By the time I joined AMX I had started feeling unwell.

[tufguy]

1) By the time I joined AMX I had started feeling unwell.

Please check my sentence.

 

[emsr2d2]

1) By the time I joined AMX, I had started feeling unwell.

Please check my sentence.

Note the addition of a comma above. You can also say "By the time I joined AMX, I was already [feeling] unwell."

Bear in mind that I don't know what "AMX" is so I can't say if the sentence makes sense.

 

[tufguy]

Note the addition of a comma above. You can also say "By the time I joined AMX, I was already [feeling] unwell."

Bear in mind that I don't know what "AMX" is so I can't say if the sentence makes sense.

It is a company's name.

 

[emsr2d2]

I had worked that out for myself! As long as the company has some relevance to your feeling unwell, it's OK.

 

[tufguy]

I had worked that out for myself! As long as the company has some relevance to your feeling unwell, it's OK.

Sorry for this post but can I also say "By the time I heard his accent I had know he was an American"?

 

[emsr2d2]

Sorry for this post but can I also say "By the time I heard his accent I had know he was an American"?

No. "By the time I heard his accent, I already knew he was American".

 

[tufguy]

No. "By the time I heard his accent, I already knew he was American".

Why can't we use "Present perfect" here? In the previous sentence it was acceptable. What is the reason behind this? What is the proper way of using this structure?

 

[Tdol]

If you use the [strike]present[/strike] past perfect, it implies that you knew before you heard his accent. It also suggests that you then stopped knowing that he was American.

 

[Matthew Wai]

'By' in 'by the time' means 'before or not later than' according to definition #8 at https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/by.

I think 'When' can be used instead of 'By the time' there.

 

[tufguy]

'By' in 'by the time' means 'before or not later than' according to definition #8 at https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/by.

I think 'When' can be used instead of 'By the time' there.

Okay, thank you but let me tell you one about an incident.

I got a call from a consultant. He wanted me to come for an interview but I was a bit reluctant.

1) By the time we finished talking he had agreed me to come for an interview.

2) By the time I finished conversation with him I had understood that I had been persuaded by him to come for an interview by him.

Are these correct?

 

[emsr2d2]

Okay, thank you, but let me tell you one about an incident.

I got a call from a consultant. He wanted me to come for an interview but I was a bit reluctant.

1) By the time we finished talking, he had agreed to me/my [STRIKE]to come[/STRIKE] coming for an interview.

2) By the time I finished conversation with him I had understood that I had been persuaded by him to come for an interview by him. So unnatural and impossible that I'm not even going to start trying to correct it. No one would say anything like this.

Are these correct?

See above.

 

[Matthew Wai]

2) By the time I finished conversation with him I had understood that I had been persuaded by him to come for an interview by him.

After talking with him, I agreed to go there to be interviewed by him.

 

[Tdol]

I think 'When' can be used instead of 'By the time' there.

I prefer when.

 

[GoesStation]

After talking with him, I agreed to go there to be interviewed by him.

Still a very unlikely utterance, Matthew.

 

[Skrej]

Sorry for this post but can I also say "By the time I heard his accent I had know he was an American"?

Why can't we use "Present perfect" here? In the previous sentence it was acceptable. What is the reason behind this? What is the proper way of using this structure?

To begin with, "had know' isn't present perfect or even past perfect. The perfect tenses require the past participle (known), plus either the present or past tense of the auxiliary verb 'have'.

The choice between present and past perfect is related to the sequence of events in time.

These pages have some good explanations of the present perfect and past perfect usage, along with useful timeline diagrams. If you read through them, I think you'll find the answer to your second question above.

 

[tufguy]

See above.

Is it incorrect to say "I agreed him to come to my home"? Do I need to say "I agreed to his coming to my home"?

Is it incorrect to say "We agree someone to do something"?