Hello. Thank you for your answer.
Please help me with one more question.
Which is correct in the following context: "She was reading a book which was bought / had been bought in the morning"?
Thank you very much.
"had been bought" is better.
Both are correct.
:-)
Yes, I should have said both are correct. I still think "had been bought" is better, but both are correct.
In the given context, both "was bought" and "had been bought" can be correct, depending on the intended meaning. Let me explain further:
1. "She was reading a book which was bought in the morning":
This suggests that the book was bought at a specific time in the morning, and the action of buying the book took place earlier in the same day.
2. "She was reading a book which had been bought in the morning":
This implies that the book was bought at some point in the morning, and the action of buying the book occurred in the past relative to the time of reading. The book could have been purchased a few minutes, hours, or even days before the reading took place.
To determine which option is more suitable, it is essential to consider the context and what you want to convey. If you want to emphasize a specific point in time when the book was purchased (in the morning), the first option would be appropriate. However, if you want to highlight that the purchase occurred before the reading, without specifying the exact time, the second option is preferable.
It is worth mentioning that the choice between "was bought" and "had been bought" also depends on the overall tense and context of the surrounding sentences. Both options are grammatically correct, and the specific choice should align with the intended meaning and flow of the entire passage.