correct tense: [as I was] or [as I did]

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ansonman
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correct tense: [as I was] or [as I did]

Post by ansonman »

I have made up the sentences below.

(1) I am reading the same poem as I did last week.

(2) I am reading the same poem as I was last week.

Most of my non-native friends think "was" is correct because it matches the form of "am". I am not sure if they are correct. Thank you for your help.
Alan
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Re: correct tense: [as I was] or [as I did]

Post by Alan »

Both are possible. In (1) 'did' would be classified as a pro-form (representing contextually inferrable past tense 'read'), while (2) is a case of straightforward ellipsis (i.e. the word 'reading', already mentioned, has simply been omitted the second time).
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