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Springmeans Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Past perfect tense
Past vs past perfect
Hi, I am wondering if past tense and past perfect tense are interchangeable while conveying grammatically correct meanings.
Please help.
J
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About a month ago I went in for a dental check-up. Dr. Morgan [had warned\ warned] me that flossing teeth was as important as brushing them,
I had been meaning to floss regularly, but I [kept putting it off / had been kept putting it off].
So I decided to give this three-week method a try. The first day of flossing wasn't a big deal, but by the fourth day it [had become \ became] an annoying chore.
I [had almost forgotten \ almost forgot] to floss and regretted following this three-week method. But just past the first week, flossing [became\ had become] a bedtime routine.
By the end of the three weeks flossing [had become \ became] as natural as brushing my teeth. I was delighted. I [had formed \ formed] a good habit!
Hi, I am wondering if past tense and past perfect tense are interchangeable while conveying grammatically correct meanings.
Please help.
J
-
About a month ago I went in for a dental check-up. Dr. Morgan [had warned\ warned] me that flossing teeth was as important as brushing them,
I had been meaning to floss regularly, but I [kept putting it off / had been kept putting it off].
So I decided to give this three-week method a try. The first day of flossing wasn't a big deal, but by the fourth day it [had become \ became] an annoying chore.
I [had almost forgotten \ almost forgot] to floss and regretted following this three-week method. But just past the first week, flossing [became\ had become] a bedtime routine.
By the end of the three weeks flossing [had become \ became] as natural as brushing my teeth. I was delighted. I [had formed \ formed] a good habit!
Top answer
" That means you would use it to express that something happened in the past before some other past event. If you do not want to bring attention to the order or the past situations, you should not use the past perfect. Use the past perfect purposely to contrast the two past events.
- " That means you would use it to express that something happened in the past before some other past event.
- If you do not want to bring attention to the order or the past situations, you should not use the past perfect.
- Use the past perfect purposely to contrast the two past events.
- ou When I arrived at my mother's house, she told me to fill the car with gas, and she started to give me some money for it, but I had filled the car with gas before I arrived at her house.
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3 Answers
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The past perfect is a "previous past." That means you would use it to express that something happened in the past before some other past event. If you do not want to bring attention to the order or the past situations, you should not use the past perfect. Use the past perfect purposely to contrast the two past events.
ou
When I arrived at my mother's house, she told me to fill the car
ou
When I arrived at my mother's house, she told me to fill the car
00
These are my choices in case you would like to compare.
About a month ago I went in for a dental check-up. Dr. Morgan warned me that flossing teeth was as important as brushing them.
I had been meaning to floss regularly, but I kept putting it off.
So I decided to give this
About a month ago I went in for a dental check-up. Dr. Morgan warned me that flossing teeth was as important as brushing them.
I had been meaning to floss regularly, but I kept putting it off.
So I decided to give this
00
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