有一读者问：by the time he was ten之类的时间状语只能与过去完成时连用吗？ 能否与过去一般时连用？
在上述时间状语by the time所在的句子中，主句的谓语动词并非只可用过去完成时，亦可用过去一般时，例如：
(1)By the time I went to bed, I was absolutely exhausted.
(2)By the time that the security guards had realized what was happening, the gang were already inside the bank. （注意by the time that 相当于 by the time）
