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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > How would you report this statement, please ?
How would you report this statement, please ?
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badr.a7
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How would you report this statement, please ?
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"I was waiting for the bus when he arrived"
A- he said he had been waiting for the bus when he had arrived.
B- She said that she had been waiting for the bus when he arrived.
mind you, it �s the verb "arrived" which makes me confused. |
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23 Dec 2012
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minimal70
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Both are correct. You also can leave was waiting as it is: I was waiting for the bus when it arrived. I had been waiting for the bus when it arrived. But in this example I �d rather say I was awaiting the bus when it arrived. Hope it �s useful |
23 Dec 2012
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yanogator
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@minimal70, In the US, at least, "awaiting" is considered to be a very formal word, so we say "waiting for". "He said he was waiting for the bus when it (I don �t think you mean "he" here) arrived" would be OK in informal speech, but not in writing. "He said that he had been waiting for the bus when it arrived" would be the most common. "He said that he had been waiting for the bus when it had arrived" is correct, but not commonly used. Bruce |
23 Dec 2012
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florimago
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Hi : I agree with Bruce and I �d add something : As far as I know , the past perfect is used to indicate that an action happens previously to some other in the past so "arrived" should be in past because it happens after a long wait. Hope it�s useful Flori |
23 Dec 2012
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joy2bill
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This is the correct one in my opinion: She said that she had been waiting for the bus when he arrived.
Bruce: I think it is not the bus that was arriving but a second person.My understanding is that in most cases after certain time words such as when the simple present or simple past should be used. However I can think of examples such as: When he had been there for an hour he discovered that the bus had already left! Past perfect is used less than 5% of the time. Its main purpose is to establish time order: He got a drink-driving fine because he had been drinking beer. If the drinking had not occurred before the driving there would have been no ticket so sequence is crucial here. Of course it also is important in reported speech but that is information for another day! |
23 Dec 2012
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