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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Simple question.

A: "I'm sorry for contacting you so late. You got the job!"

B: "Really? I had almost given up."

Is the underlined part correct? Also, "I was just about to give up." is right, right?
  

Top answer

Both forms are OK. It depends on Mr B's perception of time at the moment. The past perfect may be more likely than yours because the speaker is probably chronicling 'no answer' / 'give up' / 'positive notice' / 'utterance now' .

— Mister Micawber

  • Both forms are OK.
  • It depends on Mr B's perception of time at the moment.
  • The past perfect may be more likely than yours because the speaker is probably chronicling 'no answer' / 'give up' / 'positive notice' / 'utterance now' .
  • This places the past event ' give up ' before the other past event ' positive notice ': hence, past perfect.
  • Your version is possible, too, though.
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2 Answers
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Both forms are OK. It depends on Mr B's perception of time at the moment. The past perfect may be more likely than yours because the speaker is probably chronicling 'no answer' / 'give up' / 'positive notice' / 'utterance now'. This places the past event 'give up' before the other past event 'positive notice': hence, past perfect.

Your version is possible, too, thou
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Ok, thanks for your quick help!
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