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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Correctness of second past perfect
Hi. Would you use the second past perfect tense in the part indicated? I think the clause the underlined part is in is called a subordnate clause, not the main clause. How common is the use of a past perfect tense following a prior past perfect use?
Sue asked me why I hadn't gone to the market to buy the grocery goods she had asked (or just - asked?) me to buy.
Sue asked me why I hadn't gone to the market to buy the grocery goods she had asked (or just - asked?) me to buy.
Top answer
Probably not so common, as we tend to simplify subordinate verb forms; however, if the speaker wishes to make it clear that the asking well preceded the going (as I presume is the case here), then it seems fine.
- Probably not so common, as we tend to simplify subordinate verb forms; however, if the speaker wishes to make it clear that the asking well preceded the going (as I presume is the case here), then it seems fine.
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1 Answers
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Probably not so common, as we tend to simplify subordinate verb forms; however, if the speaker wishes to make it clear that the asking well preceded the going (as I presume is the case here), then it seems fine.
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Probably not so common, as we tend to simplify subordinate verb forms; however, if the speaker wishes to make it clear that the asking well preceded the going (as I presume is the case here), then it seems fine.
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