which sentence would be more appropriate?

Question

I bought a shirt for Steven, but also wanted to buy him and his sister something else which I wasn`t able to find.I bought a shirt for Steven, but had also wanted to buy him and his sister something else which I wasn't able to find.What are the differences between these two sentences? How does using past perfect in the second example change the meaning?  Basically, which sentence would be more appropriate?Thanks

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

I bought a shirt for Steven, but also wanted to buy him and his sister something else which I wasn`t able to find.

I bought a shirt for Steven, but had also wanted to buy him and his sister something else which I wasn't able to find.

What are the differences between these two sentences? How does using past perfect in the second example change the meaning? The PP in #2 suggests that the 'wanting to but something else' did not continue after the event of buying the shirt. It fits oddly with the use of 'also'. It you want to use PP here, remove 'also'.

Basically, which sentence would be more appropriate? #1. Unnecessary use of the Past Perfect is a common feature of English-learner speech. In cases like this, the meaning is pretty clear without PP. If extra clarity is required, that can be added in a subsequent sentence, or else a different form of words can be used. eg "I couldn't find what I wanted to buy, so I bought a shirt instead".

Best wishes, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Unnecessary use of the Past Perfect is a common feature of English-learner speech.

I understand the meaning is already pretty clear even without the use of past perfect, but what I wanted to know is which one would be the more correct one to use.

Just to clarify, I'm not an "English-learner". I've lived in Canada since I was six-years-old, and I'll be 21 next month. I consider myself a native speaker, and I too have a sense of what "sounds" right or wrong. I only continue to post all these seemingly asinine questions because I want to have something more concrete to rely on, instead of always having to rely on my ear. My grammar may not be as good as some of the people on this board, but I'm not an "English-learner." I wasn't aware this board was meant solely for ESL-students as it does say "General English Grammar Questions" at the top there. I hope I don't come across as terribly ungrateful. Thanks.

Lunchbox · Answer

Unnecessary use of the Past Perfect is a common feature of English-learner speech.

I understand the meaning is already pretty clear even without the use of past perfect, but what I wanted to know was which one would be the more correct one to use.

I'm not an English-learner. I've lived in Canada since I was six-years-old, and I'll be 21 next month. I consider myself a native speaker, and I too have a sense of what "sounds" right or wrong. I only continue to post all these seemingly asinine questions because I want to have something more concrete to rely on, instead of always having to rely on my ear. My grammar may not be as good as some of the people on this board, but I'm not an "English-learner."

Either way, thanks a lot.

Argh ... I forgot to log in first.

Marius Hancu · Answer

The 2nd sentence establishes a "wish for buying" which predates "the buying of the shirt."
To me, it better clarifies the history of the events.

The 1st is more uniform in time, but it's not sure when the "wish for buying something else" occured. Was it at the time of "the buying of the shirt," was it earlier, was it a bit later? To me, it's a bit of a temporal mess

It's really important to know how rigorous you want to be.

Clive · Answer

Hi Lunchbox,

Please feel free to post whatever queries you want. This Forum is for everyone, not just second-language learners.

Best wishes again, Clive

which sentence would be more appropriate?

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions