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Thread: No sooner had I...

  1. #1
    ScarlettBegoni's Avatar
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    Default No sooner had I...

    Hello everybody.
    Please, is this the correct form?

    No sooner had I arrived thAn I noticed what WAS wrong.

    Or should I use what had been wrong?
    Thanks a lot.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: No sooner had I...

    Quote Originally Posted by ScarlettBegoni View Post
    Hello everybody.
    Please, is this the correct form?

    No sooner had I arrived thAn I noticed what WAS wrong.

    Or should I use what had been wrong?
    Thanks a lot.
    Both are possible, it depends on context.

  3. #3
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    Threadstarter / Original Poster

    Default Re: No sooner had I...

    May you tell me an example, please?
    And could there be used --what IS wrong.?

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    Default Re: No sooner had I...

    *Not a Teacher*

    Context:
    "Late last night, my supervisor called and told me to come to work immediately, saying there was no time to explain. No sooner had I arrived than I noticed what was wrong. The ER was flooded with violently ill people. The waiting room could scarcely accommodate them all."


    -- I don't see anyway to make present tense work with this construction.
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    Default Re: No sooner had I...


    Quote Originally Posted by ScarlettBegoni View Post
    May you tell me an example, please?
    ...
    And here's an example with the past perfect:

    'Yesterday I went to the museum to see the Saxon treasure. I didn't notice that anything was wrong, but I felt something was missing: it did not look like the picture I was so familiar with (in an old catalogue). No sooner had I arrived home, and looked at the picture, than I realized what had been wrong. The rubies on the crown in the picture had been removed.' [Not sure where that lot came from ]

    b
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    Threadstarter / Original Poster

    Default Re: No sooner had I...

    Now I'm a little bit confused... The meaning is like this:
    I didn't go home(where I saw the picture) before I realized what had been wrong(it means it was in the past).

    Am I right? :D

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    Default Re: No sooner had I...

    Quote Originally Posted by ScarlettBegoni View Post
    Now I'm a little bit confused... The meaning is like this:
    I didn't go home(where I saw the picture) before I realized what had been wrong(it means it was in the past).

    Am I right? :D
    No. At the museum, I knew there was something wrong but I couldn't work out what it was. When I arrived home, I looked at a picture of an exhibit in the museum and discovered that they didn't look the same. Then I knew what had been wrong at the museum.
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    Default Re: No sooner had I...

    Thank you.
    I thought it is something like comparation, because of than. Can I use there then? It would make a bigger sense for me:D

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    Default Re: No sooner had I...

    Quote Originally Posted by ScarlettBegoni View Post
    Thank you.
    I thought it is something like comparation, because of than. Can I use there then? It would make a bigger sense for me:D
    I don't understand what you are asking. Please post the sentence you want to use and we can tell you whether it's correct or not.
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  10. #10
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    Default Re: No sooner had I...

    When I was in London, I remember, one day I felt really strange. The second day of my visit I was only shopping. But although I love shopping and I'm addicted to it, it didn't make me happier or more satisfied. I knew something was wrong or that I forgot something. When I ended my shopping tour, I went to the hotel where I was living by tube. No sooner had I arrived than I noticed what was wrong and why I had had my strange feelings. At the hotel, there was a huge mess in the corridor where my room was. I saw wet carpets. I suspected something... When I opened the door of my room, I saw a few people drying the floor. I hadn't stopped the water!

    Is this correct, please? :)

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