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told him what happened vs told him what had happened

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "Told him what happened" is used when narrating events in the past. However, "told him what had happened" is used when narrating events that occurred before a specific point in the past.

Explained by Jennifer
Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: December 03, 2024 • 9207 views

told him what happened

This phrase is correct and commonly used when narrating events in the past.

This phrase is used to report events that occurred in the past. It is a simple past tense construction.

Examples:

She told him what happened at the party last night.
He told her what happened during his trip to Europe.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 19, 2024

Aug 18, 2024 ... [Spoilers] Just a quick question,Why did Ragnar killed the guy who told him what happened to the farmers in England? S3 E6 11:45 · Comments ...
1 day ago ... Sophia Sophia (@sophmaclennan). 4 Replies. 10 Likes. Mind you, this conversation happened because I told him what happened over the weekend ...
Feb 20, 2015 ... ... told him what happened ... In S3E14 when slade mentioned that oliver's mum might not have died if he told him what happened ...
Jul 2, 2010 ... ... told him what happened. Without hesitation, the judged declared Clarence guilty and fined him $150, not a small sum considering Clarence was ...
... told him what happened to her when he got home. They were living just outside Statham, and Billy's wife had been to Winder with four of the kids. She was ...
Apr 29, 2020 ... He mows his weeds just 15' from my parking and the mower often throws rocks that hit the house or cars. I told him what happened, but he ...
... told him what happened. He was sincerely apologetic and said that he called Heidi and Chris to tell them he felt I needed to see a doctor right away. What ...
After an hour I came back and told him what happened. At this point in my life, I contemplated suicide to end the painful realization of the terrible harm I ...
After class that day, I went to my professor and told him what happened to me. He was very kind, and he made me feel very comfortable. But he also told me ...
Dec 24, 2023 ... The neighbours took him with them when they evacuated. He is four years old, no one told him what happened to his family. He told Ahmad that “ ...

Alternatives:

explained to him what occurred
related to him what transpired

told him what had happened

This phrase is correct and commonly used when narrating events that occurred before a specific point in the past.

This phrase is used to report events that happened before a specific point in the past. It is a past perfect tense construction.

Examples:

She told him what had happened before he arrived.
He told her what had happened during the meeting.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 19, 2024

May 14, 2024 ... The day my father died, I texted one of my best friends, Alyjan Daya (MTS '23) and told him what had happened. It was the start of Eid al ...
Mar 27, 2015 ... I saw my GI surgeon today and told him what had happened. He is referring me to a neurologist, but they haven't called me with the ...
Jan 13, 2016 ... I went back told him what had happened and told him that I wanted to race in a couple of weeks. He told me to rest and if it wasn't great ...
Sep 27, 2024 ... I knocked on his office door in the Allen Building, and I told him what had happened. He was so caring, so compassionate, so understanding ...
Sep 11, 2016 ... ... told him what had happened—until all of that sinks in and the next chapter of my life begins. September 11th seems to be a day that impacted ...
I called up my programmer and told him what had happened. He began to giggle. But when I told him about MAX PAGES, the giggling stopped, and there was an ...
Jun 20, 2024 ... I met an Afghanistan man and I told him what had happened to me. I showed him my documents and papers as I could not read, and he told me I ...
Jan 5, 2012 ... I called the store and asked to speak to the manager and was put through to David Cole. When I told him what had happened, he immediately took ...
Apr 29, 2024 ... danny (@hugsforqueerkids). 1 Reply. 5 Likes. once i told him what had happened, he completely understood. he doesn't even remember the whole ...
Aug 12, 2016 ... When I told him what had happened, the first question he asked me was “Did he accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior?” I just looked at ...

Alternatives:

informed him of what had occurred
narrated to him what had transpired

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