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Hans51 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

A past form of "past tense verbs"

Do you think this sentence is wrong, "It had been a long time since he had cried."? Or it should be "It had been a long time since he cried."? But I saw the first by searching online and I think that "had been" is a past form of "has been", so we can use "had cried" as a past form of "cried." What do you think?

P.S I have learned that "had p.p" has two meanings"
  

Top answer

"? "? The first is in use and not wrong, but it is unnecessary; the second is sufficient.

— Mister Micawber

  • "?
  • "?
  • The first is in use and not wrong, but it is unnecessary; the second is sufficient.
  • " What do you think?
  • It is not a past form , though it can be a past equivalent (as in reported speech).
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8 Answers
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Hans51Do you think this sentence is wrong, "It had been a long time since he had cried."? Or it should be "It had been a long time since he cried."?
The first is in use and not wrong, but it is unnecessary; the second is sufficient.
Hans51But I saw the first by searching online and I think that "had been" is a past form of "has been", s
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Thank you so much as usual and so you mean "It had been a long time since he had cried." is okay, but "It had been a long time since he cried." is usually used for the same meaning? Thank you for the answer I have been looking forward to.
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Yes, I think that is more common; it certainly satisfies Occam's razor.
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By the way, the term of the past equivalent is so new to me. Is there a difference between the past equivalent and the past form? I think either one says the same in a different term. What do you think? Please enlighten me again. Thank you so much as usual.
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'Form' suggests that they are formally related: I don't think that is the case.
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Thank you and I have tried to understand the difference and I know what it is:

"Studied" is a past form of "study" and "had studied" is a past equivalent of "have studied."

Is this a right way of explaining the grammar terms?

Thank you so much as usual.
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That is the way I understand and use the term, yes.
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I see the point Mr M is making, but I think of the past perfect as the past form of the present perfect and the past equivalent of the past simple. It's not something I would lose any sleep over.
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