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Mr genuine Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Past perfect
Do you agree with this sentence?
We do not mention the number of times that we have done an action when we use the past perfect continuous:
1. Jill had only been watching TV twice last week. (wrong)
2. Jill had only watched TV twice last week. (right)
We do not mention the number of times that we have done an action when we use the past perfect continuous:
1. Jill had only been watching TV twice last week. (wrong)
2. Jill had only watched TV twice last week. (right)
Top answer
Freeguy Do you agree Not completely, though your assessments of your example sentences are correct. That grammatical pattern is not common, but it is possible as a round-about way of saying something else. I had already been shopping twice that day.
- Freeguy Do you agree Not completely, though your assessments of your example sentences are correct.
- That grammatical pattern is not common, but it is possible as a round-about way of saying something else.
- I had already been shopping twice that day.
- (for had gone shopping - a catenative structure) Grandma was too old to plant a garden, so we used to plant it for her in addition to planting our own garden.
- We had been planting a garden twice for several years when Grandma died.
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9 Answers
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FreeguyDo you agreeNot completely, though your assessments of your example sentences are correct. That grammatical pattern is not common, but it is possible as a round-about way of saying something else.
I had already been shopping twice that day. (for had gone shopping - a catenative structure)
Grandma was too old to plant a g
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I suppose the rule that you quote is usually correct, and (1) is indeed wrong, though "I had been going twice a week for six months", for example, would be OK.
However, there is another issue with your sentences, namely that "last week" is relative to now, and therefore does not match the past perfect. You can say:
Jill only watched TV twice last week.
Jill had only
However, there is another issue with your sentences, namely that "last week" is relative to now, and therefore does not match the past perfect. You can say:
Jill only watched TV twice last week.
Jill had only
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FreeguyWhat about:Jill had only been watching TV twice last week.That's the same sentence that you already asked about.
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Jill had only been watching TV twice that week.
Sorry. Again. I meant "that" instead of "last".
Sorry. Again. I meant "that" instead of "last".
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FreeguyJill had only been watching TV twice that week.This is borderline acceptable in my view.
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FreeguyVery close to not being acceptable you mean?Yes. However, I can imagine that opinions may vary -- either way -- about that sentence. Perhaps Calif Jim could offer an opinion on it if he's still following the thread.
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I think "borderline acceptable" is a good description.
There's something a bit "off" about it, but you could probably get away with it in one context or another.
CJ
There's something a bit "off" about it, but you could probably get away with it in one context or another.
CJ
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