Hadn't seen and Hasn't seen
" Each time we view a carving masterpiece, we discover a new layer of meaning we [hadn't seen] before."
I can't see why 'hadn't seen' is used in this sentence, not 'hasn't seen'? Could you please help me understand?
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Answers · 6
1
It sounds incorrect to me. Usually we use past perfect with past simple.Here we have present so I would also use Present perfect.Please can you give a little more context?
1
First, you can not use "hasn't seen" since you are using "we" and after "we" you should use "have".
Second, you are talking about a moment in the past. In more details, when you were at that time in the past you did not see the meaning you are seeing now. So, it is the past of the past or past perfect.
The more you read English text and with practice you will start noticing the grammatical difference.
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