She had been let down badly in the past.
Question 1: I don’t understand what the sentence means? Who let her down?
The worst feeling is having let our fans down.
Question 2: I don’t understand the part “is having let”, what tense is it?
Thank you!!
to let someone down = to disappoint someone
to be let down (by someone) = to be disappointed (by someone)
“She had been let down badly in the past.”
Question 1: I don’t understand what the sentence means? Who let her down?
The form ‘had been let down’ is passive voice. The person she was let down by (the person by whom she was let down) is implied, but not stated:
She had been let down badly (by someone) in the past. = Someone had let her down badly in the past.
She had been terribly disappointed (by someone) in the past. = Someone had terribly disappointed her in the past.
“The worst feeling is having let our fans down.”
Question 2: I don’t understand the part “is having let”, what tense is it?
The expression ‘having let someone down’ is the gerund, i.e. the -ing form of the verb used as a noun. In this case it means ‘that we have let someone down’ (subordinate clause which can also be used as a noun).
In this case, the verb is not ‘is having.’ The verb ‘is’ is a stand-alone verb. It is not a part of the gerund ‘having let them down.’
It is the worst feeling.
What is the worst feeling?
That we have let our fans down. = Having let our fans down.
That we have let our fans down is the worst feeling. Having let our fans down is the worst feeling.
The worst feeling is having let our fans down. The worst feeling is that we have let our fans down.
The worst feeling is that we disappointed our fans. The worst feeling is disappointing our fans.
The worst feeling is that we have disappointed our fans. The worst feeling is having disappointed our fans.
That I have let her down. = Having let her down.
The worst feeling is that I have let her down. The worst feeling is having let her down.
Hope this helps!!
It’s crystal clear. How did you do it, brucenator? You made it simple and easy to understand for a beginning learner. I really have to hand it to you. Really appreciate what you’ve done. It’s always helpful. Thank you again and again.
My pleasure!
Yep, brucenator nailed it. You ask really good questions by the way, im sure your english will be spectacular very soon!
Thank you so much for all the help here. You guys are wonderful-ful-ful~~~~