Since he hadn't paid his Internet bill for three months in a row, he had been cut off.
Hello, everyone.
Recently I have seen the following sentence:
1) Since he hadn't paid his Internet bill for three months in a row, he had been cut off.
Is it correct as a standalone sentence?
As far as I know, the past perfect tense indicates that one action was completed before the second one happened, so I don't see any point in putting it this way.
Let's have a look at some alternatives that come to my mind:
2) Since he hadn't paid his Internet bill for three months in a row, he was cut off.
- I guess that would be the classic usage of the past perfect tense.
3) Since he didn't pay his Internet bill for three months in a row, he was cut off.
- Only the past simple tense, so the order is implied.
4) Since he wasn't paying his Internet bill for three months in a row, he was cut off.
- I guess this variation emphasizes the fact the act of not paying the bills was limited to the period of three months.
Are my interpretations correct?
Which one from #1 - #4 would sound most natural?
Top answer
Reegis 1) Since he hadn't paid his Internet bill for three months in a row, he had been cut off. Is it correct as a standalone sentence? Yes.
- Reegis 1) Since he hadn't paid his Internet bill for three months in a row, he had been cut off.
- Is it correct as a standalone sentence?
- Yes.
- Reegis Are my interpretations correct?
- Yes, though I have an idiosyncratic aversion to the past continuous with a for -phrase of time as in #4.
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Reegis1) Since he hadn't paid his Internet bill for three months in a row, he had been cut off. Is it correct as a standalone sentence?
Yes.
ReegisAre my interpretations correct?
Yes, though I have an idiosyncratic aversion to the past continuous with a for-phrase of time as in #4.
Reegi
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