He played all day?

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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Howtosay
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He played all day?

Post by Howtosay »

Hello, Alan! I saw a sentence like this "He played all day long"? Why not "He was playing all day long?" Aren't "all day" "all day long", "all the evening" etc. markers for the Past Continuous Tense? Isn"t "all day long" indicator of duration?
Thank you!
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Alan
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Re: He played all day?

Post by Alan »

Both are possible.

The choice of tense here is simply matter of aspect/viewpoint. However, this is too major a topic to be dealt with in this forum. For basic information about English tense and aspect (which may often differ considerably from that of other European languages), please consult the English Learning Centre.
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