had been dead vs. had died

[spoon]

Dear teachers,

Please look at this excerpt.

Robert was going steady with Susan and was thinking of marrying her.
He wanted to know what kinds of girls her sisters were, what her father was like, and how long her mother __________.


The answer written on my book said is " had been dead".
But how about "had died" in the blank?

I'd like an explanation about this.

Thanks in advance.
Spoon

[Tdol]

You can't use 'had died' here, because 'how long' refers to the time period since her death, not the act of dying- state not action. You could say 'how long ago she had died'.

[spoon]

Thanks so much!

It's a cristal clear answer!

Always thank you~

Spoon

[Dingal2000]

Originally Posted by tdol

. You could say 'how long ago she had died'.

Could you not also say "has been dead" ???

[Tdol]

In the original you could, but you couldn't say 'how long ago she has been dead'.