Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[SUBLIME]

Hello teachers!

Could you tell me about the difference between the next two sentences?

(1)He told me that his girlfriend won the first prize in the music competition again.
(2)He told me that his girlfriend had won the first prize in the music competition again.

[mescalero]

SUBLIME

(1)He told me that his girlfriend won the first prize in the music competition again.

This sentence is acceptable, but perhaps not 100% grammatically correct.

(2)He told me that his girlfriend had won the first prize in the music competition again.

This sentence is bette; it correctly indicates that his girlfriend won the first prize prior to his telling me and that the winning and the telling both took place in the past.

Best,
_________________
- Mike

Open English World
http://www.openenglishworld.com

[KazAV]

You need to check the rules on how verb tenses change in reported speech, which this is. You are reporting what someone told you.

[SUBLIME]

Dear KazAV and mescalero,

Thank you for your advice. I appreciated it.

Regards,
SUBLIME