0
Victo Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Still Confused ... Getting 'Tense'

Is the sentence below correct?

Video review showed that, on Aug. 12, 1999, associate John Doe had stolen the money.
OR-
Video review showed that, on Aug. 12, 1999, associate John Doe stole the money.

When do you know when to use the proper tense?

What does 'had stolen' mean?

What does 'stole' mean?

Really, I don't see a huge difference here.
  

Top answer

Hi, Both tenses are fine. The Past Perfect shows that he stole the money before the video review, but that is obvious anyway from the rest of the sentence. In such a case, the Simple Past is all that is needed, unless you want to use Past Perfect to add more emphasis to the sequence.

— Clive

  • Hi, Both tenses are fine.
  • The Past Perfect shows that he stole the money before the video review, but that is obvious anyway from the rest of the sentence.
  • In such a case, the Simple Past is all that is needed, unless you want to use Past Perfect to add more emphasis to the sequence.
  • Clive
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

1 Answers
0
Hi,



Both tenses are fine.

The Past Perfect shows that he stole the money before the video review, but that is obvious anyway from the rest of the sentence. In such a case, the Simple Past is all that is needed, unless you want to use Past Perfect to add more emphasis to the sequence.



Clive
0

Related Questions