0
Yoong Liat Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

was / had been started

0Koh was glad that his dog had alerted him to the fire, otherwise it would have 01b00spread out of control.02b00 02br
02br
00Since this incident, Mr Koh has closed all the windows in the living room before going to bed. He believes00 that the fire 01b00was /02br
00had been02b00 01b00started 02b00by a vandal who set fire to his curtain through the open windows.02br
00Which verb should I use? 02br
02br
00Thanks in advance.02br
02br
00 0-
  

Top answer

0 had been. If you wanted to use "was", you'd have to re-write the sentence a bit. 0-

— Marvin A.

  • 0 had been.
  • If you wanted to use "was", you'd have to re-write the sentence a bit.
  • 0-
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4 Answers
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0 had been. If you wanted to use "was", you'd have to re-write the sentence a bit. 0-
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Marvin A.12cite10had been. If you wanted to use "was", you'd have to re-write the sentence a bit.12blockquote
10Thanks, Marius. Could you please rephrase it using 'was' so that I can have a clearer picture.02br
02br
00Thanks, again.0-
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Yoong Liat12cite10Since this incident, Mr Koh has closed all the windows in the living room before going to bed. He believes10 that the fire was /11b10had been12b10 11b10started 12b10by a vandal who set fire to his curtain through the open windows.12blockquote
0
0
0 00Hi Kooyeen02br
02br
00Thanks for pointing out my mistake. You're right. I was so used to Marius' replies that I presumed it was Marius. 02br
02br
00I agree with you that both tenses seem okay. Marvin said that if 'was' is used, the sentence has to be rephrased. So far he has not responded to my request. I shall wait for his response.0-
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