Can anyone tell me if it's better to use "was", "had been" or simple "had" in this kind of context as shown below?
- I was able to finish the test in only 1 hour and a half and then I had used the time left to proof read everything.
or
- I had been able to finish the test in only 1 hour and a half and then I had used the time left to proof read everything.
or
- I had finished the test in only 1 hour and a half and then used the time that had been left to proof read everything
I myself would personally consider the 1 or 3 to be the correct, but I wonder what other people think?
Best Answer
is the best of the three, but "I had used" is not grammatical in this construction. A simple "I used" is better.
"an hour and a half" is more idiomatic than "1 hour and a half", and "90 minutes " is perhaps better here as the sentence is already on the long side.
"proofread" is better as one word in my view, although two words are not wrong.
implies that the speaker was able to do this at soem past time, but could not do it now. Even for that meaning it is slightly awkward.
is awkward if not wrong, but
is quite natural. It simply reports a fact, while the first version stresses an achievement -- what the person was able to do.