Learn English – Would it be possible to change past perfect into simple past

past-simplepast-vs-past-perfect

  1. She invited me to dinner. But it _____ two years since I _____ to her house. So I lost my way.

The answer is "was", "had gone" but would it be possible to change "had gone" into "went" because if he lost his way, may be he only went to her house only one time and "went" refers to a single event.

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Best Answer

Would it be possible to change "had gone" into "went"?

I think it would depend on when it was said—before or after the event.

Said sometime before:

(Two hours ago) She invited me to dinner. But it has been two years [now] since I [only once] went to her house. So I am afraid I may lose my way.

Told sometime after:

(Once/Yesterday) She invited me to dinner. But it was two years since I [only once] had gone to her house. So I lost my way.

OR:

(Once/yesterday) She invited me to dinner. But it had been two years since I [only once] went to her house. So I lost my way.*

*Note: the pattern is either "it had been… since I went" or "it was…since I had gone". Also, I don't think that the pattern "it had been…since I had gone" is incorrect even if it is far less common.

Having said that, I can't but agree with @user3169: No matter how you look at it, the distinctions are rather small and overfine to delve too deeply into.

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