In Simple past^x, Past perfect^x

Amy, Thank you for taking the time for the detailed explanation. I understand and in principle agree with almost everything you said. However, there is still some kind of glitch in our thoughts interpreting that particular sentence. Either my head is so thick that the signals from you can not...

<<Without a subsequent simple past phrase, there is no need for the past perfect >> Sorry for being stubborn, but what about "when she was little"? Doesn't that fit the description? How do you see this sentence? When Laura met him, John had dated a couple of other girls for a...

Goodman wrote: Barb, Hey, no apology needed. You are entitled to your opinions. If we all see the same thing, life will be very boring. Now, just bear with me for one more scenario. What if I throw in an adverbial phrase to the debated sentence "She had lived in Europe and Asia with her...

I guess my perspective is different.” When she was little, she lived with her family in Europe and Asia (for many years) ” is fine with simple past. I am not disputing that. But what I said was, it’s a more logical choice since living in two continents was a very long time which should be...

Sorry Cali for using the wrong pronoun. Thanks Grammar. So my discourse grammar thing was not quite right and both simple past and past perfect can be used depending on whether we know when or whether it was pretty recent or relevant. It's all about how we percieve the distance and relevance...

Clive wrote: Hi, You're welcome. Now I understand what they had been were talking about. Clive Ahhhh right..., thx for the correction, Clive. "Past perfect continuous" tense is really not suitable for this kind of the sentence. Fact is, that even if they were doing it(talking) in the...

David Little wrote:Can anyone tell me about how to use have and had?I mean have taken, had taken, has taken etc..What's the difference between I have drunk a cup of tea.I drank a tea.I had drunk a tea.It would be helpful if you give when to use these (point in time).-->In what context would a...

Tommyensr wrote: for example, When we arrived at the concert, the band had been performing for half an hour already. Fortunately, the concert was three hours long, so we saw most of it. from the example, the concert had not ended yet completely. How had started in the past and kept...

...Can I replace past perfect with simple past?In this situation, yes, but not generally. That substitution is very common with the verb to be. What would you have done if you were there? John would have spoken up if he there. If we were less lazy, we would have finished the job. had...

This situation is a little different than your type III conditional formula is intended for. The speaker is not in Ian's position, so the phrase is a "condition contrary to fact". In that situation a formal speaker or writer would use the subjunctive mood of the verb rather than indicative or...