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Tonyscott Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Do they both work?

Nearly three months had gone by () the seriously injured girl showed a slight sign of recovery.
1.since
2.before

Do these two words both work? (Though the meaning of the sentence will be different.)
  

Top answer

"before" is OK. With "since", I think it would be better, for the harmony of tenses, to change "showed" to "had shown". As you say, the meanings are completely different.

— GPY

  • "before" is OK.
  • With "since", I think it would be better, for the harmony of tenses, to change "showed" to "had shown".
  • As you say, the meanings are completely different.
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3 Answers
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"before" is OK.

With "since", I think it would be better, for the harmony of tenses, to change "showed" to "had shown".

As you say, the meanings are completely different.
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GPYWith "since", I think it would be better, for the harmony of tenses, to change "showed" to "had shown".
Is "showed" wrong? Must I make the tenses harmonious?

And interestingly, it seems to me that the change of the tense will cause a change in the meaning of the sentence. I don't know if this switch in the meaning really exists:
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tonyscottAnd interestingly, it seems to me that the change of the tense will cause a change in the meaning of the sentence. I don't know if this switch in the meaning really exists:Nearly three months had gone by since the seriously injured girl showed a slight sign of recovery.---After three months, the girl no longer showed the sign of recovery.Nearly three months had g
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