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Reegis Posted 9 years ago
Grammar
Mark had always dreamt of playing in a jazz band.
Hello.
Does the sentence below make sense as a standalone sentence? In what context would it make sense?
1a) Mark had always dreamt of playing in a jazz band.
Normally, I would express it this way:
1b) Mark has always dreamt of playing in a jazz band. (still dreaming)
1c) Mark always dreamt of playing in a jazz band. (no longer dreaming)
Does the sentence below make sense as a standalone sentence? In what context would it make sense?
1a) Mark had always dreamt of playing in a jazz band.
Normally, I would express it this way:
1b) Mark has always dreamt of playing in a jazz band. (still dreaming)
1c) Mark always dreamt of playing in a jazz band. (no longer dreaming)
Top answer
(1a) is the backshifted version of (1b): instead of the dreaming taking place over a period of time up until now, it took place over a period of time up until some point in the past. Typically (1a) might be used in a past tense narrative.
- (1a) is the backshifted version of (1b): instead of the dreaming taking place over a period of time up until now, it took place over a period of time up until some point in the past.
- Typically (1a) might be used in a past tense narrative.
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2 Answers
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(1a) is the backshifted version of (1b): instead of the dreaming taking place over a period of time up until now, it took place over a period of time up until some point in the past. Typically (1a) might be used in a past tense narrative.
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