the local government has built the school that was destroyed by the earthquake. sc guide, 6th edition, chapter 8 question 2, page 131
correct ans: 1) the local government built the school that was destroyed by the earthquake.
or, 2) the local government had built the school that was destroyed by the earthquake.
I want to ask in 1) if it means that the school was destroyed earlier and then government built it later?
in 2) if it means that the school was built earlier which was later destroyed by earthquake?
in my opinion actual given sentence is also correct, because according to me, sentence conveys that school was destroyed earlier, government built it later(action completed) and now in present there is a continuing effect that means, school is standing now in present.
Am i right? Please explain
Thanks
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- abhisheks901
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Re: the local government has built the school
This is a good example of how, in SC, we often understand the intended meaning of a sentence, and need to check out if the given sentence actually matches up with that meaning.
In the incorrect example, we can see that it's trying to say that first the government built a school and, later, it was destroyed by an earthquake. We can convey this correct meaning in (1) or (2). We can use the past perfect, but, since the order of actions in (1) is clear, we don't have to.
However, consider that actual meaning of the given sentence:
The local government has built the school that was destroyed by the earthquake.
The verb 'has built' shows that the action is more recent, that first the school was destroyed, and then the government built it. But that doesn't make any sense! How can the government build a school after it was destroyed? Now, sure, I know what you're going to say, that the government can build a replacement. But, technically, that's not the same school. The modifier word 'that' shows that we're talking about the same school, and the meaning is illogical. However, this sentence would be correct:
The local government has rebuilt the school that was destroyed by the earthquake.
In the incorrect example, we can see that it's trying to say that first the government built a school and, later, it was destroyed by an earthquake. We can convey this correct meaning in (1) or (2). We can use the past perfect, but, since the order of actions in (1) is clear, we don't have to.
However, consider that actual meaning of the given sentence:
The local government has built the school that was destroyed by the earthquake.
The verb 'has built' shows that the action is more recent, that first the school was destroyed, and then the government built it. But that doesn't make any sense! How can the government build a school after it was destroyed? Now, sure, I know what you're going to say, that the government can build a replacement. But, technically, that's not the same school. The modifier word 'that' shows that we're talking about the same school, and the meaning is illogical. However, this sentence would be correct:
The local government has rebuilt the school that was destroyed by the earthquake.
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