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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Simple past tense or past perfect?

Hi, I'm getting confused with the use of past perfect in English.

Here is the sentence I came across in a text book:

(1)Tom was tired because he had been playing soccer all day.

Is it OK to say

"(2)Tom was tired because he was playing soccer all day."?

If so, can you say:

(3) I think he became sick because he had eaten too much yesterday.

instead of saying:

(4) I think he became sick because he ate too much yesterday.

I would appreciate it if you would judge the grammaticalities of the sentences.

thanks
  

Top answer

"? Yes, they would be generally understood as synonymous, though there is some chance that soccer play while Tom was tired. instead of saying:(4) I think he became sick because he ate too much yesterday.

— Mister Micawber

  • "?
  • Yes, they would be generally understood as synonymous, though there is some chance that soccer play while Tom was tired.
  • instead of saying:(4) I think he became sick because he ate too much yesterday.
  • Yes, but the past perfect is not required, since 'yesterday' makes the order of events quite clear without it.
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1 Answers
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Anonymous(1)Tom was tired because he had been playing soccer all day.Is it OK to say"(2)Tom was tired because he was playing soccer all day."?
Yes, they would be generally understood as synonymous, though there is some chance that soccer play while Tom was tired.
AnonymousIf so, can you say:(3) I think he became sick because he had eate
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