correct verb and punctuation

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Shoudn't it be: That was the third glass of beer I drank/had drunk tonight. ?

1. Should it be 'drank' or 'had drunk'?

2. Do I need to insert a full stop after 'tonight'?

3. Do I need to leave a space after the question mark as shown above?

4. Is the question mark in the correct place or should it be placed n another part of the sentence?

Sorry for asking so many questions at one go.

Many thanks.

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Re: correct verb and punctuation

Yoong Liat wrote:

Shoudn't it be: That was the third glass of beer I drank/had drunk tonight. ?

1. Should it be 'drank' or 'had drunk'?

2. Do I need to insert a full stop after 'tonight'?

3. Do I need to leave a space after the question mark as shown above?

4. Is the question mark in the correct place or should it be placed n another part of the sentence?

Sorry for asking so many questions at one go.

Many thanks.

1. DRANK ("drank" is the immediate past tense which is implied by the time reference of "tonight").

2. No full stop required if another punctuation mark is coming. Only ONE punctuation mark at the end of each sentence/question.

3. No, no space is required or even wanted. Punctuation is always immediately after the last word. Look at all my punctuation - they immediately follow the word, except for hyphens, which are, of course, a form of punctuation, but they are the only exception I know of (other than parentheses, of course).

4. Correct version: That was the third glass of beer I drank tonight?
(assuming it's a question, of course)

5. It's better to ask all your questions at once - don't be sorry.

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Thanks, Mame.

Some members who respond wil tell another member off for posting too many questions at one go.

I'm glad that you prefer a few questions in one post.

Thanlks, once again, for the clear explanations.

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Re: correct verb and punctuation

Yoong Liat wrote:

Shoudn't it be: That was the third glass of beer I drank/had drunk tonight. ?

1. Should it be 'drank' or 'had drunk'?

Or,

That was the third glass of beer I've drunk tonight.

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Hi JTT

Shoudn't it be: That was the third glass of beer I drank/had drunk tonight. ?

Why can't I say 'That was the third glass of beer I had drunk tonight.' Does the 'was' not indicate that I should use 'had drunk'?

Why should it be ' ... I've drunk tonight' ?

Many thanks.

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For conversational English it would be much more common to say "I drank."

The present perfect tense ("I have drunk") sounds awkward.

The past perfect tense ("I had drunk") is not appropriate, as the experience is ongoing.

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Although, after three beers it's not unusual to hear awkward language.

"I drinked how much?" Laughing

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Yoong Liat wrote:

Hi JTT

Shoudn't it be: That was the third glass of beer I drank/had drunk tonight. ?

Why can't I say 'That was the third glass of beer I had drunk tonight.' Does the 'was' not indicate that I should use 'had drunk'?

Why should it be ' ... I've drunk tonight' ?

Many thanks.

That was the third glass of beer I've drunk tonight.

Cumulative things are often described using the present perfect, YL. Of course, the context/the time situation is very important to deciding which "tense" would be used.

"How many times have you ...?"

How many glasses of beer have you had/drunk tonight?

That's/That was the fifth piece of candy that you've taken. No more, Billy.

I went to Australia last month. That was the third time that I've been there.

Or ir could be an expression of the past of current relevance. As Drewdad mentioned, the simple past could also be used.

The past perfect isn't used to describe things that have just finished and this sounds like such a situation.

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After the third glass of beer nothing is clear, but nobody really cares.

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After the fifth, everything becomes clear.

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Although you don't put a space before a question or exclamation mark in English, you do in French.

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I don't think that's relevant . . . i don't think YL does anything in French, because i don't believe he can speak or write French. I could be wrong, though, that happened once . . . i think it was in 1988.

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Relevant or not, I think it is interesting, so I posted it.

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Funny or not, i was amused, so i posted it.

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Well, we're both happy then Smile

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Hi Contrex

I'm glad to see you back. I would like to have your view/s on my questions and I hope that there will be no 'war' between you and other members when they diaagree with you. I hope you all won't 'clash' when your reply is challenged.

Reproduced below is the question for your easy reference.

Shoudn't it be: That was the third glass of beer I drank/had drunk tonight.?

1. Should it be 'drank' or 'had drunk'?

2. Do I need to insert a full stop after 'tonight'?

3. Is the question mark in the correct place or should it be placed n another part of the sentence?

Many thanks.

0 Replies

Yoong Liat wrote:

Quote:

Shoudn't it be: That was the third glass of beer I drank/had drunk tonight.?

1. Should it be 'drank' or 'had drunk'?

2. Do I need to insert a full stop after 'tonight'?

3. Is the question mark in the correct place or should it be placed n another part of the sentence?

1. Neither. "Tonight" means that the beer has been drunk in the immediate past, so I would use the present perfect.

The glass of beer has just been drunk; the waiter has just taken the glass away. You turn to me and remark owlishly, "That was the third glass of beer I have drunk tonight, Contrex!". "That calls for another", I reply unsteadily. "Waiter! Two more beers over here!"

2. Yes, but see below.

3. It is in the correct place; there is no other place for it to go.

In order to set punctuation contained in quoted matter apart from that in the matter surrounding it, quotation marks may be used.

Shouldn't it be: "That was the third glass of beer I drank/had drunk tonight."?

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Hi Contrex

"That was the third glass of beer I drank/had drunk tonight."?

What if my friends and I were leaving the place, and that was the third and last glass of beer, how would I phrase the sentence?

Thanks in advance.

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The same as I said before.

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contrex wrote:

Yoong Liat wrote:

Quote:
Shoudn't it be: That was the third glass of beer I drank/had drunk tonight.?

1. Should it be 'drank' or 'had drunk'?

2. Do I need to insert a full stop after 'tonight'?

3. Is the question mark in the correct place or should it be placed n another part of the sentence?

1. Neither. "Tonight" means that the beer has been drunk in the immediate past, so I would use the present perfect.

I hope I didn't leave / hadn't left / haven't left you with the wrong impression as regards what you could / can use for your original example. The present perfect is NOT the only choice.

With all due respect to Contrex, what he "would use" doesn't much help you to decide because there are obviously other collocations that are possible.

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correct verb and punctuation

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