[Grammar] began/had begun

[emsr2d2]

It also depends on the verb and other time markers.


By 1994, I was avoiding all meat and poultry.
By 1994, I had begun avoiding all meat and poultry.
By 1996, I had been avoiding meat for two years.
By 1998, I was completely vegetarian.
By 2014, I had been vegetarian for 16 years.

 

[emsr2d2]

Ah! That explains your appearance the last time I saw you. Sorry I called the ambulance. I hadn't realised it was self-inflicted.

Feel free to call them again. I'm now vegan! ;-)

 

[LaMelange]

Ah! That explains your appearance the last time I saw you. Sorry I called the ambulance. I hadn't realised it was self-inflicted.

Would "I didn't realise it was self-inflicted" be wrong here?

 

[Tdol]

Feel free to call them again. I'm now vegan! ;-)

Feeble- try raw vegan. I did that for six months once to lose weight. It did work, but I was glad to get back to eating flesh. :up:

 

[Matthew Wai]

Would "I didn't realise it was self-inflicted" be wrong here?

I think the context has made it clear that 'didn't realise' must have happened before 'called the ambulance'.