what'd been wrong with him?

D

diogerepus

Senior Member
Korea
Korean
Q: He killed himself. Did ou see that comding?

1: Of course not. he had a positive attitude and he wasn't complaining about anything. I can't believe it. What'd been wrong with him?

2: No. But something had been wrong with him since last month. He was acting and speaking strangely. He'd never wanted to be alone., but I spotted him alone many times last month.

In this conversation, can the bold text be changed "What was wrong with him?" and "He never wanted to be alone."?
 
    • To tell you the truth I would have used "what was wrong with him?" I am too tired to think much right now but the "had been" sounds wrong.

    You cannot use "what is wrong with him" anyway, because that person is dead. Present tense is out of the question by default :)
     
    diogerepus said:
    Q: He killed himself. Did ou see that comding?

    1: Of course not. he had a positive attitude and he wasn't complaining about anything. I can't believe it. What'd been wrong with him?

    2: No. But something had been wrong with him sincd last month. He was acting and speaking strangely. He'd never wanted to be alone., but I spotted him alone many times last month.

    In this conversation, can the bold text be changed "What's wrong with him?" and "He never wanted to be alone."?
    Click to expand...

    "What'd been wrong with him" and "He'd never wanted to be alone" are wrong. It should be "What was wrong with him" and, like you suggested, "He never wanted to be alone."

    Just out of curiosity, where is this dialogue from?
     
    Jacob said:
    "What'd been wrong with him" and "He'd never wanted to be alone" are wrong. It should be "What was wrong with him" and, like you suggested, "He never wanted to be alone."

    Just out of curiosity, where is this dialogue from?
    Click to expand...

    That is from a grammar book that I have. What about this?
    Is the bold text right?

    Q: He killed himself. Did you see that coming?
    A: No. But something had been wrong with him since last month.
     
    Jacob said:
    "What'd been wrong with him" and "He'd never wanted to be alone" are wrong. It should be "What was wrong with him" and, like you suggested, "He never wanted to be alone."

    Just out of curiosity, where is this dialogue from?
    Click to expand...

    On second thought, "What had been wrong with him?" doesn't sound so bad. It doesn't sound like something I'd say though. I'd say "What was wrong with him." I'd like to see what some other English natives have to say.
     
    Jacob said:
    "What'd been wrong with him" and "He'd never wanted to be alone" are wrong. It should be "What was wrong with him" and, like you suggested, "He never wanted to be alone."

    Just out of curiosity, where is this dialogue from?
    Click to expand...

    Thank you for your answer, Jacob. Let me ask you again.
    Because "He killed himself." in the past, can't I refer to something before the past as saying like "What'd been wrong with him." and "He'd never wanted to be alone."? Can't I say "What'd been wrong with him before he killed himself?" and the same goes with the other sentence.
     
    diogerepus said:
    Thank you for your answer, Jacob. Let me ask you again.
    Because "He killed himself." in the past, can't I refer to something before the past as saying like "What'd been wrong with him." and "He'd never wanted to be alone."? Can't I say "What'd been wrong with him before he killed himself?" and the same goes with the other sentence.
    Click to expand...

    Grammatically, I think both "What had been wrong with him" and "He had never wanted to be alone" are correct but they both sound weird. I wouldn't say either of them.
     
    Think about how you'd say this in the present tense:

    Look, he's jumping off the bridge. What is wrong with him?

    Notice that you use the present tense in both sentences. That's because you want to know what is wrong with him right now, at the time he's killing himself. You would not say:

    Look, he's jumping off the bridge. What was wrong with him?

    That's effectively what you're saying if you shift everything to the past tense and use "What had been wrong with him".
     
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