z7655431
Member
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2016
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- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Chinese
- Home Country
- Taiwan
- Current Location
- Taiwan
In 1976, 60% of families “were” couples with children, but by 1996, this number “had fallen” to 51%.
Is this sentence correct? The past perfect tense is used to show the action which happened before another event, but in this sentence, the earlier event “In 1976, 60% of families were couples with children” takes the simple past tense, and the last event takes the past perfect tense.
Why?
I think it should be on the opposite-In 1976, 60% of families “had been” couples with children, but by 1996, this number “fell” to 51%.
Is this sentence correct? The past perfect tense is used to show the action which happened before another event, but in this sentence, the earlier event “In 1976, 60% of families were couples with children” takes the simple past tense, and the last event takes the past perfect tense.
Why?
I think it should be on the opposite-In 1976, 60% of families “had been” couples with children, but by 1996, this number “fell” to 51%.