Past perfect
They conquered Sevastopol in 1569. When they had been preparing for the attack, they gathered/ had gathered all able bodied men. Can I use just "gathered" since I've already said "had been preparing" to emphasize that it happened before they conquered it?
Top answer
They conquered Sevastopol in 1569. When they were had been preparing for the attack, (There is no other time reference. ) they gathered all the abl e- b odied men.
- They conquered Sevastopol in 1569.
- When they were had been preparing for the attack, (There is no other time reference.
- ) they gathered all the abl e- b odied men.
- If you want the past perfect, then you need something like this: Before they prepared for the attack, they had identified all the able-bodied men.
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They conquered Sevastopol in 1569. When they were had been preparing for the attack, (There is no other time reference. The past perfect is not the natural tense.) they gathered all the able-bodied men.
If you want the past perfect, then you need something like this:
Before they prepared
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