Action in progress

Present:

Sales are rising strongly at the moment.

Modern Europe is currently experiencing great changes in the way it spends its money. Average earnings are continuing to rise, and people's patterns of spending are changing significantly.

Past:

Sales were rising more strongly last year.

Looking back

From the present to the past:

Sales have risen by 6% this year.

In the last few months the growth in profits has levelled off and we probably won't reach our target of 10% by the end of the year.

From the past to earlier in the past:

Sales had risen to a high level, but in 2006 the market began to change.

Earlier this year our sales figures were not looking good. Sales had fallen to 1100 units.

Past:

Sales rose by 20% in 2007.

This figure increased gradually, reaching 2.3 million in 2007. In the next two years it fluctuated around 2.27 million, then it rose sharply and reached a peak of 2.38 million in 2010.

 

Looking back at an action in progress

Action in progress up to a point in the past:

Sales had been rising strongly, but then new competitors entered the market.

Action in progress up to the present:

Sales have been rising in all our major markets.

This is largely due to changes in interest rates, which have been going up gradually over the last few months.