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When Jack entered the room, I had not recognized him because he lost so much weight.

For above sentence,I use past perfect tense(had not recognized),because there were two situations in the past.

But the real answer is

When Jack entered the room, I did not recognize him because he lost so much weight.

So, why did they use simple past (did not recognize) although there were 2 situations in the past?

Eddie Kal
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2 Answers2

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Past perfect puts the action (failing to recognize him) before the described event (him entering the room). Since your failure to recognize him occurred after (or at the same moment) he entered the room, the simple past is appropriate.

TypeIA
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  • A.Your answer is correct.I do not know why it was upvoted and down voted soon.I have upvoted it now..Please see my answer and commen – Jvlnarasimharao Oct 18 '19 at 18:11
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Simple past is correct because you failed to recognize him only after Jack entered the room. If you use past perfect, it means that you failed to recognize him before he entered the room.

So the correct answer is:

When Jack entered the room, I did not recognize him because he had/ lost so much weight. He lost weight before coming here. so you may use past perfect.

Jvlnarasimharao
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  • @Fumble Fingers.I would like to know what is wrong with my answer.I think it was down voted in haste – Jvlnarasimharao Oct 18 '19 at 18:04
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    Commentless and pedantic/erroneous downvotes are sadly very common on many SE sites these days. Just a fact of life, don't worry too much. Thanks for your answer and comment. – TypeIA Oct 18 '19 at 18:26