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Nsfs2 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
By the time vs before
Hi,
My questions have to do with the past perfect, which always seems to be causing me problems.
What is the exact difference between 'by the time' and 'when' when used with the past perfect?For example:
1.By the time they finished work, she had gone to bed.
2.Before they finished work, she had gone to bed.
Another question: the past perfect can be used after before to show that the action started before the action in the main clause but was not finished.Can 'by the time' substitute for 'when' in the following?
3. Before she had finished reading the novel, she went to bed.
And one last thing, does using the past perfect in both parts of sentence (1) give rise to another meaning other than that expressed by the original tenses?
I guess these are too many questions to be answered, but I know I can count on your help as usual.
Thanks.
My questions have to do with the past perfect, which always seems to be causing me problems.
What is the exact difference between 'by the time' and 'when' when used with the past perfect?For example:
1.By the time they finished work, she had gone to bed.
2.Before they finished work, she had gone to bed.
Another question: the past perfect can be used after before to show that the action started before the action in the main clause but was not finished.Can 'by the time' substitute for 'when' in the following?
3. Before she had finished reading the novel, she went to bed.
And one last thing, does using the past perfect in both parts of sentence (1) give rise to another meaning other than that expressed by the original tenses?
I guess these are too many questions to be answered, but I know I can count on your help as usual.
Thanks.
Top answer
By the time they finished work, she had gone to bed. Before they finished work, she had gone to bed. In these two, it is difficult to assess any difference.
- By the time they finished work, she had gone to bed.
- Before they finished work, she had gone to bed.
- In these two, it is difficult to assess any difference.
- It is kind of like if you have determined that X = 1, the either of these is true: X <= 1 (by the time), and X < 2 (before).
- Can 'by the time' substitute for 'when' in the following?
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1 Answers
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What is the exact difference between 'by the time' and 'when' when used with the past perfect?For example:
1.By the time they finished work, she had gone to bed.
2.Before they finished work, she had gone to bed.
In these two, it is difficult to assess any difference. It is kind of like if you have determined that X = 1, the either of these is true: X &
1.By the time they finished work, she had gone to bed.
2.Before they finished work, she had gone to bed.
In these two, it is difficult to assess any difference. It is kind of like if you have determined that X = 1, the either of these is true: X &
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