English Language Learners Asked on October 1, 2021
Fill in the blank using verbs given in bracket.
Thomas failed all his exams and left school with no qualifications, yet this 30 year old fire fighter ______(go) into the Guinness book of records by reciting from memory 22,500 digits of mathematical constant pi.
Answer. I filled it with "went" the answer given in solutions is has gone.
Can someone please tell me why my answer is wrong.
"Has gone" is somewhat more idiomatic here. The distinction is that "has gone" only states that the event existed, whereas "went" focuses on the specific day when the event happened. Here are some clearer examples:
"What's your fastest time in the mile?" "I've run it as fast as 4:37."
"What's your fastest time in the mile?" "I ran it in 4:37 in Sacramento at the state finals."
In 1, the person is saying that they ran it that fast at some point in the past, but they're not focusing on the specific day. In 2, the focus is on the specific day.
In your example:
Thomas failed all his exams ...
Thomas has failed all his exams ...
Here 1 is more idiomatic because there was only one time (one part of his life) when Thomas was in school, and dropping out of school was an event that only happened one time. In 2, it sounds as though Thomas's father has gotten a letter from the school telling him that Thomas has dropped out, and he's announcing the news to his mother.
Answered by user118305 on October 1, 2021
Green_ideas is correct. “Went” is clear, understandable and correct.
He failed, left, and went. All the same tense. All in the correct order of time.
He failed, left, and has gone. Change of tense, all in the correct order of time. The change of tense merely gives a slight feeling of contrast between his academic record and his entering the book of records. It does not make “has gone” any better than “went”.
Answered by Anton on October 1, 2021
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