ABOUT GRAMMAR

[tien-sung]

"It had been raining before eight o’clock this morning"


I read the above sentence in local newspaper.

I have a question :

Is there any grammar mistake in this sentence?

Can I use "by" or "since" replace "before"?

Thank you .

From Tien-sung(Taiwan0

[BobK]

"It had been raining before eight o’clock this morning"


I read the above sentence in local newspaper.

I have a question :

Is there any grammar mistake in this sentence?


In most contexts, yes; but if the article were using the literary convention by which 'this morning' = 'the morning I'm talking about', then the sentence could make sense.
Can I use "by" or "since" replace "before"?

Thank you .

From Tien-sung(Taiwan0

The words 'by' and 'since' would, in their different ways, change the meaning. In these examples I have ommitted the 'this morning' as it complicates the issue.

It had been raining before 8 o'clock, but when he left at 9.00 the rain had stopped.

It had started raining by 8 o'clock, and when he left at 9.00 the rain was still falling.

It had been spitting by 8 o'clock, and when he left at 9.00 the rain was really hammering down.


b