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Cat fold 718 Posted 8 years ago
Grammar

Passive voice

1. The criminal was punished.

2. The criminal had been punished.

What is the difference in meaning between the

two sentences ?

  

Top answer

cat fold 718 difference was punished measures the time of the punishment from the viewpoint of the present moment, the moment at which the sentence is uttered. had been punished measures the time of the punishment from the viewpoint of a past moment, a moment which has to have been established previously in the text. The second one is a highly dependent tense.

  • cat fold 718 difference was punished measures the time of the punishment from the viewpoint of the present moment, the moment at which the sentence is uttered.
  • had been punished measures the time of the punishment from the viewpoint of a past moment, a moment which has to have been established previously in the text.
  • The second one is a highly dependent tense.
  • It can't occur without a context in which some other past event serves as the anchor for the measurement of time.
  • CJ
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1 Answers
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cat fold 718difference

was punished measures the time of the punishment from the viewpoint of the present moment, the moment at which the sentence is uttered.

had been punished measures the time of the punishment from the viewpoint of a past moment, a moment which has to have been established previously in the text.

The second one

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