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English 1b3 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Modals, tenses, perfect aspect in this sentence
Jim and his friends were digging around for me, trying to find the truth, but they hadn't found anything that might tell me who'd set me up. Someone had arranged with senior cops to have me arrested. The same person had arranged to have me beaten while I was in prison.
1) Would it be better to replace was with 'had been'? Why?
2) Would it be better to replace might tell with 'might have told'? Why?
3) Why is it hadn't found, and not the past simple? Is it suggesting that perhaps they were eventually found?
4) When dealing with infinitive and modals in the perfect form, for example 'might have told' & 'could have arranged', what tense does it convey?
Thanks
1) Would it be better to replace was with 'had been'? Why?
2) Would it be better to replace might tell with 'might have told'? Why?
3) Why is it hadn't found, and not the past simple? Is it suggesting that perhaps they were eventually found?
4) When dealing with infinitive and modals in the perfect form, for example 'might have told' & 'could have arranged', what tense does it convey?
Thanks
Top answer
1-- Not necessarily; the other events could precede the digging-- I cannot tell from this excerpt. 2-- Not necessarily; it depends on the time frame within which 'telling' may occur. 3-- To make it clear that previous to that moment of the search nothing had yet been found.
- 1-- Not necessarily; the other events could precede the digging-- I cannot tell from this excerpt.
- 2-- Not necessarily; it depends on the time frame within which 'telling' may occur.
- 3-- To make it clear that previous to that moment of the search nothing had yet been found.
- 4-- Past.
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3 Answers
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1-- Not necessarily; the other events could precede the digging-- I cannot tell from this excerpt.
2-- Not necessarily; it depends on the time frame within which 'telling' may occur.
3-- To make it clear that previous to that moment of the search nothing had yet been found.
4-- Past.
2-- Not necessarily; it depends on the time frame within which 'telling' may occur.
3-- To make it clear that previous to that moment of the search nothing had yet been found.
4-- Past.
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Mister Micawber1-- Not necessarily; the other events could precede the digging-- I cannot tell from this excerpt.
I'm not sure I follow... Do you think it's because the arranging happened before he was in prison?
Mister Micawber
2-- Not necessarily; it depends on the time frame within which 'telling' may occur.
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Do you think it's because the arranging happened before he was in prison?-- Yes, and the 'not finding'.
Could you explain this in another way, please?-- When might the telling have happened? The sequence of events is unclear unless I rely on the tenses applied in the original text, so I cannot comment on preferable tenses unless I am aware of the whole story-- but don't give i
Could you explain this in another way, please?-- When might the telling have happened? The sequence of events is unclear unless I rely on the tenses applied in the original text, so I cannot comment on preferable tenses unless I am aware of the whole story-- but don't give i
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