H, みほ
hi! everyone! I have a question. This sentence is from a book titled "The Midnight Library": "She'd been the fastest fourteen-year-old girl in the country at breakstroke." I have learned that we can't say "I have been the fastest girl in the country when I was fourteen years old." because I am not fourteen years old anymore. Besides, "I have drunk two cups of milk for breakfast." is also wrong if it's already evening. is this right? Then, what do you think is the reason the first sentence is acceptable?
14 Thg 11 2021 02:35
Câu trả lời · 5
1
Hi, I think the mistake you made is that "She'd been" = She had been So she WAS/HAD BEEN the fastest 14-year old.
14 tháng 11 năm 2021
I think part of your confusion is because you have not compared 'like-for-like'. The original sentence you quoted has an adjective: "fourteen-year-old"... - but in your example, you change this to an adverbial clause of time: "...when I was 14 years old." This makes a difference in the use of the past (or present) perfect tense. So the original sentence is fine, but you wouldn't say it like this: * She'd been the fastest girl in the country at breakstroke when she was fourteen years old.* (you would say "...was... was...") Equally, you could switch this sentence to the 'present perfect': e.g. (in a conversation...) a) I've heard of athletes who have achieved amazing things at a young age! b) Well, yes. Look at me!... I've been the fastest 14-year old breaststroke swimmer in the country. (= One of my achievements in the course of my life, so far) but not: * She's been the fastest girl in the country at breakstroke when she was fourteen years old.*
14 tháng 11 năm 2021
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