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Anonymous Posted 5 years ago
Grammar

Should 'had' be left out?

Alan: You got arrested for driving under the influence? - Tom: Yes. It was a few days after my wife had told me she wanted to separate, so I was in a pretty dark place at the time.


If prior to this Tom has told Alan that he has separated from his wife, would it be natural to use 'had' in Tom's piece of dialog?

  

Top answer

anonymous Should 'had' be left out? Yes. With 'after' or 'before' the time sequence is obvious, so 'had' is redundant.

— CalifJim

  • anonymous Should 'had' be left out?
  • Yes.
  • With 'after' or 'before' the time sequence is obvious, so 'had' is redundant.
  • CJ
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1 Answers
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anonymous Should 'had' be left out?

Yes. With 'after' or 'before' the time sequence is obvious, so 'had' is redundant.

CJ

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