adverbial phrases of time combined with the Past Dynamic are listed below in terms of their relative frequency (in %); they make about 25% of all the uses of the tense: always (10.0); now (7.4); at eight, etc. (6.1); still (5.3); already (5.0); then (4.0); all the time (3.4); every day, etc. (3.4); by half-past ten, etc. (3.1); by now, etc. (3.0); constantly, etc. (3.0); in a moment, etc. (2.7); soon (2.6); ten minutes later, etc. (2.4); a moment ago, etc. (2.1); the next instant, etc. (2.1); at this (that) time (1.9); the other day (1.7); one day, etc. (1.6); at the time, etc. (1.4); for five years, etc. (1.4); just now (then) (1.4); this year, in the fourteenth century, etc. (1.4); last night (1.3); all day, etc. (1.3); in the morning, etc. (1.3); after luncheon, afterwards, etc. (1.1); that day, etc. (1.1); on Thursday, etc. (1.0); today, tonight (1.0); yesterday (1.0); suddenly (0.9); this afternoon, etc. (0.9); before, etc. (0.7); during all that time, etc. (0.7); steadily (0.7); these (those) days, etc. (0.7); all this time (0.6); for the first time (0.6); from the first, etc. (0.6); lately, of late (0,6); meanwhile (0.6); again, once more (0.4); at present (0.4); daily (0.4); from ... to ... (0.4); once (0.4); at last, finally, in­stantly, often, presently (0.3. each); through the summer vacation, etc. (0.3); up to ... (0.3); all along (0.1); the day before yesterday, day and night, for the most part, rarely, recently, temporarily, twice (0,1, each).

The list shows that the adverb most frequently used with the Past Dynamic is always, such phrases as all day and from ... to ... being 8 and 25 times less frequent, respectively.

Always: 1. "Hobbema, my professor, was a thief of ideas — he was always prying!" (H. G. Wells); 2. And Felix remembered that they never had any proper meals, but, when hungry, went to the kitchen, where a wood-fire was always burning, and either heated up coffee or devoured bread, cheese, jam, honey (J. Galsworthy); 3. Juana's eyes were open too. She was looking at him as she was always looking at him when he awakened (J. Salinger).

It will be noticed that Sentence I is emotionally coloured, while Sentences 2 and 3 are devoid of any emotions.

Now. The adverb now is used with the Past Dynamic in the meaning then, at that time, as in:

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The wind was blowing off-shore now (E. Hemingway); Now he was fidgeting and looking self-consciously at his friend (G. Gordon).

At Eight, etc. Still: 1." They were bathing at eight o'clock this morn­ing" (W. S. Maugham); 2. At the moment he was mentally contrasting Aileen and Berenice (Th. Dreiser); 3. It was dark outside and still rain­ing (E. Hemingway); 4. Doreen's letters continued to cheer Jan. She was still putting on weight (D. Cusack).

Already: 1. The guard was already fluttering his green flag (H. G. Wells); 2. The hop ranch was almost a ruin. Weeds were already choking the vines (F. Norris); 3. In that early spring a few buds were showing already (J. Galsworthy).

Then, In a Moment, Soon, etc.: see page 114.

All the Time, etc. Every Day, etc.: 1. Drouet, all the time, was con­ducting himself in a model way for one of his sort. He took her about a great deal, spent money upon her (Th. Dreiser); 2. When she talked, he lis­tened and followed her, and yet, all the while he was following his own thoughts (J. Galsworthy); 3. He and Eglantine were meeting almost everyday (E. Delafield); 4. Every evening that week she was coming at half-past six (J. Galsworthy); 5. He was making five to six hundred dollars a month (A. Maltz).

By Half-past Ten, etc. By Now, By Then: 1. By half-past ten Frances was drinking hot broth before the fire in the doctor's living room (A. Cro­nin); 2. By sundown he was dying (I. Stone); 3. By now it was growing darker (F. Norris); 4. By then, the maid was taking away the dinner plates and preparing to serve the dessert (Th. Dreiser).

Constantly (47%), Forever (28%), Continually (15%); Incessantly, Perpetually (5%, each): 1. He was extremely considerate. He was con­stantly giving her little presents (W. S. Maugham); 2. He was forever confronting his wife, demanding of her to change her attitude toward him (Th. Dreiser); 3. The information indicates some of the skill with which Shakespeare was continually tailoring plays to fit the available cast (D. Worker); 4. My rivals were working incessantly, far harder than I (A. Cronin); 5. We didn't want to be like the young manager who was perpetually professing his regard for cleanliness (J. Braine).

A Moment Ago, At This (That) Time, etc.: "He was just asking for you a moment ago" (Th. Dreiser); He was living, at this time, in a resi­dential hotel in Hangar Hill (A. Cronin).

The Other Day, etc. One Day, etc. At the Time, etc.: 1. "Only the other day I was going to tell my niece that there are two types of men" (G. K. Chesterton); 2. One day Roy was standing at the corner of Main and Elm (J. O'Hara); 3. Light snow was falling at the time (J. Conrad); 4. "He was fighting in France at the time of the armistice" (W. S. Mau­gham).

For Five years, etc. Just Now. Just Then: 1. "What on earth were you doing with yourself in India for five years?" (W. S. Maugham); 2. They were whispering together for half an hour (Ch. Bronte); 3. "What news were you reading just now?" (J. Galsworthy); 4. "What was it he was saying just now?" (F. Norris); 5. The rain was falling just then with a de­vastating violence (J. Conrad).

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This Year, etc. Last Night. All Day "Long, etc.: 1. She was wearing long skirts this year for the first time (H. Walpole); 2. He was still alive and making poetry at the age of ninety-two (J. Burnot); 3." She was saying last night that man was over here" (J. Galsworthy); 4. "What were you thinking about last night?" (J. Braine); 5. He was soaking himself in beer all day long and day after day (J. Conrad); 6. He was palpitating with excitement all through the succeeding months (F. Norris).

In the Morning, etc. Not Long After That, etc.: 1. In the morning she was sneezing and going down town made it worse (Th. Dreiser);

2. The flat was on the third floor, the front windows looking down into the street, where, at night, the lights of grocery stores were shining and children were playing (Th. Dreiser); 3. A minute later he was along- side, and not long after that he was pulling away again (C. Forester); 4. On the following day he met her in his park and the day after that was, walking with her in full view of the carriages along the road (G. Mere- dith).

That Day, etc. Today. Tonight. Yesterday: 1." He was telling me that

day what a sponger the fellow was" (Th. Dreiser); 2. That winter the club was making an effort to recover (A. Cronin); 3. Today a scorching westerly was blowing (D. Cusack); 4." I was reading in the paper tonight the Army can take over anything they need" (R. Gehman); 5. "I was passing the shop yesterday and I saw the lilies in the window" (K. Mans­field).

Suddenly: see page 114.

This Afternoon, etc. Before, etc.: 1. He was driving, this afternoon,

to the club (S. Lewis); 2. "The secretary told me you were rehearsing this morning" (W. S. Maugham); 3. "But go on in the spirit you were going before" (Th. Dreiser); 4. " He was getting on so well before his set­back" (D. Cusack).

During All That Time, etc. Steadily: 1. During all that time he was standing there in the aisle rattling the money (E. Caldwell); 2. During all the time I knelt there holding him in my arms I was trying to think of something to say to Dave before it was too late (E. Caldwell); 3. Mrs. Myers was steadily getting worse (D. Cusack).

These Days, etc. All This Time: 1. Martha was evidently doing the minimum these days, wandering off to bed about nine and nearly always letting Jenny wash up in the evening (A. Kingsley); 2. The town was humming with life those days (H. Walpole); 3. But all this time, there was being developed, gropingly at first, an entirely new branch of lin­guistics (S. Lang).

For the First Time. From the First, etc.: 1. For the first time in forty years he was spending the spring in Paris (W. S. Maugham); 2. From the first an obscure and final war was being waged between them (Th. Wolfe); 3. " I was saying, from the start of the argument, that there are many wars in which the aggression is plain" (Th. White).

Lately. Of Late: 1. "After all, I was getting a few private patients lately" (A. Cronin); 2. I knew I wasn't pleasing him lately (A. Cronin);

3. More and more of late he was regaining the old Forsyte feeling of security (J. Galsworthy).

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Meanwhile, Again. Once More¹.: 1. Meanwhile, the days were pass­ing, the elections were drawing nearer (F. Norris); 2. Ashurst did not answer. He was seeing again Megan's face, when at breakfast he had whispered,"I'm going to Torquay, darling" (J. Galsworthy).

At Present. Daily. From ... To ...: 1. At present he was answering questions that did not matter (J. Conrad); 2. Prices were soaring daily (A. Cronin); 3."I was standing in the queue from 1.15 p. m. to 2.50 without moving at all (D. Worker).

Once. At Last. Finally: 1. Once a man and his son were walking along, driving their donkey ahead of them (W. S. Gray); 2. They were reach­ing their destination at last (W. S. Maugham); 3. Finally, he was being borne again toward the hills (Th. Wolfe).

Instantly. Presently: see page 114.

Often. Through the Summer Vacation, etc. All Along. Up To ...:

1. More often than not he was not thinking at all (H. Walpole); 2. He was working in the garden through the summer vacation (S. Lewis); 3. " I was living in hope all along that you would fall in love with me" (Th. Drei- ser); 4. Up to September last year you were superintending a tea plan- tation in Ceylon?" (J. Galsworthy).

The Day Before Yesterday. Day And Night. For the Most Part: 1. „Why, only the day before yesterday she was talking to him" (Th. Wolfe);

2. Furnaces were blazing day and night (Ch. Dickens); 3. For the most part he was thinking of Winch (H. G. Wells).

Rarely. Recently. Temporarily. Twice: 1. It was rarely anyone was patrolling the road (E. Cluer); 2. It seemed to her that recently her skin was growing darker (G. Gordon); 3. His cars were being housed tempo­rarily in a disused stable (M. Mitchell); 4. She was paying her visits twice daily (H. Walpole).