Brad,

I will repeat to the group what I said to you the other day, that the context of the discourse utterance is of critical consequence.  The parataxis of your first example seems to place the setting of the utterance in the present time.  This then makes it proper to use the perfect aspect to relate the second sentence to it.  This is fully analogous to the second example, which also would seem to require the perfect aspect in the paratactic sentence giving the reason for the statement of a judgement.  

The third and fourth examples are where the context is being set.  If I want to relate the sentence to a present state, the aspect of the reason given for John's state seems to be various.  Here are two ways to read the examples:

John is upset because his application was turned down.  He is still grumbling about it.
John is upset because his application has been turned down.  He has gotten over it, though.
John was upset because his application was turned down.  He is till grumbling about it.
John was upset because his application had been turned down.  He got over it, though.

The clause giving the reason for John's being upset does not seem to require the perfect aspect, unless the temporal relationship needs to be made explicit.  The implication of the use of the perfect aspect seems to be that a change in the state is in the offing.  (I mean grumbling to be expressed as an activity, not a state.)

Personally there is no way for me to  give one answer to these options, without the context being clarified.  It is possible that you do not have more respondents because people are unwilling to commit to assuming one meaning, when both are plausible.  Of course, if the test is to see how previous questions can lead a respondent down the primrose path, then please do disregard these comments.    

Bruce
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Brad Johnston 
  To: [log in to unmask] 
  Sent: Sunday, February 10, 2008 8:12 AM
  Subject: If at first we don't succeed


  Dear Grammarians.

  My simple quiz has given us trouble. I need more replies to make a valid point, so let me say it another way. There are four pairs below. They need four 'X's, one for each pair. If you are moved to check more than four, note that there is no way I can tally such equivocation.

  Context should not matter since the first verb is the same for each pair.


  (     ) They are amazed. They never heard of this song.

  (     ) They are amazed. They have never heard of this song.


  (     ) They were amazed. They never heard of this song.

  (     ) They were amazed. They had never heard of this song.


  (     ) John is upset because his application was turned down.

  (     ) John is upset because his application has been turned down.


  (     ) John was upset because his application was turned down.

  (     ) John was upset because his application had been turned down.


  The sequence: Click on "reply". Then insert four 'X's (and do not worry about spacing; let the chips fall). Then click on "send" and away it will go.

  Send it all back to [log in to unmask] if you please, not to the listserv. We don't want to clog the pipe.

  .brad.sun.10feb08.


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