If a book is written in past tense, how do you describe something which was in the past? For example: I was waiting in the back of the line because I “punched” the son of the principal. The verb “punch” happened in the past of the past. Should I use past perfect tense here just … Read more
„Boxer Joe Foster had fought over 100 opponents when he retired in 1994.” Why someone used Past Perfect in this senence? Answer The answer is simple and was given in the comment. Fighting 100 opponents came before the 1994 retirement (we are in 2019 now). He had done that before he retired. That’s what the … Read more
Is the sentence “While i was traveling i had seen beautiful buildings.” ungrammatical? I think this sentence is grammatical using past perfect to describe multiple events in past but the answer says ‘while i was traveling I saw beautiful buildings’ is correct. Why the sentence ‘while i was traveling i had seen beautiful buildings’ is … Read more
I took a grammatical quiz and chose ‘had been spending’ answer. It turned out to be the wrong answer. May you explain why not the continuous form? John _______ (to spends) 3 years in Pakistan before he became a teacher of Urdu. a. had spent b. had been spending Answer The past and past perfect … Read more
I have a question about Past continuous from this following example. ” I was thinking that I wouldn’t have any friends when I came here. “ ” I was thinking that I wouldn’t have any friends when I come here. “ Which one is correct? I’m wondering that when I use Past continuous, do I … Read more
I know that Past Perfect means “earlier past” and is used to clarify which action took place first in chronological order, but what when there are more actions in the past perfect that need to be specifically placed on the timeline? How do I know which action in the past perfect took place first? Here … Read more
My teacher asked me where had I been because I was very late. What would be the best answer? I have been travelling from my hometown to here, so I have came late I had been travelling from… I was in travel / travelling from… (Note: that morning I was in my hometown where is … Read more
I found this sentence in the book “Game of Thrones”: Catelyn had never liked this godswood. It seems that the author used past perfect tense here, but without a second tense. Is it possible? Or is this not past perfect? Answer The essence of Past Perfect concerns three points of time: Present(P), a point of … Read more
Is it correct to say”I had left the place when he arrived”? And what can be the other possible sentences we can frame referring to the same meaning Answer While that’s technically correct, it’s difficult to understand in that order. A better way to phrase it may be When he arrived I had already left … Read more
I was going through the US border control in an airport a couple days ago and the customs officer asked me a question that was kind unexpected. I don’t remember the question exactly but it definitely was past perfect tense or future perfect tense because it contained something like “how long have you stayed in … Read more
