Learn English – the difference between these two sentences (“I was told” vs “I had been told”)

passive-voicepast-tense

What is the difference between these two sentences:

I went to see it because I had been told it was a good film by all my friends.

and

I went to see it because I was told it was a good film by all my friends.

Best Answer

The way you are using your sentences they mean the same.

However, the past perfect

had been told

usually signifies something that has happened (and completed) in the more distant past than the simple past

was told

So

Originally, I had been told the house was brown, but then I was told it is actually yellow.

means you were first told the house was brown, and then later told it was yellow.

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