Tenses
Hi, everyone. I am an ESL teacher and I need to construe some sentences to my students. The point is a tense used in each sentence. Can somebody, a proficient native speaker if possible, explain how the tense affects the meaning in the following sets of sentences.
a) When Joe arrived, I was making some coffee. b) When Joe arrived, I had been making some coffee.
a) He spoke Japanese because he had lived in Japan for two years. b) He spoke Japanese because he had been living in Japan for two years.
a) They met in 2010 and were to get married in 2012.
b) They met in 2010 and were to have got married in 2012.
Top answer
desk panda a) When Joe arrived, I was making some coffee. b) When Joe arrived, I had been making some coffee. A: Joe saw him making coffee.
- desk panda a) When Joe arrived, I was making some coffee.
- b) When Joe arrived, I had been making some coffee.
- A: Joe saw him making coffee.
- B: Joe didn't see him making coffee.
- desk panda a) He spoke Japanese because he had lived in Japan for two years.
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desk pandaa) When Joe arrived, I was making some coffee. b) When Joe arrived, I had been making some coffee.
A: Joe saw him making coffee. B: Joe didn't see him making coffee.
desk pandaa) He spoke Japanese because he had lived in Japan for two years. b) He spoke Japanese because he had been living in Japan for two years.
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