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Mkyol Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

question about had in this sentence

0"Even the legendary Carl Lewis, who 01b00had02b00 the longest undefeated streak in long jump over the span of 10 years... "02br
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00This is part of a sentence I wrote.. I'm wondering if I can/should use 'had' rather than 'has', to indiciate that 02br
001) he had the longest undefeated streak in long jump at the time of his professional years, before he passed away02br
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002) the record is still valid 02br
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00The main issue is 2), I'm not sure if I use 'had', it would mean he had the record, but it has been broken.02br
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00I think 'has' would circumvent this issue, but it somehow seems to indiciate to me that he's still alive.02br
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00 Thanks.02br
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4 Answers
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0>before he passed away02br
00As far as I know, Carl Lewis is still01b00 alive 02b00and well, he just retired ...0-
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0Oh sorry, I just made incorrect assumption.. but the question still stands.. anybody kindly answer?0-
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0"Even the legendary Carl Lewis, who 01b00had02b00 the longest undefeated streak in long jump over the span of 10 years... "02br
00Your use of 'had' is controlled by the phrase 'over the span of 10 years'. If you mean that the 10-year span was in the past, for example 1992 - 2002, then use 'had'; on the other hand, if the 10-year span means 'the last 10 years'
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0Hi, thanks Visnja. The meaning I have in mind is some period in the past. But the question is, If I use 'had', does it say that 1) the record is still valid, 2) the record has been broken 3) it doesn't say either way?02br
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00I used 'the span' solely for the reason of '10 years' that follows. So this is wrong? I thought if there is 'of such and such' following, then 'the'
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