tense question

By November 1914 the government ---- to acknowledge that its policy ----.

A) is forced / has failed
B) had been forced / failed
C) was forced / has failed
D) would have been forced / failed
E) was forced / had failed

Hello Curious

Did you want to suggest an answer yourself first?

MrP

Hi, MrP,
I think E is correct but I wonder whether the others, especially B, are correct or not.

And can we use "did you want..." to mean "do you want...?" ?

Hello Curious

Yes, E is correct. For B to be correct, it would have to be "had been forced"/"had failed".

A is correct if you're using the "historic present". This is a special use of the present tense, and gives a sense of immediacy to a narrative.

"Did you want...?" is a more polite way of saying "do you want...?", e.g.

1. Did you want another drink?
2. Did you want to go and see a film tonight?

The past tense distances the "wanting" from the addressee.

See you,
MrP

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrPedantic

"Did you want...?" is a more polite way of saying "do you want...?", e.g.
1. Did you want another drink?
2. Did you want to go and see a film tonight?
The past tense distances the "wanting" from the addressee.
See you,
MrP

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Thank you, MrP. "I didn't know this" or should I say "I haven't known this."?

Hello Curious

You can say "I didn't know this"; but "I didn't know that" is probably more usual.

See you,
MrP

Thank you, MrP. Thank you ver much indeed.