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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Past Perfect Tense
I'm writing a college essay in which the sentence "After graduating from (college), he had taken the business world by storm." The context it is used in is within a eulogy.
My question is whether the past perfect tense can be used because the addition of "before he died" is implied in the sentence, or should had taken simply be changed to took?
My question is whether the past perfect tense can be used because the addition of "before he died" is implied in the sentence, or should had taken simply be changed to took?
Top answer
You make me laugh. ) With out seeing the rest of the writing I have a hard time to be sure, but that sentence as written reads really weird. Past tense would shurely be enough here.
- You make me laugh.
- ) With out seeing the rest of the writing I have a hard time to be sure, but that sentence as written reads really weird.
- Past tense would shurely be enough here.
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3 Answers
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You make me laugh. (In a good way.) With out seeing the rest of the writing I have a hard time to be sure, but that sentence as written reads really weird. Past tense would shurely be enough here.
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The tense is a tool. You choose the option when you wish to clarify the time relationship between two (or more) actions or events.
We'd really need to see more to judge fairly if the past perfect is useful in this particular case.
We'd really need to see more to judge fairly if the past perfect is useful in this particular case.
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Anonymousshould had taken simply be changed to took?Yes. took is better.
CJ
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