[Grammar] "By the time" and past tenses

[naweewra]

Hello,

I'm a bit confused with the use of "by the time" with Past Tenses. Is the following sentence correct?

By the time he realised he had left his passport at home, he had already arrived at the airport.

Thank you.

Nawee

 

[philo2009]

Yes!

 

[naweewra]

Thank you for your prompt reply, Philo.

Just one more sentence to make sure I really get this.

He had already reached the airport when he realised he had forgotten his passport at home.

Thank you.

 

[5jj]

He had already reached the airport when he realised he had forgotten his passport at home.

The tenses are fine, but either delete 'at home' or change 'forgotten' to 'left'.

 

[Rover_KE]

The tenses are fine, but either delete 'at home' or change 'forgotten' to 'left'.

I agree entirely, but my guess is that when our American friends wake up later they'll tell us that they consider '...he had forgotten his passport at home' to be just fine.

 

[naweewra]

To the Brits out there (and maybe Americans too, I don't know), why is "... he had forgotten his passport at home" NOT fine?

Is it because "forget" should not be used with adverbial phrases?

I'm a non-native here, so I'd really like to know.

Thank you.

Nawee