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Old 15-Jun-2003, 19:53
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Astro-D
I'm sorry for a lack of explanation. I tried to say,
When there is an adequate context and that he knew (at some point in the past) that your mother had been a nurse sometime before then is an obvious fact,
you native English speakers say "He knew that my mother was a nurse." instead of "He knew that my mother had been a nurse."?
Not exactly. "He knew that my mother was a nurse" indicates his knowledge of her status (that she was a nurse) at the time he knew her. "He knew that my mother had been a nurse" indicates his knowedge of her previous status. (He knew that she had been a nurse.)

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