Sequence of tenses and more...

[tangelatm]

Hi!
Could you tell me, please, whether the following underlined verbs are correct in terms of tense:"The spider was merely looking over our paper to see which merchant is not advertising, so that he can go to that store..."
2. Could I avoid repetition in a title by saying:"Good luck or bad" (dropping the second "luck"?)
3.Does anybody know what is the current corresponding word for "dressing room" in today's school?
Thanks,
Angela

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by tangelatm

Hi!
Could you tell me, please, whether the following underlined verbs are correct in terms of tense:"The spider was merely looking over our paper to see which merchant is not advertising, so that he can go to that store..."
2. Could I avoid repetition in a title by saying:"Good luck or bad" (dropping the second "luck"?)
3.Does anybody know what is the current corresponding word for "dressing room" in today's school?
Thanks,
Angela

The tenses bother me. The initial tense is past progressive. It refers to a situation that continued for a while in the past but has been concluded by the present time. Because of that, I would use "was not advertising" and "could go to the store", both of which are in the past tense. I assume that the spider's interest in all of this was not being stepped on in the store.

Yes, you can drop the second luck if the context is clear. We do this often with a similar phrase: In good times or in bad.

If the room is a separate room with lockers, it can be called a locker room.
If it is an adjoining room with hooks for clothes, it can be called a cloak room or a coat room.