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Thu 1 Sep, 2016 08:20 pm
sometimes it's hard for me to distinguish when it's appropriate to use past participle and when it's not
During the presentation,
1) i reflected on how my experiences had shaped me.
2) i reflected on how my experiences shaped me.
it's hard for me to tell the difference, and i'm not sure whether the difference matters in cases like this?
thank you
@perennialloner,
How about
3. i reflected on how my experiences have shaped me.
@perennialloner,
I reflected on how my experiences have shaped me.
"have shaped me" makes it an ongoing shaping. The other two are in the past.
During the presentation puts the action in the past. Therefore, formally, one should use the past participle, and the anterior past--"had shaped me," because the action of one's experience shaping one takes place in a past before the past when the presentation occurred.
@Setanta,
thank you, that makes sense. But, doesn't "reflected" also put the action in the past? so if i took away "during the presentation" would i follow the same idea?
is it ever appropriate to use "i reflected on how my experiences shaped me" and when?
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