Person A: Did they eventually  sign to a booking agency?   Person B: Yes, but after I had stopped managing them   I just would like to know if past simple would be possible and is past perfect here to explain that the band sign to a booking agency because but they did not have a manager to establish a strong link between them
122562
Before I met her I had a poor opinion of her.   As person had a poor opinion before a particular time in past (before He met her) so I think there should be had had.   There are some more example like this:   Before I went to the university, I worked/had worked as a carpenter for 5 years. Before I opened the door, I put/had put the key in the lock. Before I opened the door, I looked/had looked carefully into the barn for snipers.   In all these sentence, for me, it should be perfect tense.  I asked that question on another platform where I was told that if sequence of past event is obvious and sentences uses "before"and "after", we often use past tense. Which means we should use past tense in all these sentences. But I have another sentence "The train had left before I reached the station." If I follow above mentioned rule there should be "left" instead of "had left". But I am damn sure this sentence is correct with "had left".   Am I correct?  Thank you
18320
Source:      There have been seven weeks of protests outside the site from which   "hundreds" of pupils were kept away on Monday.   Why does the sentence say “have been” not  simply “were”?  I think that indicates that the protesters are still protesting untill the moment of writing. Am I correct here?
70024
He will have painted the walls by tomorrow.      He must have painted the walls by yesterday.    Does each one have two different connotations?  So, if we have four different likelihood meanings, would you show me with an example?
84783
I had a test today and there was this question : If you are a well-organized person, you .... your time.   a) will manage b) manage   I'd like to know the answer and why?   Thanks in advance.
57281
I wonder if someone could tell me which choice works in the following sentence and why the others do not work: (From my point of view, all of these choices work in this context.)  They have great promotion till January 5th......50% off. a) up to; b) until; c) by
55919
if someone asks me or if there is a question in exams like "who is the author of Xxx book?" Should I answer in the past or present tense,like "Yyy is/was the author of Xxx book". I know the author is not alive.
110446
Someone introduced himself to us.  After that, when we look back and say what he said, which is right to say?     What did he say his name is?      What did he say his name was?   I think the first one is plausible because his name is always XX, but I'm not sure. Please tell me which is allowed.
73698
I had a Grammar homework and I was asked to fill in the gap of the following sentence :   My father ... subscribe to the Newsweek.   I had been given four options and only one of them fits in with the sentence, they are as follows :   A- Said to me  B- Suggested that I   C- Suggests me to   D- Encouraged me  I had chosen the answer "C" but I discovered later that the teacher considered it as incorrect, and that "B" is the appropriate answer, which made me so confused. Could you please explain to me why ?
113499
I would have been happy to let you use the money, if you would give me a date to leave.   Is this a past present tense?  I need to explain this statement I made, correctly.
114216
Bob didn't come to office today.  I was asked "Didn't you see Bob today?"  Should I say "Yes, I didn't see him today" or "No, I didn't see him today"?
6821
Question:  Are there any guidelines, sources, or examples of good practices for maintaining theorist's research notebook?  Motivation and context:  Maintaining a  is a much advised (if not a vital) tool for doing research. Many do that nowadays also in . While the methods for writing and maintaining a labbook might differ in details, in "dirty-hands" (no offense!) experimental, or field disciplines, the basics are relatively straightforward and clear. The advice tends to boil down to keep a labbook per single topic one works on and then record all the experiments and thoughts related to those experiments into the notebook. Simplifying a lot, in the end, the researcher (team) would compile a paper from the notes in the notebook.  Now situation of a researcher in a more theoretical discipline is strikingly different. Usually one engages in research on several topics at the same time. The problems a researcher works on are often intertwined and one's view on them changes over time, often merging originally separate streams of thought into a single one, or vice-versa. The work revolves not around experiments which would have a clear objective, but rather around currently prepared papers and then "a cloud of ideas". In summary, theorist's workstyle tends to be very non-linear. Maintaining some kind of a notebook is still a good thing, if for nothing else, then for not forgetting about stuff. My question is about how to go about doing it.  I am after a practical tool helping me to archive my thought process for long-term, as well as efficiently manage and keep an overview of the evolution of the several interacting topics I engage in.
120178
One of the former student    One of the former students       Which one is correct, and why? Can any one explain it clearly?
1177
Question:   Answer:   The question was closed at 11:57:57 (according to the hover-over-"x-mins-ago" bar) and the answer was posted at 12:16:35. It's a fairly lengthy answer, so it's possible that it was started to be written before it was closed but I swear I've started to answer a question then I got a banner along the top saying "this question has been closed" and the answer was no longer post-able.
98496
First of all, English is not my first language. I have a question, maybe a basic one, about this phrase:     The situation highlights the mismatch between some areas of training and available jobs to/for them.   Should it be "available jobs to them" or "available jobs for them"?  Sorry if the question is really basic.
1332
Two old friends, Jack and Bill, meet after a long time. Jack: Hey, how are you man? Bill: Not bad, got married and I have three kids now. Jack: That’s awesome. How old are they? Bill: The product of their ages is 72 and the sum of their ages is the same as your birth date. Jack: Cool… But I still don’t know. Bill: My eldest kid just started taking piano lessons. Jack: Oh now I get it.  How old are Bill’s kids?  I am not able to figure out how Jack get it when Bill says "My eldest kid just started taking piano lessons"?
38128
I got this quiz:     The carpenter repaired __ .      (A) the table's legs      (B) table's legs      (C) legs of the table      (D) the legs of the table   ...which says the right answer is D. But I think A is also acceptable.  What do you think? Thanks.  Related but not a duplicate:   If I add an option E: the table legs, is E also acceptable?
43372
What's the difference between the following sentences?      (a) I wish they wouldn't make so much noise.   (b) I wish they were not making so much noise.    (c) I wish they did not make so much noise.   I'd appreciate your help.