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Reegis Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

He had been caught speeding on the motorway.

Hello.

Please have a look at the sentence below:

1a) He had been caught speeding on the motorway.

Is it correct to say it as a stand-alone sentence? I mean I was told to use the past perfect to emphasize in one sentence that one thing happened before another one.

If it is correct, then does it differ from the one below?

1b) He was caught speeding on the motorway.
  

Top answer

Is it correct to say it as a stand-alone sentence? No. We need a later past- time reference to justify the past perfect.

— Fivejedjon

  • Is it correct to say it as a stand-alone sentence?
  • No.
  • We need a later past- time reference to justify the past perfect.
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8 Answers
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Reegis He had been caught speeding on the motorway.Is it correct to say it as a stand-alone sentence?
No. We need a later past- time reference to justify the past perfect.
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fivejedjonNo. No need a later past- time reference to justify the past perfect.
I'm sorry but I didn't get your answer
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Sorry. There was a typo I did bot notice. I have now corrected it.

We need a later past-time reference to justify the past perfect.
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ReegisI was told to use the past perfect to emphasize in one sentence that one thing happened before another one.
Yes. The past perfect is a dependent tense. It depends on a past tense. There must therefore be two events. "being caught speeding" is only one event. The dependency relationship between the two can occur within one sentence or between two diff
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Wow, this is so interesting! I didn't know this.
I guess it might be not so easy to use technique #2 when giving accounts of longer stories consisting of many sentences and at the same time keep the account unambiguous.

Thanks
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ReegisWow, this is so interesting! I didn't know this.I guess it might be not so easy to use technique #2 when giving accounts of longer stories consisting of many sentences and at the same time keep the account unambiguous.Thanks
See also

CJ
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CalifJimSee also Past / Past perfect
Perhaps you wanted me to see this thread so that I could see how people praise you to the skies
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ReegisPerhaps you wanted me to see this thread so that I could see ...
It just happens to be a popular post. Once in while I write a good one.
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