was expecting vs had expected

when to use each one?

not sure, it seems to me something along the lines of "had expected" meaning you had previously thought about an answer to a situation whereas "was expecting" meant you were waiting for the answer to a situation.

knocked up vs. contemplative

pwn loc

I think the former implies fulfilled expectations ("I was expecting you"), the latter the opposite ("I had expected better of you"). Could be wrong, though.

Drop the "had" in most cases, I'd say. "I expected."

I think they could be used interchangeably in some circumstances, but I'm sure there's a bit in Fowler's that says otherwise.

i think "was expecting" describes ongoing expecting in the past, unclear whether the event happened or not, like "i was expecting you to show up." "had expected" implies that you finished expecting and whatever you were expecting (or not expecting) happened, like "i had expected to go shopping but i didn't." they are probably interchangeable in everyday speech. is this right?

pwn shark

did you finish the expectation?

Couldn't put it better than harbl.

pwnstown massacre

i had expected an answer like harbl's

i was expecting an answer like harbl's, but then momus arrived

"i had expected to go shopping but i didn't."

right -- the pluperfect tense, setting up a timeline of two things that both happened in the past, but one longer ago than the other. Even before I didn't go shopping, I had expected to.

I had expected better of you

and then what? In this sentence, the odd tense is being used only for politeness. "I expect better of you" is probably what you mean to say.

I had expected better of you

and then what?

and then presumably you failed my expectations and thusly I no longer expect whatever it was that was better of you?

Obviously, but that's not my point. The sentence leave you hanging, grammatically speaking, with half a pluperfect timeline.

And it's unnecessary. "I expected better of you" works better. K.I.S.S.

correct tense clearly "i can has expected you a cake but i eated it"

i had lolled

I smiled, but I had expected a lol.

Drop the "had" in most cases, I'd say. "I expected."

this

I've never thought about it in terms of hard-n-fast rules before, but now that I think on it: don't use "had (past tense verb)" unless you are using the pluperfect tense, and comparing this past event to another past event in time. "Was (verb)ing" describes an event that was ongoing, but in the past.

In other words, harbl otm.

interesting cause in French iii or whatever they always teach you that there is no pluperfect in English

isn't this actually just the durative tense?

eg i was walking to the store when i was accosted by squirrels (continuing)

vs

i had walked to the store to pick up some squirrel bait when i realized i had left my wallet at home. (as any fule kno this realization happened in the parking lot of the store, not on the way)

thanks all, this is much more clear now

interesting cause in French iii or whatever they always teach you that there is no pluperfect in English

Huh. I was never taught that, not explicitly. Pluperfect is different in French, and not just in structure. (Frankly, it's not as nuanced. But don't tell the French I said that.)

i had walked to the store to pick up some squirrel bait when i realized i had left my wallet at home. (as any fule kno this realization happened in the parking lot of the store, not on the way)

I know it's just an example of grammar, and I guess it's technically correct, but that sentence requires some pretty heavy lifting on the reader's part. If you're running into sentences like that in your writing, maybe math is more your thing. :)

also pluperfect is a stupid sounding word and thus should never be used.

Ok, past perfect.

No, on second thought, forget you, Latin hater. Pluperfect till Brooklyn!