"This had been approved previously by the Treasury?" vs "This had been approved by the Treasury?"

Question

"This had been approved previously by the Treasury?" vs "This had been approved by the Treasury?"

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in slightly different contexts. The first phrase 'this had been approved previously by the treasury?' implies that the approval had happened at some point before a specific time or event. The second phrase 'this had been approved by the treasury?' simply states that the approval had occurred without specifying when. The choice between the two depends on whether the timing of the approval is relevant to the conversation.

Last Updated: March 22, 2024

This phrase is used when the timing of the approval is important in the context of the conversation, emphasizing that it happened before a particular point in time.

Examples:

This had been approved previously by the treasury, but now they are reconsidering their decision.
The project had been approved previously by the treasury, so we can move forward with it.

Alternatives:

this had been previously approved by the treasury
this had been approved by the treasury before
this had previously been approved by the treasury
this had been approved by the treasury earlier
this had been approved by the treasury at an earlier time

This phrase is used when the timing of the approval is not the focus of the conversation, simply stating that the approval occurred without detailing when.

Examples:

This had been approved by the treasury, so we can proceed with the next steps.
The proposal had been approved by the treasury, as expected.

Alternatives:

this had been approved by the treasury
this was approved by the treasury
the treasury had approved this
this approval was granted by the treasury
the treasury had given approval for this

Answer 1

This had been approved previously by the Treasury?

This phrase is correct and can be used when referring to an approval that occurred before a specific time or event.

Answer 2

This had been approved by the Treasury?

This phrase is correct and is a more general statement indicating that the approval took place without specifying a specific time.

"This had been approved previously by the Treasury?" vs "This had been approved by the Treasury?"

This had been approved previously by the Treasury?

This had been approved by the Treasury?

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