Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[syoshioka99]

His mother got angry because he had broken her vase. The vase (had been/ was) filled with the water.

Which is correct? I think "was" will be, but can't tell why...satoru
:o :( :D :shock: 8) :lol:

[Anuradha Chepur]

Hi,

I am tempted to answer this long post of yours which you might have probably forgotten.

Both are acceptable. 'was filled' is simple past and 'had been filled' is past perfect. When simple past can do the job, past perfect gets redundant and sounds unnatural, which is why you felt 'had been....' is incorrect.

[Kristea]

Just my 2 cents...

"Had been" for me better represents the idea that the vase was once full but now it isn't. (In this case, it had been full of water before it was broken.)

"Was" doesn't do it. Technically works, but given the larger context, "had been" is what I would say, hear, and teach.

Additionally, the first sentence in the pair has the word "had" in it. That in a testing situation would be a trigger the answer "had been." On a TOEFL test for example, the correct answer would be "had been."

- Kristea
_________________
"That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much." R.L. Stevenson

[Anuradha Chepur]

Logically, 'was filled' too represents that the vase was once full , but now it isn't. In fact your paraphrase uses the word 'was'.

If we try to put it in one sentence, we can demonstrate that 'was filled' sounds more natural than 'had been filled' :

His mother got angry because he had broken her vase, which (had been/ was) filled with the water.

Think about it.

[Kristea]

I don't agree with your assessment, and you don't agree with mine. English is far more layered than causal observers notice, as we both know.

Think about it - Kristea
_________________
"That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much." R.L. Stevenson