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Prolix Posted 8 years ago
Grammar

Past Perfect Tense

Dear all,

I have a question regarding the past perfect tense.

"I decided in October last year that I would no longer venture out late at night. Why? The night before I had been confronted by a man who appeared/had appeared drunk."

In the sentence above, which option is correct? To be clear, I mean to say that I was confronted by a man who, at the time of confrontation, appeared drunk. Since the confrontation and the appearance of the man are tied to a similar point in time, I would think that "had appeared" is more likely to be correct, but it sounds a bit off to my ear.

Could anyone help me with this? Thanks in advance!

  

Top answer

Use either tense. You won't be misunderstood. CB

— Cool Breeze

  • Use either tense.
  • You won't be misunderstood.
  • CB
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2 Answers
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Use either tense. You won't be misunderstood.

CB

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prolixThe night before I had been confronted by a man who appeared /had appeared (to be) drunk.

Once you switch the time frame to the past perfect, you don't need to keep repeating 'had', 'had', 'had' for everything that happens in that same time frame.

It's a little like a light switch. Once you

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