Hello,
Why do we use etait allée below instead of est allée?
ex. Il a laissé sa voiture au garage après qu'elle était allée à la banque.
There was a question:
Je suis retourné me coucher après que tu es parti. (correct answer as per quiz)
Should it be "Je suis retourné me coucher après que tu etais parti?
Lara,
grammatically both are correct.
As per the lesson, the tense chosen/used in the phrase following après que conveys information about the time gap between the primary action and the subsequent action:
“ When the main verb is in Le Passé Composé (Indicatif), après que is followed by
Le Passé Composé (Indicatif) (after I did) or
Le Plus-que-Parfait (Indicatif)(after I had done)
because it expresses a fact that happened BEFORE the moment it is being reported.
The choice between the two tenses depends on how far apart the two actions are; Le Plus-que-Parfait (Indicatif) marks a longer gap. “
Whether both choices could/should be correct for the question you raise depends on the specific instructions, phrase to be translated and context.
However, the answer as indicated translates into English effectively along the lines of ‘ I went back to bed immediately/soon after you left ‘.
Although both could be expressed the same way in English, the 2nd response you raise, using plus-que-parfait would be similar to ‘ I went back to bed (quite) some time after you (had) left ‘.
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