Had gone/went

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Angliholic

#428945 Tue, 09 Oct 07 04:37 PM

He had gone/went to bed by nine o'clock last night.

Will you use had gone or went in the above context and why in a few words? Thanks.

Angliholic

Joined on Wed, Feb 14 2007

SomewhereinFormosa

Veteran Member (5,556)

Without true love, life is meaningless and worthless since our physical world is nothing but a dream. ~~Angliholic~~簡瑞達

Ant_222

#429013 Tue, 09 Oct 07 07:38 PM

«Will you use had gone or went in the above context and why in a few words?»

I actually see no context here — there's only one sentence describing one action.

EDIT:
You should use Past Perfect.

Ant_222

Joined on Sun, May 21 2006

Podolsk, Russia

Contributing Member (1,584)

Past Perfect

Angliholic

#429145 Wed, 10 Oct 07 01:52 AM

Ant_222 wrote:
«Will you use had gone or went in the above context and why in a few words?» I actually see no context here — there's only one sentence describing one action. EDIT: You should use Past Perfect.

Thanks, Ant.

But the correct answer is had gone.

Angliholic

Past Perfect

CalifJim

#429166 Wed, 10 Oct 07 02:55 AM

Strange. went doesn't strike me as unusual or incorrect in any way.

CJ

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (17,794)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Angliholic

#429182 Wed, 10 Oct 07 05:26 AM

CalifJim wrote:
Strange. went doesn't strike me as unusual or incorrect in any way.

CJ

Thank you for your reply, Jim.

Your reply does strike me as unusual, though.

Maybe the gut feeling of native speakers doesn't match the grammar rule once in a blue moon.

In light of your past excellent insightful analyses of English grammar, I have confidence in you that you can find out the truth of the base sentence.

Angliholic

Yoong Liat

#429281 Wed, 10 Oct 07 01:15 PM

He went to bed at nine o'clock last night.
He had gone to bed by nine o'clock last night.

To me, if 'at' is used, then 'went' is the correct verb.
If 'by' is used, then 'had gone' is the correct verb.

Yoong Liat

Joined on Mon, Sep 4 2006

Singapore

Veteran Member (6,100)

Yoong Liat

Verbs

Angliholic

#429294 Wed, 10 Oct 07 01:44 PM

Yoong Liat wrote:
He went to bed at nine o'clock last night.
He had gone to bed by nine o'clock last night.

To me, if 'at' is used, then 'went' is the correct verb.
If 'by' is used, then 'had gone' is the correct verb.

Rght on, Yoong.

I agree with you.

Angliholic

Verbs

Ti:ʧə

#429300 Wed, 10 Oct 07 02:06 PM

As a native speaker, if anyone said to me "he went to bed by nine o'clock last night" it wouldn't strike me as incorrect. I understand the principle behind the rule, but it's one I'd have no problem bending.

Ti:ʧə

Joined on Wed, Oct 10 2007

New Member (39)

Yankee

#429301 Wed, 10 Oct 07 02:07 PM

I agree with CJ. Without any broader context to justify or necessitate the use of the past perfect, the simple past (went) seems just fine to me, too. Saying by nine o'clock simply means not later than nine o'clock.

EDIT:
Note that 'by' can also be used with present and future tenses. For example:

- I always make it a point to go to bed by nine o'clock.
- I'm going to go to bed by nine o'clock.

Yankee

Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006

Connecticut, USA

Senior Member (4,320)

Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain

Tenses, Past Perfect, Simple Past

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