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Dmitrij Posted 21 years ago
Letter Writing
Please explain
Dear friends,
I am a new comer here, so I've just been going through some of the posts to get the idea of this forum. As I've already noticed there are some members, such as MountainHiker and Mister Micawber, who stand out because of their English skills and willingness to help others to improve. Not long ago I came across an interesting writing session that took place a year ago where MountainHiker and Mister Micawber had been bringing cbakumar's informal letter up to stylistic and grammar standards. At the end of this discussion everybody agreed that the final version of the letter should include a sentence quoted below:
"I didn't even congratulate you when I heard that you have passed your exams with 1st class and you have been promoted to the next rank."
For me it sounds perfect, but there is one thing, still, that parts with my understanding of what good grammar should be.
Please, explain me the reason for using the present perfect tense in "I heard that you have passed your exams" instead of "I heard that you had passed your exams".
Thank you,
Dmitrij.
I am a new comer here, so I've just been going through some of the posts to get the idea of this forum. As I've already noticed there are some members, such as MountainHiker and Mister Micawber, who stand out because of their English skills and willingness to help others to improve. Not long ago I came across an interesting writing session that took place a year ago where MountainHiker and Mister Micawber had been bringing cbakumar's informal letter up to stylistic and grammar standards. At the end of this discussion everybody agreed that the final version of the letter should include a sentence quoted below:
"I didn't even congratulate you when I heard that you have passed your exams with 1st class and you have been promoted to the next rank."
For me it sounds perfect, but there is one thing, still, that parts with my understanding of what good grammar should be.
Please, explain me the reason for using the present perfect tense in "I heard that you have passed your exams" instead of "I heard that you had passed your exams".
Thank you,
Dmitrij.
Top answer
Hi Dmitirj, I can see your point. You alternative is also acceptable and I find it hard to decide when I would use each sentence. I think if it they passed fairly recently I would use 'have' but if it is old news I would use 'had'.
- Hi Dmitirj, I can see your point.
- You alternative is also acceptable and I find it hard to decide when I would use each sentence.
- I think if it they passed fairly recently I would use 'have' but if it is old news I would use 'had'.
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1 Answers
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Hi Dmitirj,
I can see your point. You alternative is also acceptable and I find it hard to decide when I would use each sentence. I think if it they passed fairly recently I would use 'have' but if it is old news I would use 'had'.
I can see your point. You alternative is also acceptable and I find it hard to decide when I would use each sentence. I think if it they passed fairly recently I would use 'have' but if it is old news I would use 'had'.
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