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Past Simple or Past Perfect? Thank you a lot in advance! :-)
The lady came to the Tower of London, aged 15. She (was? or had been?) proclaimed Queen by her father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberland, supported by her own father,
the Duke of Suffolk (this action had happened before she became imprisoned).
Should I put 'was' or 'had been' in the place where the brackets are? Please, explain your choice. :-) Thank you very much in advance!
the Duke of Suffolk (this action had happened before she became imprisoned).
Should I put 'was' or 'had been' in the place where the brackets are? Please, explain your choice. :-) Thank you very much in advance!
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As the others said, you should use past perfect passive (had been) because the order of events is:
1 She was proclaimed queen.
2 She came to the tower.
If you use simple past passive (was), readers will think the order of events is:
1 She came to the tower.
2 She was proclaimed queen.
Simple past is not incorrect grammar here, but it doesn't express the meaning you want.
It would also be possible to use simple past if you added some time markers to make it clear which event happened first. E.g.:
The lady came to the Tower of London, aged 15. BEFORE SHE ARRIVED, she was proclaimed Queen by her father-in-law...
Even in this example, you could still use "had been" instead of "was" and the meaning would be clear.
1 She was proclaimed queen.
2 She came to the tower.
If you use simple past passive (was), readers will think the order of events is:
1 She came to the tower.
2 She was proclaimed queen.
Simple past is not incorrect grammar here, but it doesn't express the meaning you want.
It would also be possible to use simple past if you added some time markers to make it clear which event happened first. E.g.:
The lady came to the Tower of London, aged 15. BEFORE SHE ARRIVED, she was proclaimed Queen by her father-in-law...
Even in this example, you could still use "had been" instead of "was" and the meaning would be clear.
The past perfect is the proper tense because “became queen” occurred prior to “came to the Tower.”
The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/pastperfect.html
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/simplepast.html
The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/pastperfect.html
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/simplepast.html
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