Question

The following passage may contain a problem with verb tenses. Choose the version in which verb tenses are used correctly. If the original passage is correct, select No change.

Before Saha met Ms. Cochran, she always thought that dementia patients should be persuaded to let go of their deluded visions of reality. Saha's encounter with Ms. Cochran has taught her that validating reality as the patient perceives it can help establish trust and empathy.

a) No change

b) Before Saha met Ms. Cochran, she had always thought that dementia patients should be persuaded to let go of their deluded visions of reality. Saha's encounter with Ms. Cochran taught her that validating reality as the patient perceives it can help establish trust and empathy.

c) Before Saha had met Ms. Cochran, she always thought that dementia patients should be persuaded to let go of their deluded visions of reality. Saha's encounter with Ms. Cochran had taught her that validating reality as the patient perceives it can help establish trust and empathy.

Answer 1

Option b) corrects the verb tense issue by using the past perfect and simple past tenses to maintain a clear and consistent time frame before and after Saha met Ms. Cochran.

Step-by-step explanation:

When addressing verb tenses in writing, it's crucial to maintain consistency to provide clarity to the reader. In the case presented, option b) is the correct choice because it uses consistent past tense to describe events and Saha's thought process before and after meeting Ms. Cochran. The first sentence sets the time frame before the meeting in the past perfect tense ('had always thought') to show that this belief was held up until the meeting. The second sentence uses simple past tense ('taught') to describe something that has been completed in the past. This choice clearly indicates a time sequence: Saha had a belief, then she met Ms. Cochran, and as a result, her belief changed.