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Tsundere Posted 6 years ago
Grammar

Grammar tense

Hello, I'd appreciate some help with this sentence.


When we arrived, he hadn't eaten his dinner.


I couldn't understand why they would say he hadn't eaten his dinner?

Does it mean that he was not with them when they arrived?




  

Top answer

I think the focus here is about the dinner and not their friend. When they arrived the dinner was on the table and had not been eaten (probably cold too). It could also have been in the oven or the waste bin (uneaten).

— Carew

  • I think the focus here is about the dinner and not their friend.
  • When they arrived the dinner was on the table and had not been eaten (probably cold too).
  • It could also have been in the oven or the waste bin (uneaten).
  • It is possible that he (their friend) was with them when they arrived, or he could have gone out ,or he could be in the house.
  • The sentence doesn't tell us that.
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2 Answers
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I think the focus here is about the dinner and not their friend.

When they arrived the dinner was on the table and had not been eaten (probably cold too). It could also have been in the oven or the waste bin (uneaten).

It is possible that he (their friend) was with them when they arrived, or he could hav

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tsundereWhen we arrived, he hadn't eaten his dinner.

At the time that Harry and I reached Bob's house, Bob had not yet eaten his dinner.

Bob had not eaten his dinner during the whole time before Harry and I arrived. The situation that is the earlier of two past times is expressed with the past perfect.

CJ

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