It was the longest we'd ever gone without speaking.

[it-is-niaz]

(Phone rings)
CARRIE (over machine): It is Carrie, leave me a message.
MIRANDA (over machine): Carrie, it is me. Please pick up.

Narrator(Carrie): Three days of "I'm sorry" calls and e-mails and flowers and I still wasn't ready. It was the longest we'd ever gone without speaking.


Movie: Sex and the City

Can the following be correct too?

It was the longest we went without speaking.
It was the longest we were going without speaking.

 

[Tarheel]

They would not work in that context because they both mean something different from the original. (Whether they would work in a different context would depend on the context.)

 

[it-is-niaz]

Is the following correct?This means that we are still not talking, right?

It is the longest (time/period) we have ever gone without speaking.

 

[Tarheel]

Yes.

---- ------ --------- ----------- ------------

It is the longest we have ever gone without speaking (to each other).

-------- -------------- ------------- -------------------- ------ ---------

:up:

 

[emsr2d2]

Is the following correct? This means that we are still not talking, ...

Remember to leave a space after a question mark.

 

[teechar]

It was the longest we were going without speaking.

That's unnatural. I can't see it working in any context.

 

[it-is-niaz]

It is the longest we have ever gone without speaking (to each other).

:up:

Is the use of "time or period" wrong here?

It is the longest (time/period) we have ever gone without speaking.

 

[jutfrank]

Can the following be correct too?

It was the longest we went without speaking.
It was the longest we were going without speaking.

Not in this context, no.

Carrie is narrating a story set in the past, so she uses the past perfect as a narrative tense to provide background information.

As far as I know, this kind of narrative is characteristic of Sex and the City.

 

[jutfrank]

Yes.
It is the longest we have ever gone without speaking (to each other).

No, this wouldn't work in this context. The use of present perfect here does not fit in with the narrative context and style of Sex and the City.

 

[Tarheel]

:?:

 

[Tarheel]

Is the use of "time or period" wrong here?

It is the longest (time/period) we have ever gone without speaking.

I suppose you could use "time" there.

 

[Tdol]

Is the use of "time or period" wrong here?

It is the longest (time/period) we have ever gone without speaking.

Time is OK, but you'd need more context to make period work.

 

[it-is-niaz]

No, this wouldn't work in this context. The use of present perfect here does not fit in with the narrative context and style of Sex and the City.

Thank you Jutfrank. Actually is the example that I said by myself. I wasn't going to fit it in the original context. I just wanted to know if the following sentence is OK for example when someone has broken up for 3 months and I tell the following to one of my friends when she is asking about my relationship.

It is the longest we have ever gone without speaking (to each other).

 

[Tarheel]

Two things.

1. Do you mean that you made that up yourself?
2. Yes, you could say that.(You don't need to say the part in parentheses.)

 

[Tarheel]

Niaz, you need to write shorter sentences.