Multiple choice

Status
Not open for further replies.

san2612

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2009
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
Vietnamese
Home Country
Vietnam
Current Location
Vietnam
1. London _________ a lot since we first _________ here
A had changed/came
B changed/ came

C changed/ had come
D had changed/ had come

It's a strange question to me. I don't know what to choose and why.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
1. London _________ a lot since we first _________ here
A had changed/came
B changed/ came
C changed/ had come
D had changed/ had come

It's a strange question to me. I don't know what to choose and why.

Why do you think it's a strange question? Have a go first - tell us which you think is correct and why and then we'll comment!
 

san2612

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2009
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
Vietnamese
Home Country
Vietnam
Current Location
Vietnam
I think it's "has changed-came" but no answer's like it
 
Last edited:

riquecohen

VIP Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
Brazil
I think it's "has changed-came" but no answer's like it
That would be my answer. None of those originally given seems correct.
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
It's "London had changed since we first came here". I think.

It seems strange, because the changing took place after the first coming. which seems to go against what we normally learn about the past perfect.

However, try this:

When we came here in 1999, London had changed (since our first visit in 1974).
London had changed since our first visit.
London had changed since we first came here
 

riquecohen

VIP Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
Brazil
It's "London had changed since we first came here". I think.

It seems strange, because the changing took place after the first coming. which seems to go against what we normally learn about the past perfect.

However, try this:

When we came here in 1999, London had changed (since our first visit in 1974).
London had changed since our first visit.
London had changed since we first came here
All these possibilities make sense, given the antecedent action. My first reaction, though, was the same as san2612's. As you've frequently said, "What's the context?":)
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
All these possibilities make sense, given the antecedent action. My first reaction, though, was the same as san2612's. As you've frequently said, "What's the context?":)
My first reaction was the same. Then I wondered if I could dream up a context.

Actually, once you have seen it, it's not so weird, but I do think it's a little unfair, without more context, for a test question. If fairly experienced native speakers have problems with it, then why should we expect a learner to be able to deal with it?
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
It's the kind of thing that gets into tests if they're written by a single person and not thoroughly checked and tested- it's OK, but not a very good question. Example crop up on the tests on the site where someone queries a question and when I look at it, I shudder. ;-)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top