Past Iterative Tense Article Index for
Past
Shopping
Tense
Website Links For
Past
 

Information About

Past Iterative Tense




This tense which is sometimes referred to as the "past habitual" (in Lithuanian) is similar to the English "used to" construction, but unlike "used to" it does not say anything about whether or not the action is currently carried out. It is formed by adding the suffix ''-dav-'' to the stem of the infinitive and then adding personal flexions (endings), for example:

:imti + dav + -au = imdavau (=I used to take)

The past iterative tense does not exist in Latvian . Most probably this means that this tense is the newest. It developed much later than the other three tenses (present, past simple and future).

The term "past iterative" also refers to an alternative inflection of verbs used in the Epic dialect (also known as Homeric dialect) of Ancient Greek . Past iterative verbs in Greek use "sk" inside the verb and have the same meaning as aorist or imperfect verbs. Two examples of past iterative verbs are "phthnutheske" ("was pining") and "potheeske" ("yearned") from verses 491-2 of the first book of the Iliad .