past perfect vs past simple

[muhammadhn]

Which one of the following sentences is grammatically correct? And please provide an explanation for your answer

''When we met he was...|actually, entirely lovely''
''When we met he had been...|actually, entirely lovely''

 

[Rover_KE]

Neither is correct.

The symbol "|" is not a recognised punctuation mark and full stops are missing.

The past simple is correct.

Rover

 

[5jj]

The past simple is correct.

I agree, but ''When we met he was..., actually, entirely lovely'' is not natural English. We do not refer to people as being entirely lovely.