[Grammar] He was told vs. He had been told

[Lilyoftheorient]

Hi,

I used grammar check and it shows that the below sentences are all grammatically correct. Would an English teacher or expert please let me know when or how to use the tenses correctly. I’m a little confused.

#1 He still contacted her though he was told not to do it.


#2 He still contacted her though he had been told not to do it.

Lily

 

[tedmc]

Hi,

I used grammar check and it shows that the [STRIKE]below[/STRIKE] following sentences are all grammatically correct. Would an English teacher or expert please let me know when or how to use the tenses correctly. I’m a little confused.

#1 He still contacted her though he was told not to do it.

#2 He still contacted her though he had been told not to do it.

Lily

#1 implies that the person was told not to make the contact but doesn't say how many times.

#2 implies that the person was repeatedly told over a a period of time.

 

[tzfujimino]

#1 He still contacted her though he was told not to do it.
#2 He still contacted her though he had been told not to do it.

To see the difference clearly, let's try these:

#1-a
He still contacts her though he is told not to do it.

#2-a
He still contacts her though he was told not to do it.

#2-b
He still contacts her though he has been told not to do it.

If you change the verbs 'contacts' in these sentences to 'contacted', you'll get those in your first post.

I hope you'll understand what I mean.

 

[Lilyoftheorient]

Thanks so much for your explanations. It’s clear now.

 

[Tarheel]

The basic meaning is the same regardless. He did something he had been told not to do. (How many times he was told not to do it or how many times he did it are less clear.)

 

[emsr2d2]

"He still contacted her even though he had been told not to [do it]" is how I would phrase it. It's entirely possible he was only told once.

 

[tedmc]

It doesn't to me.

Okay, I got that mixed up with "had been telling".

 

[emsr2d2]

Okay, I got that mixed up with "had been telling"

If you misread "had been told" as "had been telling", you would have noticed that it resulted in a completely ungrammatical sentence.