Which tense?
A: We were shocked to learn that only a few people (were/had been) at the event.
B: We were shocked to learn that only a few people
(attended/had attended) at the party.
Which tense would you likely use in the sentences above?
Top answer
teacherJapan Which tense would you likely use in the sentences above? Unless I had my grammar hat on, I would use the simple past, but we Americans tend to do that. If I had my grammar hat on, I would observe the standard difference.
- teacherJapan Which tense would you likely use in the sentences above?
- Unless I had my grammar hat on, I would use the simple past, but we Americans tend to do that.
- If I had my grammar hat on, I would observe the standard difference.
- "Were" means the event is on now.
- "Had been" means the event is over.
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teacherJapanWhich tense would you likely use in the sentences above?
Unless I had my grammar hat on, I would use the simple past, but we Americans tend to do that. If I had my grammar hat on, I would observe the standard difference. "Were" means the event is on now. "Had been" means the event is over.
By the way, you attend a party, not attend at it.
0teacherJapanWhich tense
I'd use the simple past (were; attended) unless there were a reason to show that the poor attendance occurred before some other situation previously mentioned in the text or conversation — not that I can think of a good example of how that might happen. Maybe something like this, telling the story a month later:
The
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