Thread: 'Instead of walking all the way to the top using the stairs' etc

Okay, seems I've got very rusty on working out which aspect to use...
'Двери уже не пытались закрываться' does my use of 'уже' here contribute towards the idea that the doors tried to close but 'gave up (!), as you put it? Or is that all in the choice of aspect?

Originally Posted by grafrich

Okay, seems I've got very rusty on working out which aspect to use...
'Двери уже не пытались закрываться' does my use of 'уже' here contribute towards the idea that the doors tried to close but 'gave up (!), as you put it? Or is that all in the choice of aspect?

You started this with doors trying! things


As for уже, sure it does but not in a sense you might be thinking of. Уже makes the action completed. Yep, 2 imperfective verbs conveying a completed action, albeit a prolonged action that's finally come to an end. If you omit уже from the sentence:

Двери не пытались закрываться.

That'd be a prolonged action with unclear state of completion, like the doors didn't try to close for some time.

Inanimate objects have a life of their own in my stories sometimes, just to make them appear as if they're responsible for their actions, or lack of them..
I think I can understand the 2 imperfective verbs conveying a completed action, in that the doors had already tried (but failed) to close. It's a moot point as to whether that was actually the meaning I was looking for when I wrote it originally; I think it wasn't clear either way in my head (typical English lack of concern for whether something is finished or not..!)