At the beginning things 1._ very simple: when talking about something that happened in the past we can simply say I wrote the report. However, there is more to it. Consider the following 4 sentences:
a) I have written the report. It’s on your desk.
b) I wrote the report when the boss came.
c) I was writing the report when my boss came.
d) I had written the report when my boss came.
This time the situation is even 2._ than with present: here we have 4 different tenses for something that could be 3._ into Croatian as Napisao/la sam or pisao/la sam izvještaj. You might ask yourself if there really is a difference.
Let’s do it step by step. I have written the report. It’s on your desk. I wrote the report last week. How many of your English lessons have been spent on 4._ attempts to make you use I have done it? But when speaking, this form still 5._ (if at all) crosses your lips. And again, non-native speakers seem to agree that they can live perfectly well without it. However, those of us who 6._ to perfection should maybe give one more try to understanding the logic behind the choice of I have written over the simple I wrote. In the first example the focus is on the 7._ of an activity which has happened at an 8._ past time. When is irrelevant here but what 9._ is that NOW the report is on your boss’s desk (and since bosses are by their very nature result-oriented, they do not care about when you did something as long as it is there when they need it.) However, if you want to 9._ their attention to your dedication or earn extra credit for being a good time manager you will stress when you did it by saying I wrote it 10._.
I wrote the report when the boss came. I was writing the report when my boss came. I had written the report when my boss came. The sentence c just wants to indicate that my work was 11._ and was 12._ by the entry of my boss. And it’s the best policy to restrict yourself to using the tense in such situations while choosing I worked for something that 13._ and we see it as a 14._ activity regardless of for how long it might have continued.
Sentences b, c and d indeed make a difference in your boss’s eyes. In the example b one action followed the other: my boss came and then I remembered the report (not good). In c, the boss just came too early while I was still working on it (he interrupted me when I was in the middle of my activity and 15._ a really good progress). In the sentence d the report had already been finished 16._ before the boss came (and you might be having difficulties finding it now).
| Past Simple | activities completed at a definite past time | He studied their balance sheet yesterday. |
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