past tense

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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amamsa
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past tense

Post by amamsa »

I am not sure what tense to use here:

He __________ living in NY for 3 years before he met her, so he showed her around. (I am trying to say he continued to live there even after he had met her).

I am thinking of either:
- had been living (But I think that assumes he stopped living there after he had met her).
-was living (But this feels really weird to use past continuous with a duration and I cant find any examples of that).
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Alan
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Re: past tense

Post by Alan »

#1 is the correct choice, and does not in any way imply that he ceased living there after meeting her (rather the opposite!).
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