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Sesquipedalian101 Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Happened Vs Had Happened
In the following sentence, should the verb form after the noun phrase "death" be "had happened" or "happened"? I should appreciate it if you could explain your choice.
"I have some good and authoritative notes on why it is "he has died" when the death had happened in the past."
Thank you very much
"I have some good and authoritative notes on why it is "he has died" when the death had happened in the past."
Thank you very much
Top answer
"had happened" is used when you go back before a reference point that is itself in the past. For example, "Last Friday, I looked back at what had happened over the previous week". There appears to be no such reference point involved in your sentence, and therefore no justification for the past perfect.
- "had happened" is used when you go back before a reference point that is itself in the past.
- For example, "Last Friday, I looked back at what had happened over the previous week".
- There appears to be no such reference point involved in your sentence, and therefore no justification for the past perfect.
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2 Answers
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"had happened" is used when you go back before a reference point that is itself in the past. For example, "Last Friday, I looked back at what had happened over the previous week". There appears to be no such reference point involved in your sentence, and therefore no justification for the past perfect.
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