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Dubious_girl Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
did/did- had/did
Is it more formal to use:
The papers had been in circulation before he bought them
than
The papers were in circulations when he bought them
I mean...when does it become formal or too distant in past to use 'had been before he bought/worked/did" instead "were before he bought/did/slept"
:-(
Confusing...
The papers had been in circulation before he bought them
than
The papers were in circulations when he bought them
I mean...when does it become formal or too distant in past to use 'had been before he bought/worked/did" instead "were before he bought/did/slept"
:-(
Confusing...
Top answer
Hello dubious-- and welcome to EF. e which happened first) of the two past actions is unclear, or when you wish to stress the precedence of the earlier action.
- Hello dubious-- and welcome to EF.
- e which happened first) of the two past actions is unclear, or when you wish to stress the precedence of the earlier action.
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3 Answers
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Hello dubious-- and welcome to EF.
Use the past perfect when the temporal relationship (i.e which happened first) of the two past actions is unclear, or when you wish to stress the precedence of the earlier action.
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Hello dubious-- and welcome to EF.
Use the past perfect when the temporal relationship (i.e which happened first) of the two past actions is unclear, or when you wish to stress the precedence of the earlier action.
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Thank you very much!
Could you please give me an example of when the temporal relationship is unclear? (not stressing the precedence)
Could you please give me an example of when the temporal relationship is unclear? (not stressing the precedence)
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.
I ate the sandwich when he arrived vs I had eaten the sandwich when he arrived.
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I ate the sandwich when he arrived vs I had eaten the sandwich when he arrived.
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