Dear Professor،
Suppose I have written this sentence today 9 August, 2023:
She advised that you were travelling abroad and would return end-July.
Is "were travelling" the correct tense ? Or must I say " had been travelling" ? Why?
Thanks for your guidance!
Best regards,
Antoine Ghannoum
Correct tense
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toedrika
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Re: Correct tense
If rephrased as follows:
She advised that you were travelling abroad and would return at the end of July.
the sentence would be grammatically possible.
Naturally, if you were referring to July of this year (as opposed to that of, say, 2024), 'had been travelling' would be appropriate.
(However, in that case, 'would return' would be rather confusing, since the return has presumably already occurred. Thus you would need to say: "returned at the end of July".)
She advised that you were travelling abroad and would return at the end of July.
the sentence would be grammatically possible.
Naturally, if you were referring to July of this year (as opposed to that of, say, 2024), 'had been travelling' would be appropriate.
(However, in that case, 'would return' would be rather confusing, since the return has presumably already occurred. Thus you would need to say: "returned at the end of July".)