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Lukas Juodelis Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Help needed
Hi. I've got some problems with this sentence and structure: "Until two years ago, I (thought? had thought? had been thinking?) mostly about clothes and makeup, and I (judged? had judged?had been judging?) people by their appearance and possesion."
The word "ago" ussually refers to past simple tense, but "until" is often used with past perfect or past perfect continuous. What is the correct tense in this case? Thank you.
The word "ago" ussually refers to past simple tense, but "until" is often used with past perfect or past perfect continuous. What is the correct tense in this case? Thank you.
Top answer
Any of the three tenses you suggest as possible can be used. However, this is the perfect situation for you to use "used to". Until two years ago I used to think mostly about clothes and makeup, and I [used to judge / judged] people by their appearance and possessions .
- Any of the three tenses you suggest as possible can be used.
- However, this is the perfect situation for you to use "used to".
- Until two years ago I used to think mostly about clothes and makeup, and I [used to judge / judged] people by their appearance and possessions .
- You need not repeat the "used to" construction in the second part; it will be understood if you just use the simple past there.
- By the way, the word makeup applies almost exclusively to women, so your reader will gravitate toward an interpretation your sentence that includes only the appearance and possessions of women.
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3 Answers
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Any of the three tenses you suggest as possible can be used. However, this is the perfect situation for you to use "used to".
Until two years ago I used to think mostly about clothes and makeup, and I [used to judge / judged] people by their appearance and possessions.
You need not repeat the "used to" construction in the second part; it will be understood if you
Until two years ago I used to think mostly about clothes and makeup, and I [used to judge / judged] people by their appearance and possessions.
You need not repeat the "used to" construction in the second part; it will be understood if you
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Hi,
I've got some problems with this sentence and structure: "Until two years ago, I (thought? had thought? had been thinking?) mostly about clothes and makeup, and I (judged? had judged?had been judging?) people by their appearance and possesion."
The word "ago" ussually refers to past simple tense, but "until" is often used with past perfect or past perfect continuous. What is the
I've got some problems with this sentence and structure: "Until two years ago, I (thought? had thought? had been thinking?) mostly about clothes and makeup, and I (judged? had judged?had been judging?) people by their appearance and possesion."
The word "ago" ussually refers to past simple tense, but "until" is often used with past perfect or past perfect continuous. What is the
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Thank you very much. Past simple sounds like the best option. I've searched google using the same phrase "Until XX years ago" and realised that it is mostly used with Past simple.
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