His vision was/had been restored

[99bottles]

His vision was/had been fully restored.

Context: A hitherto blind person realizes he can see. If I use the simple past, is it confusing? Does it make it sound like his vision was in the process of being restored? Should I use the past perfect to avoid confusion?

 

[teechar]

Context: A hitherto blind person realizes he can see.

What do you mean by that? Did he regain his vision spontaneously?

 

[jutfrank]

I don't understand your question. There's no confusion, and there's no sense of process.

The difference between your two sentences is a difference in aspect. These are two different narrative tenses, so which one you choose depends on the narrative context.

 

[99bottles]

What do you mean by that? Did he regain his vision spontaneously?

Let's say he crossed a magic portal and, when he found himself on the other side, his vision was/had been restored. Which do I choose?

 

[Tdol]

Are you talking about his restored sight in the past or related to now?

 

[99bottles]

Are you talking about his restored sight in the past or related to now?

Let's say I write something like this: He crossed the portal. The next moment, he found himself in (describing a place). His vision was/had been fully restored.

 

[Yankee]

I would use "had been" in that context.

 

[Tarheel]

You could, of course, say that he could see again. Also, I might want to know how he got his vision back in any case, but if you say his vision had been restored I'm going to want to know who or what restored it. (I guess that comes next.)

 

[5jj]

Let's say I write something like this: He crossed the portal. The next moment, he found himself in (describing a place). His vision was/had been fully restored.

As he crossed the portal, his vision was restored.
When he arrived in ..., his vision had been restored.

 

[jutfrank]

I think I now understand what you mean when you mention a 'process' in post #1. You're thinking of 'restored' as an adjective describing a state of restoration. Is that right?

His vision was restored.

This is fine if you're using restored as an adjective. It means something like 'His vision was in a state of having been restored.'

 

[Tdol]

I would use the past perfect more naturally than the adjective.