Tonight is the strangest night in the Iliad. Two men go out into the dark.
The Iliad · C1
Book Ten: The Night Raid
Narrative tenses (past perfect continuous, past perfect, past continuous), it wasn’t until… that, keep an eye on, under cover of darkness, lie in wait, spare someone’s life, come across and make off with: C1 grammar for the strangest night of the war.
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SOPHIA
MARCOS
Odysseus and Diomedes! The best team in the army!
The story
After Homer’s Iliad, Book Ten
Agamemnon had been lying awake for hours, staring at the Trojan fires, when he finally got up and woke the other kings. The guards were awake, keeping an eye on the plain. Diomedes volunteered to go out under cover of darkness, and chose Odysseus to go with him.
On the plain they saw a Trojan spy, Dolon, coming towards them. They lay in wait among the dead, let him run past, and then chased him like hunting dogs. Dolon realised too late that they had let him pass on purpose. He begged them to spare his life, and told them everything: the Thracians had only just arrived, with their king Rhesus and his snow-white horses.
Following his directions, they came across the Thracian camp. The Thracians were sleeping, their armour in neat rows. In Homer, Diomedes killed twelve of them and their king, while Odysseus led the horses out; then the two men made off with them.
Diomedes wanted to take the golden chariot too, and it wasn’t until Athena warned him that he turned for the ships. They galloped back, washed in the sea, and drank to the goddess.
With him beside me, we could both come back alive from a burning fire.
Narrative tenses
PHILO
Agamemnon had been lying awake for hours. Dolon realised that they had let him pass. The Thracians were sleeping when he arrived.
SOPHIA
past perfect continuous (had been + -ing) for an activity up to a past moment. past perfect for something earlier. past continuous for the background. Sleep has no passive.
It wasn’t until… that
DEMETRIA
It wasn’t until Athena warned him that he turned back.
SOPHIA
It was not until + time / clause + that + main clause: a cleft sentence for emphasis. Not when or than.
C1 phrases for the night
MARCOS
The guards kept an eye on the fires. They went under cover of darkness, lay in wait, and Dolon begged them to spare his life. They came across the Thracians and made off with the horses!
SOPHIA
keep an eye on. under cover of darkness. lie in wait (not on wait). spare someone’s life. come across = find by chance. make off with = steal and escape.
Sophia’s summary
| Form | Use | From the story |
|---|---|---|
| had been + -ing | duration up to a past moment | He had been lying awake for hours. |
| had + past participle; was + -ing | earlier past; background | The Thracians were sleeping when he arrived. |
| It wasn’t until… that… | emphasis on time | It wasn’t until Athena warned him that he left. |
| keep an eye on; under cover of darkness; lie in wait | watching and hiding | They lay in wait among the dead. |
| spare someone’s life; come across; make off with | C1 phrases | They made off with the horses. |
Practice
Answer all the questions, then press “Check my answers”. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Choose
Choose the correct form.
1. Agamemnon ___ awake for hours when he got up.
2. The Thracians ___ when Diomedes arrived.
3. They went out under cover ___ darkness.
4. They lay ___ wait among the dead.
5. It wasn’t until Athena spoke ___ he turned back.
6. They soon came ___ the Thracian camp.
B · Write
Write the correct form of the word in brackets, or the missing word.
7. Dolon realised that they (let) him pass on purpose.
8. He begged them to spare his .
9. The guards were keeping an eye the fires.
10. They made with the king’s horses.
C · Right or wrong?
Is it correct?
11. “The Thracians had been slept for hours.”
12. “It wasn’t until dawn that they washed in the sea.”
13. “They lay on wait for the spy.”
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