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Stenka25 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Had reached vs. would have reached
The text below is from a test paragraph.
It seems to me that the first under lined past participle tense, "had reached" is a little awkward. Since he left the company, he didn't have chance to reach the heights. To me, 'would have reached' seems much better and corresponds well with the other two phrases, 'would have directed,' and 'was to have operated.'
Thanks.
'This will be your life,' they said, 'with titles of likely jobs' The outline ended, I remember, with myself as chief executive of a particular company in a particular far-off country. I was, at the time, suitably flattered. Nevertheless, I left them long before I had reached the heights they had planned for me, and by then I knew that not only did the job they had picked out no longer exist, neither did the company I would have directed not even the country in which I was to have operated.
It seems to me that the first under lined past participle tense, "had reached" is a little awkward. Since he left the company, he didn't have chance to reach the heights. To me, 'would have reached' seems much better and corresponds well with the other two phrases, 'would have directed,' and 'was to have operated.'
Thanks.
'This will be your life,' they said, 'with titles of likely jobs' The outline ended, I remember, with myself as chief executive of a particular company in a particular far-off country. I was, at the time, suitably flattered. Nevertheless, I left them long before I had reached the heights they had planned for me, and by then I knew that not only did the job they had picked out no longer exist, neither did the company I would have directed not even the country in which I was to have operated.
Top answer
I think you're right. The past perfect tense should be used to indicate the first chronological action. "
- I think you're right.
- The past perfect tense should be used to indicate the first chronological action.
- "
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2 Answers
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I think you're right. The past perfect tense should be used to indicate the first chronological action.
I'd write it as: "I had left them long before I reached..."
I'd write it as: "I had left them long before I reached..."
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Nevertheless, I left them long before I had reached the heights they had planned for me, and by then I knew that not only did the job they had picked out no longer exist, but neither did the company I would have directed and not even the country in which I was to have operated.
The tenses are fine, but some conjunctions are missing.
The tenses are fine, but some conjunctions are missing.
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