Tense

Question

is this statment correct in term of tense: I had studied English before 2 O'clock.

if it is true:why and if it is false: why

second statment:

whatever happend to the our cause we had before 1999?

1- why does he use whatever instead of what?

2- why doesn't he use the past perfect because he used "before"?

Mewosh · Accepted Answer

I had studied Enligsh before 2 O'clock means you did study english, but you are not anymore. But it's more complicated that so: had studied means that you studied English sometime ago and that it is "done" now. A more appropriate example would be "I had studied English in High School". If you want to say that you simply studied English somewhen before 2 O'Clock (doing homework) you would say "I studied" or "I did study English before 2 O'clock".

Clive · Answer

Hi,

is this statment correct in term of tense: I had studied English before 2 O'clock.

if it is true:why and if it is false: why

(Don't confuse 'true' with 'grammatically correct'.

)

Without any other context, just simply say 'I studied English before 2 o'clock.

The most common error with Past Perfect is to use it in places where it is not necessary.

In very broad terms, the Past Perfect makes the time sequence clear in situations where it is not otherwise clear. But words like 'before' and 'after' make the sequence clear without Past Perfect.

Consider these two examples.

1. Mary cooked dinner before 6 pm. Tom came home at 6pm.

2. Tom came home at 6 pm. Mary had cooked dinner.

In these two examples, the sequence of events is the same.

second statment:

whatever happend to the our ?? cause we had before 1999?

1- why does he use whatever instead of what? 'Whatever' stresses 'anything, everthing' more than 'what' does.

2- why doesn't he use the past perfect because he used "before"? See my comments above.

Clive

CalifJim · Answer

alkendiI had studied English before 2 O'clock.
if it is true:why and if it is false: why

That statement is true if, in fact, you had studied English before 2 o'clock. Is that when you studied? Only you can answer that. Yes? Then the statement is true because it corresponds to the facts.

I think you want to know if the statement is correct, not whether it's true. It is grammatically correct, but note that I studied English before 2 o'clock is also correct in terms of tense.

alkendi~~whatever~~ Whatever happened to the ~~our~~ cause we had before 1999?
1- ~~why~~ Why does he use whatever instead of what?
2- ~~why~~ Why doesn't he use the past perfect because he used "before"?

You can show more surprise and puzzlement in a what-question by saying whatever or what in the world.

What in the world happened ...?
Whatever happened ...?
_______

There is no rule that says past perfect must be used if there is a before phrase in the same sentence. Also, note that the simple past often substitutes for the past perfect.

CJ

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