[General] What's different between 2 sentences ?

[duy065]

1. The workmen had spent all morning digging the trench, and by lunchtime they had finished it.
2. The workmen spent all morning digging the trench, and by lunchtime they finished it.

and please check my grammar in 2 sentences, and feel free to give suggestions, which make the sentence much more smooth.

 

[bhaisahab]

1. The workmen had spent all morning digging the trench, and by lunchtime they had finished it.
2. The workmen spent all morning digging the trench, and by lunchtime they finished it.

and please check my grammar in 2 sentences, and feel free to give suggestions, which make the sentence much more smooth.

#2 is much more natural, there is no need for the past perfect.

 

[5jj]

Some coursebooks, and even some grammars designed for students, give the impression that we need to use the past perfect if one past action precedes another. In fact, if the sequence of the actions is clear, we rarely need to use the past perfect.

 

[winnie22]

1. The workmen had spent all morning digging the trench, and by lunchtime they had finished it.
Here, you cannot use Past Perfect twice because Past Perfect is used to show that one of the actions occured previously. Second part of the sentence should have been in Past Simple. (The workmen had spent all morning digging the trench, and by the lunchtime they finished doing it.)
2. The workmen spent all morning digging the trench, and by lunchtime they finished it. This sentence is correct and smooth as you say

 

[5jj]

1. The workmen had spent all morning digging the trench, and by lunchtime they had finished it.
Here, you cannot use Past Perfect twice because Past Perfect is used to show that one of the actions occured previously. The [STRIKE]S[/STRIKE] second part of the sentence should have been in Past Simple. (The workmen had spent all morning digging the trench, and by the lunchtime they finished doing it.)

You can use the past perfect in both clauses. It just happens not to be necessary.

 

[winnie22]

Are you dedicated to correct me?

 

[5jj]

Are you dedicated to correcting me?

Only when it's necessary. All of us who post in this forum must expect to have our slips picked up. This ensures that, by the end of the thread, learners are reasonably confident that they have been given the correct answer.

 

[bhaisahab]

Are you dedicated to correct me?

This is a forum for learners of English, all of us who answer questions have a responsibility to those learners to teach them good English. It is the responsibility of moderators to point out and correct errors when we find them.

 

[winnie22]

Ok, but you almost always correct me degradingly.

 

[bhaisahab]

Ok, but you almost always correct me degradingly.

I'm sorry, but I don't accept that. None of us is in the business of "degrading" people.

 

[5jj]

The original question has been answered, so I am now closing this thread. Any off-topic questions can be dealt with by PM.