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Synonym Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Decades
Decades have/has/had passed since the two last saw/met each other.
Which of the bold words in the above sentence should be used?
Which of the bold words in the above sentence should be used?
Top answer
From the first set of options, it would either be have or had, depending on the intended meaning. 'Has' is third person singular, and so cannot work with the plural subject 'decades'. 'Have' denotes that you are speaking of the present, while 'had' denotes that you are speaking of the past.
- From the first set of options, it would either be have or had, depending on the intended meaning.
- 'Has' is third person singular, and so cannot work with the plural subject 'decades'.
- 'Have' denotes that you are speaking of the present, while 'had' denotes that you are speaking of the past.
- Saw and met are both work, though they have different meanings.
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6 Answers
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From the first set of options, it would either be have or had, depending on the intended meaning. 'Has' is third person singular, and so cannot work with the plural subject 'decades'. 'Have' denotes that you are speaking of the present, while 'had' denotes that you are speaking of the past. Saw and met are both work, though they have different meanings.
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sorry I just wanna learn, so 'had' is used for both singular and plural subjects when talking about the past?
E.g. Decades had passed
A decade had passed
And the rest should be like this?:
Decades have passed
A decade has passed
E.g. Decades had passed
A decade had passed
And the rest should be like this?:
Decades have passed
A decade has passed
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Jin_Hso 'had' is used for both singular and plural subjects when talking about the past?That's generally true, but it's a bit of an oversimplification.
The simple present is:
I have
You have
He has
We have
You have
They have
The simple past is:
I had
You had
He
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So I guess both 'decades had passed and a decade had passed' are correct?
And decades are considered what, he, they?
And decades are considered what, he, they?
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Sorry about that! 
Third person singular includes "a thing," and third person plural includes "multiple things.
Third person singular includes "a thing," and third person plural includes "multiple things.
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