had elected to

[rainous]

He had come to it as part of an exchange program with the New Statesman, a British publication,
and had elected to remain in the wonderful and wild New York City of the late disco era.

Hi,

I first thought it had to be "been elected" but I've found a bunch of "had elected" so I guess it's a correct usage.

Would you tell me what the difference is between the two?

Thanks

[bhaisahab]

He had come to it as part of an exchange program with the New Statesman, a British publication,
and had elected to remain in the wonderful and wild New York City of the late disco era.

Hi,

I first thought it had to be "been elected" but I've found a bunch of "had elected" so I guess it's a correct usage.

Would you tell me what the difference is between the two?

Thanks

"He had elected to..." means he had chosen to. "He had been elected" means he had been chosen by others.

[emsr2d2]

He had come to it as part of an exchange program with the New Statesman, a British publication,
and had elected to remain in the wonderful and wild New York City of the late disco era.

Hi,

I first thought it had to be "been elected" but I've found a bunch of "had elected" so I guess it's a correct usage.

Would you tell me what the difference is between the two?

Thanks

In this case, it's just another way of saying that he chose to remain. He had several choices and he chose to remain in New York City. An election is effectively a choice of candidates. You elect someone when you vote. When you make a decision between several choices you can say that you "elected to ..."

I could have gone to Oxford University or to Harvard but I elected to give up studying and get a job!
I was offered a place at several universities including Oxford, Harvard and Cambridge, but I elected to go to Southampton Uni.