1. Susan was looking for Graham, so she didn't sit down. Instead, she tried calling him on her mobile phone. – Když je zde TRIED, dalo by se to chápat, že se mu pokusila zavolat jen jednou (dokonavost)? Zatímco kdyby bylo WAS TRYING, že se mu snažila dovolat opakovaně? Víc mi tam sedí past continuous i kvůli dvěma dějům probíhajícím zároveň – hledala ho (was looking) a během toho se mu zkoušela dovolat (was trying).
2. By the time Sheila got back, Chris had gone. / By the time Sheila got back, Chris was gone. – Je zde stejný význam?
3. Zadání cvičení: Only use the past perfect where this is absolutely necessary. Věta: The police paid no attention to Clare's complaint because she HAD PHONED them so many times before. – V klíči je HAD PHONED, což mi nepřijde jako “absolutely necessary”, když je ve větě BEFORE, takže podle mě PHONED stačí. Co si myslíte?
4. Helen (feel) very tired, and when she (finish) her work, she (fall) asleep. – Tady je v klíči FELT i WAS FEELING správně. Je to proto, že pocity pomocí FEEL můžeme vyjádřit jak v prostém tak průběhovém čase a význam se nezmění?
5. Nick (lie) down on the grass for a while, next to some tourists who (feed) the ducks. – Tady má být podle klíče LAY, ale mně tam sedí i WAS LYING, dva souběžné děje, oni krmili kachny a on tam chviličku ležel na trávě. Co si myslíte?
6. Although it rained a lot, I was enjoying my holiday last year. – Podle klíče je WAS ENJOYING špatně. Co kdybych chtěl dát ale důraz na to, že jsem si to i přes déšť užíval? V tomto významu se past continous nepoužívá?

[Edit: in 5, I changed “jackdaw” to “magpie”, ale není to podstatné.]

1. Susan was looking for Graham, so she didn't sit down. Instead, she tried calling / was trying to call him on her mobile phone. Both options are possible, and it's not possible to say (solely on the basis of the form of the verb) whether the trying happened only once or several times. In the absence of an adverbial marker (such as “repeatedly”, “several times”) we would probably understand “tried” as “once only”. With “was trying” it's impossible to say how often the trying occurred. In context, there might be other clues which would make it clear how often the trying happened.

2. By the time Sheila got back, Chris had gone. / By the time Sheila got back, Chris was gone. – Je zde stejný význam? Ano. Gone = pryč.

3. Past perfect is “absolutely necessary” here. It's the direct reason that the police ignored her complaint. Cf: I couldn't open my door because I lost / had lost my keys. The present action (ignoring, not being able to open the door) is the direct consequence of the past action (phoning many times, losing my keys).

4. Helen felt / was feeling very tired, and when she finished her work, she fell asleep. – Tady je v klíči FELT i WAS FEELING správně. Je to proto, že pocity pomocí FEEL můžeme vyjádřit jak v prostém tak průběhovém čase a význam se nezmění? Ano.

5. Nick (lie) down on the grass for a while, next to some tourists who (feed) the ducks. – Tady má být podle klíče LAY, ale mně tam sedí i WAS LYING … “Was lying” je přípustné, ale raději bychom řekli “lay (down)”. “For a while” suggests a completed action in the past (we know when it ended – after “a while”), and that (not the simultaneous action of feeding the ducks) governs the tense of “lie down” here. Nick was lying / lay on the grass for a while watching tourists feed(ing) the ducks when a magpie [straka] swooped down and flew off with his phone.

6. Although it rained a lot, I was enjoying / enjoyed my holiday last year. Again, in the sentence as it stands, the answer can only be “enjoyed” because “last year” tells us it's a completed event in the past.

Compare: Although it rained a lot, I was enjoying my holiday last year until someone stole my umbrella.

It's often difficult (and sometimes impossible) to be precise about the use of tenses in single sentences taken out of their wider context.

Thank you very much!

Ještě dotaz k minulým časům prosím.

1. For a week or more we CLIMBED higher and higher, following the map, which Mallory STUDIED from time to time. – Chápu, že v první části musí být PAST SIMPLE, protože je to ukončený děj (for a week or more), ale mohl by v druhé části být PAST CONTINUOUS (was studying) nebo “for a week or more” se nevztahuje jen ke “climbing”, ale i ke “studying”, takže to bude taky ukončený děj a PAST SIMPLE?
2. He BELIEVED that the descendants of these ancient people STILL KEPT / ARE STILL KEEPING themselves apart from the rest of mankind for the very same reasons. – Dokázali byste vysvětlit, proč může být v druhé části jak PAST SIMPLE, tak PAST CONTINUOUS?

… nebo “for a week or more” se nevztahuje jen ke “climbing”, ale i ke “studying”, takže to bude taky ukončený děj a PAST SIMPLE?

1. Ano, je to tak.
2. Myslíte “jak PAST SIMPLE, tak PAST PRESENT CONTINUOUS?” The descendants of these ancient people pořád žijí a pořád se drží stranou. Popsaná situace je stále reální/aktuální, časový posun je tedy optional. K posunu docházet nemusí, ale taky může. Je to vaše volba.

Nezapomeňte také na to, že posun časů není vždy nutný. Pokud totiž ‘reportovaná’ informace stále trvá, může věta zůstat v původním čase:

• He said that he liked apples. (časový posun) → He believed that the descendants still kept (nebo were still keeping)
• He said that he likes apples. (nemusí docházet k posunu) → He believed that the descendants are still keeping … (nebo still keep)

Omlouvám se, mělo tam být “WERE still keeping”, vůbec jsem do toho přítomný čas nechtěl motat. Jen my šlo o vysvětlení, jaktože v dané větě může být jak minulý čas prostý, tak průběhový.

Jen my šlo o vysvětlení, jaktože v dané větě může být jak minulý čas prostý, tak průběhový.

Both forms (simple past and past continuous) are possible in direct and (therefore also) reported speech if you choose to backshift:

• The descendants are still keeping themselves apart … Rozumíme if you go and visit these descendants now, you will observe that they are still (right now in the process of) keeping themselves apart.
• The descendants still keep themselves apart … Rozumíme if you go and visit these descendants now, you will observe that they (habitually/re­peatedly) keep themselves – “držívají se” – apart.

Když pak chceme použít reported speech, může (podle vaší volby) docházet k očekávanému přesunu časů:

• are keeping → were keeping
• keep themselves apart → kept themselves apart