It's a pity she had to pull out of the competition.

[Alimdul]

Hi!
Which tense is correct in this situation? And could you explain your choice please?
"It's a pity she had to pull out of the competition." "Yes, especially since she ____ such excellent progress."
a) made
b) had been making
Thank you.

 

[tedmc]

Re: Corrrect Tense

The past perfect continuous is appropriate. It implies that she had been performing well right up to the time she withdrew from the competition. The past tense implies an unspecified period in the past during which she did well, which is less appropriate in the context.

 

[Rover_KE]

Alimdul, please note that I have changed your thread title.

Extract from the Posting Guidelines:

'Thread titles should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.'

 

[emsr2d2]

Of the two options given, only b) works. She had been making good progress (the continuous works there) right up to the point where she had to withdraw.

Another possible answer would be "had made" but that's not an option.

 

[Alimdul]

Alimdul, please note that I have changed your thread title.

Extract from the Posting Guidelines:

'Thread titles should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.'

Thank you. I'll take it into consideration next time.

 

[Alimdul]

Does it mean that since in this case relate to notion of reason?

 

[Rover_KE]

Yes.

 

[teechar]

Does [STRIKE]it mean that[/STRIKE] "since" in this case relate to the notion of reason?

Yes, here it's causal, not temporal.