Better than I (had) expected?

[Ashraful Haque]

Today after I finished my food a waiter came up to me and asked how the food was. I said:
- It was a little better than I had expected.

I wonder why I said that instead of 'better than I expected.' Do both mean the same thing?

 

[emsr2d2]

If you don't know why you said it, why would we know?

 

[GoesStation]

I don't know why you used the past perfect. It wasn't right, but the server would have no problem understanding you.

It was wrong to use the past perfect because your time frame was in the present, not the past. You'd use the past perfect if you were relating the story today: I ate at that restaurant last year. I remember that I told the waiter the food was better than I'd expected. I realized later that I was really damning the place with faint praise!*

*(You might want to look up the expression "damn with faint praise" if you're not familiar with it.)

 

[Tdol]

I'd use the past simple there.

 

[Tarheel]

Perhaps:

What happened? Did they hire a new cook? The food is better than I expected.
;-)

 

[Ashraful Haque]

I don't know why you used the past perfect. It wasn't right, but the server would have no problem understanding you.

It was wrong to use the past perfect because your time frame was in the present, not the past. You'd use the past perfect if you were relating the story today: I ate at that restaurant last year. I remember that I told the waiter the food was better than I'd expected. I realized later that I was really damning the place with faint praise!*

*(You might want to look up the expression "damn with faint praise" if you're not familiar with it.)

I think I get it now. Here are two scenarios:
Just finished eating....
Waiter: How was the food sir?
Me: It was better than I expected.

Later I meet a friend.....
Friend: Where did you go with her?
Me: At a Chinese restaurant.
Friend: How was the food?
Me: It was a little better than I had expected.

Please let me know if I understand it.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Today after I finished my food a waiter came up to me and asked how the food was. I said:
- It was a little better than I had expected.

I wonder why I said that instead of 'better than I expected.' Do both mean the same thing?

Goes makes a good point, but I doubt it really matters. I'm a stickler on some things, but not on this kind of verb choice. Who's to say how far in the past something has to be to earn a had? To me, they mean exactly the same thing. It was better than you expected, and it was better than you had expected.

Either way, you were pleasantly surprised.

Whether it was a minute ago or a year ago, I like it better without had because it's more concise.

That's just this boy's opinion, of course, and I'm not a teacher.

And yes, a little means you still weren't impressed. At all.

 

[Tarheel]

I think I get it now. Here are two scenarios:
Just finished eating....
Waiter: How was the food sir?
Me: It was better than I expected.

Later I meet a friend.....
Friend: Where did you go with her?
Me: We went to a Chinese restaurant.
Friend: How was the food?
Me: It was a little better than I had expected.

Anybody would wonder why you eat at that restaurant.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

Anybody would wonder why you eat at that restaurant.

I didn't get why you marked 'at a Chinese restaurant' wrong. :-?

 

[Ashraful Haque]

Goes makes a good point, but I doubt it really matters. I'm a stickler on some things, but not on this kind of verb choice. Who's to say how far in the past something has to be to earn a had? To to me, they mean exactly the same thing. It was better than you expected, and it was better than you had expected.

Either way, you were pleasantly surprised.

Whether it was a minute ago or a year ago, I like it better without had because it's more concise.

That's just this boy's opinion, of course, and I'm not a teacher.

And yes, a little means you still weren't impressed. At all.

I see. So even if you were talking about something that happened in the past you'd say 'better than expected.' For example:
A: I told you not to fly economy. How was the flight?
B: Not gonna lie. It was better than I expected.

 

[emsr2d2]

I didn't get why you marked 'at a Chinese restaurant' wrong. :-?

Because it's not an appropriate answer to "Where did you go with her?" The answer should be "[I went] to a Chinese restaurant [with her]". You can't say "[I went] at a Chinese restaurant [with her]".

"At a Chinese restaurant" would be the answer to "Where did you eat?"

 

[GoesStation]

So even if you were talking about something that happened in the past you'd say 'better than expected.' For example:
A: I told you not to fly economy. How was the flight?
B: Not gonna lie. It was better than I expected.

That's the correct tense for that dialog. If you were telling someone about the conversation later, you'd say "I said it was better than I'd expected."

 

[Tarheel]

I don't understand why you marked 'at a Chinese restaurant' wrong. :-?

I didn't mark it wrong. I changed it. Why? The answer didn't fit the question.

Question: Where did you take her?
Answer: A Chinese restaurant.

Question: Where did you eat?
Answer: At a Chinese restaurant.

Or:

We ate at a Chinese restaurant.

Does that help?

 

[Ashraful Haque]

Because it's not an appropriate answer to "Where did you go with her?" The answer should be "[I went] to a Chinese restaurant [with her]". You can't say "[I went] at a Chinese restaurant [with her]".

"At a Chinese restaurant" would be the answer to "Where did you eat?"

Oh I see. Thanks for the correction.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

I didn't mark it wrong. I changed it. Why? The answer didn't fit the question.

Question: Where did you take her?
Answer: A Chinese restaurant.

Question: Where did you eat?
Answer: At a Chinese restaurant.

Or:

We ate at a Chinese restaurant.

Does that help?

Thank you for the correction. But doesn't 'didn't get something' mean you didn't understand it?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

. . . But doesn't 'didn't get something' mean you didn't understand it?

In this context, yes, it does.

 

[Tarheel]

Thank you for the correction. But doesn't 'didn't get something' mean you didn't understand it?

You used past tense (didn't get), but clearly your confusion was in the present (don't get). Now that things have been cleared up that's in the past, and you can say I get it.

 

[Phaedrus]

Today after I finished my food a waiter came up to me and asked how the food was. I said:
- It was a little better than I had expected.

I wonder why I said that instead of 'better than I expected.' Do both mean the same thing?

The past perfect is correct there, and I prefer it to the past simple. "Than I had expected" is short for "than I had expected it would be." You experienced the food as being a certain way (Way1) at Time1. At Time0 (before Time1), you had expected that the food would be a certain way (Way0). Way1 at Time1 was better than Way0 at Time0. The past perfect locates "Way0 at Time0" (the way you expected the food to be at the time of expectation) before "Way1 at Time1" (the way you experienced it as being).

 

[Ashraful Haque]

You used past tense (didn't get), but clearly your confusion was in the present (don't get). Now that things have been cleared up that's in the past, and you can say I get it.

No wonder why you or someone else marked this very mistake once before. I should've written "I don't get why you marked 'at a Chinese restaurant' wrong?"

 

[GoesStation]

Should I [STRIKE]should've[/STRIKE] have written "I don't get why you marked 'at a Chinese restaurant' wrong?"

Yes.