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Peaceblinkfriend Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

"You back out when you decide not to do something you had previously agreed or promised to do."

You back out when you decide not to do something you had previously agreed or promised to do.

You back out when you decide not to do something you previously agreed or promised to do.

Could you please tell me the way they differ?

Thanks

PBF
  

Top answer

You need to use the past perfect when the order of events is not clear. There is no doubt that something that happened "previously" occurred before, so the past perfect is not needed to make the sequence clear, nor is it wrong to include. The two sentences mean exactly the same thing.

— BarbaraPA

  • You need to use the past perfect when the order of events is not clear.
  • There is no doubt that something that happened "previously" occurred before, so the past perfect is not needed to make the sequence clear, nor is it wrong to include.
  • The two sentences mean exactly the same thing.
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2 Answers
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You need to use the past perfect when the order of events is not clear. There is no doubt that something that happened "previously" occurred before, so the past perfect is not needed to make the sequence clear, nor is it wrong to include. The two sentences mean exactly the same thing.
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