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Marix998 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Washington sought to apply its standard solution to such civil conflict, which has failed time after time then and in the decades afterward.
Hello,
could you please check why the present perfect (bold) is used in the sentence below:
A renewal of the Chinese civil war followed. Washington sought to apply its standard solution to such civil conflict, which has failed time after time then and in the decades afterward. It urged a coalition between the Nationalists and Communists, who had been battling each other for two decades. U.S. Ambassador Patrick Hurley convened a meeting between Chiang Kai-shek and Communist Party leader Mao Zedong in September 1945 at Chiang’s capital in Chongqing. Both leaders dutifully attended while preparing for a final showdown.
thank you
BR
could you please check why the present perfect (bold) is used in the sentence below:
A renewal of the Chinese civil war followed. Washington sought to apply its standard solution to such civil conflict, which has failed time after time then and in the decades afterward. It urged a coalition between the Nationalists and Communists, who had been battling each other for two decades. U.S. Ambassador Patrick Hurley convened a meeting between Chiang Kai-shek and Communist Party leader Mao Zedong in September 1945 at Chiang’s capital in Chongqing. Both leaders dutifully attended while preparing for a final showdown.
thank you
BR
Top answer
It would much better read ' had failed'. A weak argument could be made for present perfect if the writer is considering US behavior up to the present, but it does not seem appropriate in this context.
- It would much better read ' had failed'.
- A weak argument could be made for present perfect if the writer is considering US behavior up to the present, but it does not seem appropriate in this context.
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2 Answers
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It would much better read 'had failed'. A weak argument could be made for present perfect if the writer is considering US behavior up to the present, but it does not seem appropriate in this context.
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I think that the argument for the present perfect is stronger than 'weak':
A renewal of the Chinese civil war followed. Washington sought to apply its standard solution to such civil conflict, which has failed time after time then and in the decades afterward.
I accept without reservation that 'the decades afterward' may be considered to be past, ending when
A renewal of the Chinese civil war followed. Washington sought to apply its standard solution to such civil conflict, which has failed time after time then and in the decades afterward.
I accept without reservation that 'the decades afterward' may be considered to be past, ending when
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