Past continuous vs past perfect continuous
What is the difference between these two sentences?
I took my car to the garage because it wasn`t working properly. This means that at that moment my car wasn`t working properly.
I took my car to the garage because it hadn`t been working properly. This means that over a period of time it had not been working properly.
Am I correct?
Top answer
Yes, but in this context people often say either, without caring much about the difference.
- Yes, but in this context people often say either, without caring much about the difference.
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Yes, but in this context people often say either, without caring much about the difference.
0To my ear the second one seems to indicate that the period of time during which the car wasn't working was longer than it was in the first sentence.
Nevertheless, both sentences mean basically the same thing. The first sentence covers both cases adequately, so it's probably more commonly used than the second no matter how long a period the car was not working.
CJ
0
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