The training course went very well in the end. It's just as well we didn't cancel it.

Question

Hello,I have a sentence from a test:The training course went very well in the end. It's just as well we ... (not / cancel) it.This one is correct according to the answer key:The training course went very well in the end. It's just as well we didn't cancel it.Is the below sentence also possible?The training course went very well in the end. It's just as well we hadn't cancelled it.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

AnonymousIs the below sentence also possible? The training course went very well in the end. It's just as well we hadn't cancelled it.

Yes.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for your answer CJ. And would the difference be only that "hadn't cancelled" emphasizes the fact they hadn't cancelled the training course earlier?

Glumflake · Answer

You ask if the usage of past perfect is also correct, which is not. Why? Because past perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past.
Example: I had never seen such a beautiful flower before he showed me that glamorous rose.

So the answer is no, it makes no sense to use past perfect in that situation. The simple past must be used there.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

GlumflakeThe simple past must be used there.

I disagree. Native speakers use the past perfect in other situations, such as the poster's suggestion.

Anonymous · Answer

I see. Thanks a lot for clarification <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Glumflake · Answer

I was talking about that past simple must be used in the poster's sentence, as the answer key says. I wasn't talking about my example. My example was just a random use of past perfect.

CalifJim · Answer

GlumflakeBecause past perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past.

There's nothing to say when an action could have occurred in the case where it didn't occur. (They did not cancel.) The opportunity to cancel may well have happened at any time before the training course actually occurred. There certainly was no opportunity to cancel after the course occurred.

And besides, the choice of the past perfect could have been made because of something mentioned previously in the text (but not shown to us) which actually happened before the decision not to cancel was made.

Therefore, the past perfect is possible in the given sentence, which answers the question asked.

CJ

The training course went very well in the end. It's just as well we didn't cancel it.

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