Tense
Hi
Please give your views.
Until recently, scientists believed that giant squids were only a myth created by sailors.
I came across this sentence in an exercise on verb tenses. I think past perfect—had believed—is more correct here.
Top answer
We commonly use th Simple Past if the sequence of events is clear, as it is in this sentence.
- We commonly use th Simple Past if the sequence of events is clear, as it is in this sentence.
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We commonly use th Simple Past if the sequence of events is clear, as it is in this sentence.
0I did not think of past perfect to mark the first action in the sequence of two past actions.
Consider this example.
Tom came home at 6pm. His wife had cooked dinner.
Which happened first?
I felt until recently is indicative of a period from a point in the distant past to a point in the recent past. That is why I felt past perfect was more appropriate.
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