past & present perfect

Question

hi there,i have a question about differences between the following sentences. " my right hand has been broken before, which affect my writing skills" and "my right hand was broken before, which affect my writing skills". If I am writing a letter to claim for extra time for my exam, which sentence will be more appropriated?thank ed

Philip · Accepted Answer

Because I once broke my right hand, my hand-writing skills have been hampered ever since.

Fandorin · Answer

Hi there. Welcome to EF.

edwardfung My right hand has been broken ~~before~~, which affects my writing skills"

Generally," before" here is not very usual. I would say : My right hand has been broken which affects my writing skills. You point that you haven't recovered from injury.

edwardfung"my right hand was broken ~~before~~, which affected my writing skills".

It refers to the Past and therefore cannot be accepted in your case.
If you ask for extra time you can write this way: "I would appreciate giving more time on exams because my hand has been broken that slows down my writing skills "

Fandorin · Answer

Hi Philip, I didn't see your reply.<img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Edwardfung · Answer

thank you!

Edwardfung · Answer

thank you

past & present perfect

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions