I asked him what had brought him there. vs I asked him what brought him there.

Both phrases are correct and commonly used in English. They differ in the use of the past perfect tense. The first phrase uses 'had brought' (past perfect) while the second phrase uses 'brought' (simple past). The choice between them depends on the context and the emphasis the speaker wants to convey.

Last updated: March 23, 2024

I asked him what had brought him there.

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English. It uses the past perfect tense to indicate an action that occurred before a certain point in the past.

This phrase is used when the speaker wants to emphasize that the action of bringing him there happened before another past event or point in time.

Examples:

I asked him what had brought him there before he left for the airport.
She wondered what had brought him there at such a late hour.

Show examples from the web [+]

I asked what you brought me.
So I asked him to let me make a special dinner there.
What had brought colour and joy could also bring darkness and destruction.
I wanted to go to the ice-cream shop, and I asked him to drive me there.
And I brought him in, and for every question I asked him, he had three for me, right?
He brought you out here because I asked him to.
I asked him to contact the Congo about... ...about what Jimmy and Johnny Kray - got up to out there.
Darius favored Artemisia among his generals for she had brought him victory on the battlefield.
If he weren't a malefactor, we wouldn't have brought him before you. That's not what I asked.
But he told me I had brought him the wrong one.
I had brought him here so that you might fulfil your destiny, by cutting off his head and taking his place.
Never again would he give way to those mad, foolish manias that had brought him to this sorry end.
I asked him if his parents were ever ashamed of him.
It's what I asked him to do.
And when I asked him where his medicine was, he said you poured it away.
I asked him to get me one.
I asked him to bring me back a necklace from Tulum.
I asked him the same question.
Because I asked him not to.
I asked him if there were any parts for you.

Alternatives:

I asked him what had made him come there.
I asked him what had driven him there.

I asked him what brought him there.

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English. It uses the simple past tense to indicate an action that happened in the past without emphasizing its sequence in relation to other past events.

This phrase is used when the speaker wants to ask about the reason for someone being at a certain place without focusing on the timing of the action.

Examples:

I asked him what brought him there so early in the morning.
She asked him what brought him there on a rainy day.

Show examples from the web [+]

I asked what you brought me.
So I asked him to let me make a special dinner there.
Show him what brought you back, Carl.
I wanted to go to the ice-cream shop, and I asked him to drive me there.
And I brought him in, and for every question I asked him, he had three for me, right?
He brought you out here because I asked him to.
I asked him to contact the Congo about... ...about what Jimmy and Johnny Kray - got up to out there.
Yes, and writing about me is what brought him to you.
But I'm afraid that's what brought him back here seven years ago.
- I think tha's what brought him to Río Arriba.
If he weren't a malefactor, we wouldn't have brought him before you. That's not what I asked.
I asked him if his parents were ever ashamed of him.
It's what I asked him to do.
And when I asked him where his medicine was, he said you poured it away.
I asked him to get me one.
I asked him to bring me back a necklace from Tulum.
I asked him the same question.
Because I asked him not to.
I asked him if there were any parts for you.
I asked him to stop my wedding, and he did.

Alternatives:

I asked him what made him come there.
I asked him what drove him there.

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I asked him what had brought him there. vs I asked him what brought him there.