Using Before

by **shadangi** Sun Jul 10, 2011 5:12 pm

According to MGMAT SC,
The word before and after indicate the sequence of events clearly and emphatically enough to make the use of Past Perfect unnecessary.
eg. RIGHT: Laura LOCKED the deadbolt before she LEFT for work.

However, According to Aristotle SC,
RIGHT: Before John won the lottery, he had been a poor locksmith.
WRONG: Before John won the lottery, he was a poor locksmith.
also,
RIGHT: John had traveled to many different countries before he decided to settle down in New Zealand

I am now confused. What is the right usage? Should I use past perfect/past perfect continuous OR simple past when the sentence already has an emphatic preposition, such as before, indicating time previous to another past event?

Can anybody please help me understand?

by **jnelson0612** Sat Jul 30, 2011 12:59 am

Take a look at this thread: use-of-before-and-after-t12315.html

Using Before

Using Before

Re: Using Before