Hey Sars,

Where I work, we have bells to signal the changing of activity periods during the day. We have developed a problem, however, in that we do not know how to refer to the sound the bell makes in past tense. I have a degree in English, so this is mighty embarrassing for me, and I’d like to know how to say what we’re trying to say.

Allow me to illustrate.

[The bell rings]

A few minutes later, someone asks, “Hey, has the bell rung? Rang? Did it ring?”

We’ve come to this place now where almost everyone just asks, “Has the bell gone already?” or “Did you hear the bell?” I, however, would like to know what the correct grammar is for this question. Is it “Has the bell rung?” Or is it “rang”? Or is that all incorrect and we shouldn’t be using “has” in favor of “did”?

Thanks for your help.

Signed,

Never One To Dwell On The Past…Tense

Dear Tense,

You can always cheat with “Did the bell just ring?” or “Was that the bell?” But for past perfect, it’s “rang,” i.e., “The bell just rang, right?” And for any other past tense (in other words, a verb phrase with connective tissue like “has” or “had”), it’s rung, i.e., “Has the bell rung yet?” or “The bell had just rung when I arrived.”

Or: “The bell rings at 8 every morning. It rang at 9 yesterday morning, but it has always rung at 8 prior to yesterday, and tomorrow, it will have rung at 8 again.”

Aaaaand the word “rung” is starting to sound a little dirty now.

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