[Grammar] I felt really tired when I took the train to work yesterday

Status
Not open for further replies.

englishhobby

Key Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Russian Federation
Current Location
Russian Federation
I am struggling with the use of the past perfect tense. I know that sometimes you can use the past perfect only once as the story goes and then, when it's clear for the reader that the events had been happening before some time in the past, you can switch to the past simple even though you mean the earlier events (if you know what I mean). So once you have indicated that the action HAD HAPPENED, you can go on talking about that earlier action using the past simple, not necessarily the past perfect. (I have read about it in different grammar comments at different times in my life)

With that in mind, could you please tell me if it's possible to exchange the past perfect form of the verb go (in bold) in the following passage for the past simple form?

I felt really tired when I took the train to work yesterday because Sarah and I had been to a party the evening before. We hadn’t gone to bed until after one. I hadn’t been on the train long when I had a bit of a shock. I suddenly realised that I had left my wallet at home. Then I began to wonder. Had I left it in the office the day before? I just couldn’t remember. I wanted to go back to bed. I felt awful.
(The passage is from Grammar Practice Intermediate by Elaine Warker and Steve Elsworth)
 
Last edited:

GoesStation

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Joined
Dec 22, 2015
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I think the past simple "didn't go" is possible there.
 

andrewg927

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2017
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I think "we didn't go to bed until after one" sounds better.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top