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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

A question about the usage of "had"

I know that using had in the past tense refers to an action before another action.

So, my question is, is the sentence below ok to use 'had'

"I had seen the movie with her WHEN it first came out."

Does the 'when' separate or show 2 different actions going on?

Or, should I simply say "I saw the movie with her when it first came out."

Thanks!
  

Top answer

The presence of the "when" clause doesn't really change anything. It's as you said in your first sentence. If the time that you saw the movie together is before another past time that you've referred to, then use "had seen".

— Mr Wordy

  • The presence of the "when" clause doesn't really change anything.
  • It's as you said in your first sentence.
  • If the time that you saw the movie together is before another past time that you've referred to, then use "had seen".
  • Otherwise, use "saw".
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1 Answers
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The presence of the "when" clause doesn't really change anything. It's as you said in your first sentence. If the time that you saw the movie together is before another past time that you've referred to, then use "had seen". Otherwise, use "saw".
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