By Past perfect, Whom

" I told him what I did". There is nothing wrong with this sentence.If we discuss events in the distance past, then past perfect no doubt is correct based on absolute grammar rules. I saw my friend John in the grocery store whom I hadn't seen for years. When I got home I told my...

Hey, Kooyeen, I didn't say it sounded odd! Quite the contrary. It sounded completely normal. Don't forget I've been an ESL teacher for umpteen years. As a result, my ear is now highly trained to pick up on and take note of these sorts of things. In short, I tend to pay much...

Whoa! LOL, I didn't think the past perfect was so bad in informal English. I mean, if you noticed it and you were surprised, it must mean it even sounded kind of odd to you! Well, what if she'd used "whom"? Y'woulda pass out? I would... Anyway, I see. Thanks!

The Pope has named a new archbishop of Warsaw after Stanislaw Wielgus quit admitting he had collaborated with Poland's communist-era secret police. Pope Benedict XVI named Kazimierz Nycz, 57, who has been bishop of the Baltic city of Koszalin-Kolobrzeg since 2004. Bishop Wielgus resigned...

<"In this catalogue, you will find Alice in Wonderland material that had belonged to Alice Liddell, the girl for whom Lewis Carroll wrote the stories, before she died"> Better, IMO: "In this catalogue, you will find Alice in Wonderland material that had belonged to Alice Liddell, the girl...

Lunchbox wrote: Marius Hancu wrote:You're right on the first, IMO, BUT: the author might have had in mind the fact that the girl (Alice) had lived before Carroll wrote the story. In that interpretation, he's correct. It's "Alice in Wonderland" material. So how would it be possible for Alice...

<"In this catalogue, you will find Alice in Wonderland material that had belonged to Alice Liddell, the girl for whom Lewis Carroll wrote the stories."> Hint: did the material go to/get inherited by anyone when Alice Liddell died? Were there other owners (the later past time reference)...

"In this catalogue, you will find Alice in Wonderland material that had belonged to Alice Liddell, the girl for whom Lewis Carroll wrote the stories."Where's the "later past action" here to warrant the use of past perfect in the sentence above? Wouldn't simple past work perfectly fine?"In this...

The blast occurred as locals were on their way to market near Vadamunai, a village about 70km (45 miles) north-west of the town of Batticaloa. The rebels have blamed the military for the explosion. A military spokesman denied the allegation. The deaths come a day before rebels and...

About 200 noisy demonstrators - some of whom carried a coffin draped with a US flag - were gathered outside the town hall where Ms Rice and Mr Straw spoke to reporters. Asked if she had been embarrassed by the protests which have followed her around on her two-day visit, Ms Rice said...