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Xcalibur Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
Tenses
Hi. I have a question about tenses. So here's the situation:
1. A person discovered John's secrets.
2. The person revealed the secrets to Jane.
3. I found out about 1 & 2.
I found out that the person who [discovered/had discovered] John's secrets [told/had told] Jane about them.
Could you please tell me which ones are correct?
Thank you
1. A person discovered John's secrets.
2. The person revealed the secrets to Jane.
3. I found out about 1 & 2.
I found out that the person who [discovered/had discovered] John's secrets [told/had told] Jane about them.
Could you please tell me which ones are correct?
Thank you
Top answer
Oh, so many choices! Since there can be no doubt at all that the discovery precedes the telling, the past perfect isn't really needed, but is okay. The person who [had] discovered John's secrets told Jane.
- Oh, so many choices!
- Since there can be no doubt at all that the discovery precedes the telling, the past perfect isn't really needed, but is okay.
- The person who [had] discovered John's secrets told Jane.
- " The person who discovered John's secrets has told Jane.
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1 Answers
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Oh, so many choices!
Since there can be no doubt at all that the discovery precedes the telling, the past perfect isn't really needed, but is okay.
The person who [had] discovered John's secrets told Jane.
However, (and this may be an American thing), if the "telling" is quite recent, you can use "has told." The person who discovered John's secrets has told Jan
Since there can be no doubt at all that the discovery precedes the telling, the past perfect isn't really needed, but is okay.
The person who [had] discovered John's secrets told Jane.
However, (and this may be an American thing), if the "telling" is quite recent, you can use "has told." The person who discovered John's secrets has told Jan
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