He was demoted to constable.

[tufguy]

"He used to be the inspector but he now he has been demoted to constable."

Please check.

 

[emsr2d2]

You have repeated the word "he". Remove the first one.

 

[Boris Tatarenko]

He had been demoted from inspector to constable.

Is it possible to use the past perfect when there is "now"?

P.S

I like how tufguy wrote "was demoted" in the title but in the topic he went for "has been demoted". :-D

 

[GoesStation]

Is it possible to use the past perfect when there is "now"?

P.S

I like how tufguy wrote "was demoted" in the title but in the topic he went for "has been demoted". :-D

You can write He had now been demoted as part of a narrative.

 

[Boris Tatarenko]

You can write He had now been demoted as part of a narrative.

Doesn't the past perfect imply that he had been demoted before he worked as an inspector? I mean almost all books claim that the past perfect shows us that one action precedes another. According to this kind of recommendation people might well think that "the past perfect" part was earlier. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?

 

[GoesStation]

Doesn't the past perfect imply that he had been demoted before he worked as an inspector? I mean almost all books claim that the past perfect shows us that one action precedes another. According to this kind of recommendation people might well think that "the past perfect" part was earlier. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?

The past perfect does work as described. There's still room for now though:

The officer walked down the street, dejected. His early career had been marked by a meteoric rise through the ranks; his next decade was one of stagnation and decline. He had now been demoted to constable, and dismissal from the force loomed as the logical next step.

 

[teechar]

"He used to be the inspector but he now he has been demoted to constable."

Please check.

I would simply say:

He used to be an inspector, but he has since been demoted to constable.

or
He used to be an inspector, but then he got/was demoted to constable.

 

[tufguy]

Correction for post# 1.

"He used to be the inspector but now he has been demoted to constable."

 

[tufguy]

The past perfect does work as described. There's still room for now though:

The officer walked down the street, dejected. His early career had been marked by a meteoric rise through the ranks; his next decade was one of stagnation and decline. He had now been demoted to constable, and dismissal from the force loomed as the logical next step.

What does "meteoric" mean here?

 

[tufguy]

Have you tried looking the word up in a couple of dictionaries at www.onelook.com?

OK got it.