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LearnerEnglish Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Tense continuation
Lets say, A is talking to B about X and at some point of the conversation A said;
X was working on a contract basis where he was the first choice before he had lost it last week. The management initially didn't tell him this directly rather they were playing with him saying they might need his service in future but the truth is they already have got themselves a better replacement.
Can anyone please tell me whether it will be correct if I say
1.before he lost it last week instead of before he had lost it last week
2.Is it correct to say the truth is they already have got themselves a better replacement in regard to the whole context?What if I say the truth was they already had got a better replacement for him?
Your help is highly appreciated.
X was working on a contract basis where he was the first choice before he had lost it last week. The management initially didn't tell him this directly rather they were playing with him saying they might need his service in future but the truth is they already have got themselves a better replacement.
Can anyone please tell me whether it will be correct if I say
1.before he lost it last week instead of before he had lost it last week
2.Is it correct to say the truth is they already have got themselves a better replacement in regard to the whole context?What if I say the truth was they already had got a better replacement for him?
Your help is highly appreciated.
Top answer
LearnerEnglish X was working on a contract basis where he was the first choice "before he had lost it last week". It may be that neither 'lost' nor 'had lost' is appropriate. You haven't made clear what was lost.
- LearnerEnglish X was working on a contract basis where he was the first choice "before he had lost it last week".
- It may be that neither 'lost' nor 'had lost' is appropriate.
- You haven't made clear what was lost.
- The contract?
- That doesn't seem right.
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4 Answers
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LearnerEnglishX was working on a contract basis where he was the first choice "before he had lost it last week".It may be that neither 'lost' nor 'had lost' is appropriate. You haven't made clear what was lost. The contract? That doesn't seem right. The first choice? You can't lose a choice, so that doesn't seem right. I think you should revise the sent
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Hi Sir,
Thank you very much for your prompt reply. Yes,by lost I was actually referring to the contract. By that I actually meant there were more than one contractor but X was always their first choice. Thanks for clearing is/was part, I was a bit confused about that. So does that mean even if I use is still I can't say have already
Thank you very much for your prompt reply. Yes,by lost I was actually referring to the contract. By that I actually meant there were more than one contractor but X was always their first choice. Thanks for clearing is/was part, I was a bit confused about that. So does that mean even if I use is still I can't say have already
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LearnerEnglishby lost I was actually referring to the contract.OK. 'contract' is only used as a modifier of 'basis', so the way you have written it makes it difficult to understand what "it" is. You'll have to repeat the word "contract". And there is no reason whatsoever to use 'had lost'. 'before' already shows the time sequence.
X was wo
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