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[SANDY333]

Hello Teachers,
Would you please help me with some questionaires from "Grammar in use"?

Put the verbs into the most suitable form, past continuous(I was doing), past perfect(I had done), or past perfect continous(I had been doing).

1. When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table with their mouths full. They_______(eat)

Answer: They were eating.
Could it be possible to say "They had been eating" instead?

2. When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table and talking. Their mouths were empty, but their stomachs were full. They__________(eat)


Answer: They had been eating.

I think I understand Why Q1's answer is "They were eating" but not why Q2's answer is "They had been eating". How about "They had eaten"? What are the differences in meaning?


Best regards,
Sandy

[Mister Micawber]

.
1-- Yes, their mouths are still full, so the past perfect is inappropriate.
2-- I agree that they had eaten is also possible-- perhaps even preferable, to my mind. The context has been set up, however, with the phrase, their mouths were empty but their stomachs were full, and this creates an immediacy that presumably calls for the continuous form.

The continuous is often used instead of the simple to stress immediacy, activity, or increased interest/concern by the speaker.

They had eaten when I arrived = it could have been hours before
They had been eating when I arrived = they stopped just as/before I entered.

She was eating while I was washing the dishes = the two simultaneous activities are emphasized.
She ate while I washed dishes = a simpler statement of two completed acts.

Will you have wine with your dinner? = a simple inquiry
Will you be having wine with your dinner? = the waiter expresses courteous 'interest'.
.
_________________
"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
...............
Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's

[SANDY333]

I can't thank you enough.

Best regards
Sandy