Question
1 Dec 2020
- Russian
-
English (US)
Question about English (US)
Explain me why i should use the past simple in 'B'. Can i use the past continuous in this case?
A: How were your holiday?
B: Awful! It rained the whole time.
Explain me why i should use the past simple in 'B'. Can i use the past continuous in this case?
A: How were your holiday?
B: Awful! It rained the whole time.
A: How were your holiday?
B: Awful! It rained the whole time.
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1 Dec 2020
Featured answer
- English (US)
- English (UK)
"How were your holiday?" does not sound natural.
"How were your holidays?" makes more grammatical sense, but typically you do not ask someone about "holidays" (plural).
Normally you would just say "How was your holiday?"
———
Important note: In US/American English, holiday usually refers to a special day/event like Christmas. In UK/British English, holiday usually refers to a vacation/trip.
So "How was your holiday?" is more likely to be used in UK/British English (in reference to someone's vacation or trip somewhere).
In US/American English if you want to ask about how someone's trip to somewhere, you would say vacation. If you want to ask about a particular holiday event, you would typically specify the event (e.g. "How was your Christmas?").
Highly-rated answerer
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- English (US)
- English (UK)
"How were your holiday?" does not sound natural.
"How were your holidays?" makes more grammatical sense, but typically you do not ask someone about "holidays" (plural).
Normally you would just say "How was your holiday?"
———
Important note: In US/American English, holiday usually refers to a special day/event like Christmas. In UK/British English, holiday usually refers to a vacation/trip.
So "How was your holiday?" is more likely to be used in UK/British English (in reference to someone's vacation or trip somewhere).
In US/American English if you want to ask about how someone's trip to somewhere, you would say vacation. If you want to ask about a particular holiday event, you would typically specify the event (e.g. "How was your Christmas?").
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Highly-rated answerer
- English (US)
It should be "How was your holiday?" This is because "holiday" is singular.
As for 'B,' both forms work! The past continuous form works just as well as the past simple form. "Awful! It was raining the whole time."
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