The second implies that at one point they ran to get healthier, but a strong implication that they have stopped. The first implies that perhaps 'I' originally ran for health benefits, but continue to do so for other reasons. The two now emphasize two different things.

The second sentence implies that 'I' have just finished running a little while ago.Īs you can see, context is heavily implicated. It could have been earlier in the day, or even the night before. This is the most emotionally honest and intense narrative I have read in a long time, and it deals with themes of friendship, first loves, and families. The first sentence implies that 'I' had, at some point of time, run. I read If He Had Been With Me in one sitting because it was such a moving story. The second sentence implies that the well is no longer producing water. The first sentence implies that the well still is producing water, but it's no longer clean for some reason.

The well had been producing clean water.

Was/were usually applies to something done in the past that no longer applies (single event).

No one ever says what they were arguing about. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. I collected for him an assortment of little things I thought he would like a CD I burned of songs that make me think of him, the action figure of his favorite anime character’s wife, some candy, a little rubber turtle, a love letter I spent forever on.Had/has/have been is usually used for something that was done in the past and still applies (multiple events). If he had been with me everything would have been different I wasn’t with Finn on that August night. His gift is at home, waiting for me to give to him. Jamie is taking me out to dinner tonight. Lots of girls at school wish they were the ones Jamie was bringing roses to.

Sometimes I wish he would be more creative, but it is ridiculous to complain about roses. Jamie always gives me roses, usually red. I know that Jamie will be waiting for me at school with a similar bunch. As the novel progresses, Autumn fosters several relationships, including with Jamie, a boy whom she imagines she will marry someday, and with several friends who. Katie smiles and looks at her roses as s. At the beginning of the novel, Autumn is just beginning high school, and has a naive understanding of relationships and intimacy. Because Finny and Sylvie no longer talk, the three of us listen to them every morning instead. They’re dating now I like to think I helped make that happen. I’ll have to retire it when spring comes, but like all winters, this one lasts forever.Īt the bus stop, Todd the Junior gives roses to Katie the New Girl. I put on the snowflake tiara for school it’s my new favorite, and I wear it every day that there is snow on the ground. To quickly assess the difficulty of the text, read a short excerpt: What reading level is If He Had Been With Me book?

I he had been with me