Dhea
Please help me. Can the word "tonight" be used for past tense?
20. Sep. 2018 15:48
Kommentare · 7
6
You could if you're speaking late at night about something a bit earlier. For example, you could tell someone, "I went to the library tonight" once you arrive home later the same night.
20. September 2018
4

Today is Thursday. Yesterday, the sun went down at 7 p.m. Wednesday and rose at 6:30 a.m. Thursday. That was "last night."

"Last night, I had the strangest dream."

"Last night, the sky was clear and I saw the moon and Mars."

Last night is in the past.

Right now, it is daytime.

Today, the sun will go down at 7 p.m. and rise at 6:30 a.m. That period of time, the night that is coming, is "tonight."

"Tonight, we will have spaghetti and meatballs for supper."

"Tonight, I want to get to bed early."

Because it is daytime, "tonight" is in the future.

Pretend I am posting this later, when it gets dark. Pretend it is 8 p.m. Thursday night.

Then "tonight" can be the present, or all of the nighttime hours before and after the present.

"The sky is cloudy tonight" (now).

"Is there anything good on television tonight?" (now and in the next few hours).

"That was a good supper tonight" (a little while ago).




20. September 2018
1

I'm pretty sure the answer is "over the Christmas holiday".

As Lauren pointed out, tonight CAN be used with the past tense (as can "today", e.g. "Today I went to a cinema"), but its much less common. Usually tonight means "later in the evening".

20. September 2018
1
I think it can't. Because it seems wrong like you are using today for past. 
20. September 2018
Really helpful. Thanks a lot ^^
20. September 2018
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