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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage
Until recently..
I am wondering when to choose which in the following sentence and would like to ask questions regarding it.
"Until recently there (was>has been>had been) only one drug for the disease."
First, are all the candidates possible? I have seen the present perfect tense (that is, "has been") used, but am not sure if it is correct, because the sentence strongly suggests that there are more than one drug now.
Also could someone clarify when to use which? I'll take a stab at the first and the last ones. Do the following use tenses correctly?
Until recently there had been only one drug for the disease, but last month scientists at ABC university came up with a novel approach that would...
Until recently there was only one drug for the disease, but now pharmacies across the nation carry many products that promise to cure it.
becky
"Until recently there (was>has been>had been) only one drug for the disease."
First, are all the candidates possible? I have seen the present perfect tense (that is, "has been") used, but am not sure if it is correct, because the sentence strongly suggests that there are more than one drug now.
Also could someone clarify when to use which? I'll take a stab at the first and the last ones. Do the following use tenses correctly?
Until recently there had been only one drug for the disease, but last month scientists at ABC university came up with a novel approach that would...
Until recently there was only one drug for the disease, but now pharmacies across the nation carry many products that promise to cure it.
becky
Top answer
" . . Until recently there had been only ...
- " .
- .
- Until recently there had been only ...
- g.
- Until November 2002 only one drug was approved to treat this disease, but in (date) scientists (or pharmacies) discovered (or started selling) XYZ.
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5 Answers
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[nq:1]"Until recently there (was>has been>had been) only one drug for thedisease." . . . Until recently there had been only ... was only one drug for the disease, but **** across the nation carry many products that promise to cure it.[/nq]
This is where precision helps enormously, e.g.
Until November 2002 only one drug was approved to
treat this disease, but in (date) scientists
This is where precision helps enormously, e.g.
Until November 2002 only one drug was approved to
treat this disease, but in (date) scientists
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[nq:1]I am wondering when to choose which in the following sentence and would like to ask questions regarding it. "Until ... only one drug for the disease, but now pharmacies across the nation carry many products that promise to cure it.[/nq]
I think you've answered your own question. Certainly, your two examples sound fine. "Had been" could only be used if the rest of the sentence was
I think you've answered your own question. Certainly, your two examples sound fine. "Had been" could only be used if the rest of the sentence was
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[nq:2]I am wondering when to choose which in the following ... the nation carry many products that promise to cure it.[/nq]
[nq:1]I think you've answered your own question. Certainly, your two examples sound fine. "Had been" could only be used if the rest of the sentence was in the past.[/nq]
Thanks! I needed confirmation like this. But I'm still not sure about the present perfect tense. I
[nq:1]I think you've answered your own question. Certainly, your two examples sound fine. "Had been" could only be used if the rest of the sentence was in the past.[/nq]
Thanks! I needed confirmation like this. But I'm still not sure about the present perfect tense. I
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[nq:2]I think you've answered your own question. Certainly, your two ... if the rest of the sentence was in the past.[/nq]
[nq:1]Thanks! I needed confirmation like this. But I'm still not sure about the present perfect tense. Is it correct? And if so, could someone give me examples that illustrate the difference?[/nq]
In either tense, because of the time marker, I'd probably flag the "was"
[nq:1]Thanks! I needed confirmation like this. But I'm still not sure about the present perfect tense. Is it correct? And if so, could someone give me examples that illustrate the difference?[/nq]
In either tense, because of the time marker, I'd probably flag the "was"
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