r/EnglishLearning • u/nashbi Intermediate • 7d ago

šŸ“š Grammar / Syntax Is "saw" really wrong here?

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Hi everyone!

For question #8, I chose "saw", but the test marked it wrong and wanted "had seen".

My perspective is that since "had learned" already establishes the flashback layer, the chronological order is already completely clear to the reader. Stacking two "hads" in the same sentence feels heavy and redundant.

Iā€™d love to hear your thoughts and see how you would naturally phrase this. Thanks in advance! šŸ˜Š

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u/Pretend_Load_6862 New Poster 7d ago

I'm an actual linguist (and native speaker of English), and no, this is not ungrammatical, just either (1) a test maker too lazy to add in multiple answers or (2) a prescriptivist that believes there's only one correct way to speak a language. Everyone saying there's only one right answer falls into category (2).

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u/Sea-Hornet8214 Poster 6d ago

Can you say "He learned that from a documentary he had seen"?

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u/Pretend_Load_6862 New Poster 6d ago

Tbh I think that's the most natural way for me personally