0
Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
past perfect
Hello teacher
Jack came home at twelve last night. He had met a friend in the street at six o’clock and had gone to the movies with her. When he got home, the house was dark.
I know we must use past perfect for meet and go cause it is obviously before last night, so if it is obviously why can't we choose past simple;.
Why without past perfect is it unclear?
Thank you for your answer
Jack came home at twelve last night. He had met a friend in the street at six o’clock and had gone to the movies with her. When he got home, the house was dark.
I know we must use past perfect for meet and go cause it is obviously before last night, so if it is obviously why can't we choose past simple;.
Why without past perfect is it unclear?
Thank you for your answer
Top answer
Past simple would be fine if we re-ordered the sentences: Jack met a friend in the street at six o’clock and went to the movies with her. When he got home at twelve, the house was dark. If you are going to begin with the last event, it makes sense to point out that clearly that events mentioned later happened earlier.
- Past simple would be fine if we re-ordered the sentences: Jack met a friend in the street at six o’clock and went to the movies with her.
- When he got home at twelve, the house was dark.
- If you are going to begin with the last event, it makes sense to point out that clearly that events mentioned later happened earlier.
- Actually, if you used the past simple in your original sentences, very few people would object.
- The past perfect is obligatory in some situations, but not nearly as many as some course books and school grammars appear to suggest .
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
2 Answers
0
Past simple would be fine if we re-ordered the sentences:Jack met a friend in the street at six o’clock and went to the movies with her. When he got home at twelve, the house was dark.
If you are going to begin with the last event, it makes sense to point out that clearly that events mentioned later happened earlier. Actually, if you used the past simple in your origi
If you are going to begin with the last event, it makes sense to point out that clearly that events mentioned later happened earlier. Actually, if you used the past simple in your origi
00
thanks a lot
to clarify it
That is what I was thinking but it is good to confirm it
to clarify it
That is what I was thinking but it is good to confirm it
0
Related Questions