PRACTICAL GRAMMAR - PAST PERFECT SIMPLE & CONTINUOUS
Year: II & III
System: part - time studies
Time: 60:00 min
PAST PERFECT (had + PP) af + neg + Int + Ni (had I not worked?)
Past equivalent of the Present Perfect
She`s just left (Present) vs. When I arrived Ann had just left (Past)
(but here we have no doubt about past connotations of these two actions) That is why PP provides no connections with The Present or Future
No time restrictions
He had left his suitcase on the 4.40 train (here time is mentioned)
Time Expressions: before, after, since, for, always, just, already, after that, then, till/until, when, as soon as, immediately after.
PP describes an action which began before the TS in the past and was still continuing at the TS:
He was in uniform when I met him. He had been a soldier for 20 years since he was 17.
She had lived in the country for 30 years since she was born, and had no wish to move to a tower block (PPC - also possible here).
An action which began before the TS in the past and stopped at the time or just before it:
The old elm tree, which had stood in the churchyard for 300 years before the church was built, suddenly crashed (PPC - also possible here)
An action which stopped some time before the TS:
He had served in the navy for 10 years; then he retired and married (PPC - not possible here) - no Present Perfect Equivalent here
Past Equivalent of Past Simple Tense (used in literature when the narrator looks back on earlier action from a certain point in the past)
He was 23 when the story starts. His father had died 5 years before and since then he had lived alone. His father had advised him not to get married until he was 35 and he intended to follow his advice.
BUT if these events are put in order, we do not need PP any more:
His father died when he was 18. Before he died he advised him not to marry till he was 35, and at 23 he still intended to follow his advice.
She saw empty glasses and cups and realized that 3 people had been in the room (these people were no longer there)
Compare:
He arrived at 2.30 and was told to wait in the VIP lounge
He arrived at 2.30. He had been told to wait in the VIP lounge
(in (i) he got instructions after he arrived. Everything happened at the place of his destination, while in (ii) he knew everything before his travel and arrival).
Compare: (PP with when)
When he had seen all these pictures he said he was ready to leave.
When he saw all the pictures he said he was amazed that one man should have painted so many.
(in (i) he said this before the action was completed, while in (ii) he said this immediately he saw them)
PP with till/until - used with this tense they emphasize the completion or expected completion of an action
He did not wait TILL we had finished our meal.
She refused to go TILL she had seen the movie to an end.
PP with after
After the will had been read there were angry exclamations.
We do not normally use verbs of knowing, understanding in PP Tense except when an expression denoting a period of time is added:
When she had known me for a year she invited me to tea.
When I knew the work of one department, I was moved to the next one.
j. Past Perfect in Indirect Speech
(i) He said `I`ve been in UK for 10 years' - He said that he had been in UK for 10 years
(ii) He said `I knew her well' - He said that he had known her well
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
We have no continuous forms of stative verbs: enjoy, doubt, intend, know, realize, want, wish, advice, suggest, love, like, hate, understand, experience. BUT: (i) I was delighted with my new shoes. I had been wanting a pair for a long time.
PP Continuous Tense has no passive form (i) They had been picking apples. PASSIVE: Apples had been picked (it is not the same - this is completed action in the past, while the sentence in active form describes an action in progress)
Compare: (i) By 6o`clock he had repaired the engine (completed) and (ii) He had been repairing the engine (he spent the previous hour doing it and we do not know if the job was completed).