0
Guest Posted 22 years ago
Grammar
First
Can one say:
This was the first book he was reading in years.
This was the first book he had been reading in years.
This is the first book he is reading in years.
This is the first book he has been reading in years.
This is the first book he reads in years.
This is the first book he has read in years.
(Doesn't this one mean he has finished it?)
This was the first book he was reading in years.
This was the first book he had been reading in years.
This is the first book he is reading in years.
This is the first book he has been reading in years.
This is the first book he reads in years.
This is the first book he has read in years.
(Doesn't this one mean he has finished it?)
Top answer
The first 5 sentences don't sound right to me. The last sentence is a good one. This was the first book he had read in years - This means that you're talking about someone in the past, saying that when he was reading the book, it had been several years since he had last read a book.
- The first 5 sentences don't sound right to me.
- The last sentence is a good one.
- This was the first book he had read in years - This means that you're talking about someone in the past, saying that when he was reading the book, it had been several years since he had last read a book.
- This is the first book he has read in years.
- - This means that he is still reading the book.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
2 Answers
0
The first 5 sentences don't sound right to me. The last sentence is a good one.
This was the first book he had read in years - This means that you're talking about someone in the past, saying that when he was reading the book, it had been several years since he had last read a book.
This is the first book he has read in years. - This means that he is still reading the book.
This was the first book he had read in years - This means that you're talking about someone in the past, saying that when he was reading the book, it had been several years since he had last read a book.
This is the first book he has read in years. - This means that he is still reading the book.
00
haoqide,
I thought another sentence was okay.
"This is the first book he has been reading in years."
Perhaps the book is War and Peace and it is taking him a long time to read the darn long book.
So he started reading it last year. After a few chapters, he put it down for a while. Then he read some more chapters. Again took another break over the holiday
I thought another sentence was okay.
"This is the first book he has been reading in years."
Perhaps the book is War and Peace and it is taking him a long time to read the darn long book.
So he started reading it last year. After a few chapters, he put it down for a while. Then he read some more chapters. Again took another break over the holiday
0
Related Questions