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TasmanTiger Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Perfect Tense + by the time
Hi, again
Example : Millions of years ago, dinosaurs roamed the earth,
but they had become extinct by the time people first appeared.
My answer was "had become" but
The correct answer is "had become" or "became": both will do!
I learned that "by the time clause" should be used with "Perfect tenses", not "Simple tense"
EX 2: By the time you get home, I will have cleaned the house.
EX 3: By the time the doctor arrived, the patient had died.
In these cases , "will have cleaned" and "had died" are interchangeable with
"will clean" and "died" respectively ?
Curious,
TasmanTIger
Example : Millions of years ago, dinosaurs roamed the earth,
but they had become extinct by the time people first appeared.
My answer was "had become" but
The correct answer is "had become" or "became": both will do!
I learned that "by the time clause" should be used with "Perfect tenses", not "Simple tense"
EX 2: By the time you get home, I will have cleaned the house.
EX 3: By the time the doctor arrived, the patient had died.
In these cases , "will have cleaned" and "had died" are interchangeable with
"will clean" and "died" respectively ?
Curious,
TasmanTIger
Top answer
' had become' is correct as past perfect is used to refer an action which got over before the other began. with regard to the second one, 'will have cleaned' is correct as it denotes the completion of the action before you get home. And for the same reason, had died is correct in the second sentence.
- ' had become' is correct as past perfect is used to refer an action which got over before the other began.
- with regard to the second one, 'will have cleaned' is correct as it denotes the completion of the action before you get home.
- And for the same reason, had died is correct in the second sentence.
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17 Answers
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'had become' is correct as past perfect is used to refer an action which got over before the other began.
with regard to the second one, 'will have cleaned' is correct as it denotes the completion of the action before you get home.
And for the same reason, had died is correct in the second sentence.
with regard to the second one, 'will have cleaned' is correct as it denotes the completion of the action before you get home.
And for the same reason, had died is correct in the second sentence.
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Hi, there
Millions of years ago, dinosaurs roamed the earth,
but they had become extinct by the time people first appeared.
In my textbook, correct answers are both 'had become' and 'became'.
"~ they became extinct by the time people first appeared."
That is, this sentence seems to be grammatically
Millions of years ago, dinosaurs roamed the earth,
but they had become extinct by the time people first appeared.
In my textbook, correct answers are both 'had become' and 'became'.
"~ they became extinct by the time people first appeared."
That is, this sentence seems to be grammatically
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Well! I have shared what I know. Let us see what others have to say.
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I personally prefer past perfect here, but since 'by the time' itself clearly orders the sequence of past events, simple past is sufficient, so I can see why your text permits both.
You might keep in mind that past perfect is slowly disappearing from use, with simple past taking its place. Consistent with general trends in the English language, common sense and context are winning over s
You might keep in mind that past perfect is slowly disappearing from use, with simple past taking its place. Consistent with general trends in the English language, common sense and context are winning over s
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hi,
What's the exact meaning of 'by the time'? Is it 'before'?
Is it acceptable to use the past perfect in the 'by the time' clause?
Thanks
What's the exact meaning of 'by the time'? Is it 'before'?
Is it acceptable to use the past perfect in the 'by the time' clause?
Thanks
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AnonymousWhat's the exact meaning of 'by the time'? Is it 'before'?Yes. Roughly, 'before'. There is the added implication of "any time before, but definitely not after".
You must finish this task by Thursday.
= You may finish this task any time before Thursday, but any later than Thursday is not acceptable.
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Compare :
By the time he got home, I had cleaned the house. (action verb)
By the time we got home, we were tired and hungry. (state verb)
Action verb 'clean' vs State verb 'were' = had pp vs simple tense.
In using 'by the time clause' , this 'equation' is possible ?
By the time he got home, I had cleaned the house. (action verb)
By the time we got home, we were tired and hungry. (state verb)
Action verb 'clean' vs State verb 'were' = had pp vs simple tense.
In using 'by the time clause' , this 'equation' is possible ?
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By the time he got home, I was cleaning the house.
By the time we got home, we had been tired and hungry for almost 3 hours.
By the time we got home, we had been tired and hungry for almost 3 hours.
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