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Ant_222 Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
Tense confusion
Hello everybody,
I can't figure out the grammar underlying the following structures:
1. This means that in the history of culture it has never happened that something has simply killed something else.
2. But such a thing has not happened before, that Gandalf broke tryst and did not come.
3. It has never happened that anyone (in Congress) is charged with a crime.
These were taken from various books, and to me have the same meaning, so I can not discern a reason for different tenses in the subordinate clause. And of course I have no idea of how the tenses will change if the main clause is transformed to "It will never happen that" or "Once it happened that"...
Will appreciate your help,
Anton
I can't figure out the grammar underlying the following structures:
1. This means that in the history of culture it has never happened that something has simply killed something else.
2. But such a thing has not happened before, that Gandalf broke tryst and did not come.
3. It has never happened that anyone (in Congress) is charged with a crime.
These were taken from various books, and to me have the same meaning, so I can not discern a reason for different tenses in the subordinate clause. And of course I have no idea of how the tenses will change if the main clause is transformed to "It will never happen that" or "Once it happened that"...
Will appreciate your help,
Anton
Top answer
Ant_222 I can not discern a reason for different tenses in the subordinate clause. Me neither. It seems they should be the same.
- Ant_222 I can not discern a reason for different tenses in the subordinate clause.
- Me neither.
- It seems they should be the same.
- It never happens that he eats beef.
- It never happened that he ate beef.
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4 Answers
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Ant_222I can not discern a reason for different tenses in the subordinate clause.Me neither. It seems they should be the same.
It never happens that he eats beef.
It never happened that he ate beef.
It has never happened that he has eaten beef.
Still, a simple past after a present perfect seems possible:
It has ne
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Hmmm. Thanks!
In a past context, do you think it is possible to say: "It had never happened before that he ate beef?"
In a past context, do you think it is possible to say: "It had never happened before that he ate beef?"
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Ant_222do you think it is possible to say: "It had never happened before that he ate beef?"Yes -- or ... that he had eaten beef. Either one.
CJ
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