Once

Question

Is there a difference between these 2 sentences: Once they had finished ,they were ready to continue.(past perfect) Once they finished they were able to continue.(past simple)

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

I don't see one.  No need for the past perfect: 'finished' is self-explanatory.

Anonymous · Answer

When I read those two sentences, I got two different understandings;

1.

allthewayanimeOnce they had finished ,they were ready to continue.(past perfect)

It implies that you are speaking about a point of time in the past when "they" were finished or done with the first one and then they were about to begin doing the next one.

Using past perfect emphasizes that "they had finished" happened first, and then "they were ready to continue" happened later.

2.

allthewayanimeOnce they finished they were able to continue.(past simple)

It implies that you are speaking about a point of time in the past when "they" were not done doing the first one. If "they" were done with the first one, they would then do the next one.

Using past simple gives an understanding that both was going to happen in (about) the same time.

It is like "Once they finish, they will be able to continue."

They are not done yet, but once they are done, they can continue.

That's just my opinion, I might be wrong though.

Allthewayanime · Answer

Thank you for replying.

Once

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬