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Lucas21c Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

The perfect

Could you check whether the following sentence is okay? Thank you.

He had been known for ages not to have played an important role in the field of art of his age, but the newly discovered historical records shows that he was also regarded as a great artist when he was alive.
  

Top answer

He had been known for ages not to have played an important role in the field of art of his age, but the newly discovered historical records show that he was also regarded as a great artist when he was alive. Don't say 'also'. I see no reason for it 'For ages' is too casual here.

— Clive

  • He had been known for ages not to have played an important role in the field of art of his age, but the newly discovered historical records show that he was also regarded as a great artist when he was alive.
  • Don't say 'also'.
  • I see no reason for it 'For ages' is too casual here.
  • How about 'for centuries'?
  • Clive
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3 Answers
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He had been known for ages not to have played an important role in the field of art of his age, but the newly discovered historical records show that he was also regarded as a great artist when he was alive.

Don't say 'also'. I see no reason for it

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How about "He was known ~"? If both of "He was known ~" and "He had been known ~" are right and natural, could you tell me what the difference is between them in term of meaning or nuance?
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'He was known' is not wrong, but 'He had been known'' tells the reader right at the start of this long sentence that a contradiction is coming later in the sentence.

Clive
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