Past and past perfect tenses in time clauses

Note!

Main uses

Formation

Unit 1 The Past Perfect Tense

This tense is formed with had and the past participle:

Affirmative: / had/I'd worked etc.

Negative: / had not/hadn't worked etc.

Interrogative: had I worked? etc.

Negative interrogative: had I not/hadn't I worked?

1. The past perfect is the past equivalent of the present perfect.

Present: Ann has just left. If you hurry you'll catch her.

Past: When I arrived Ann had just left.

Present: I've lost my case.

Past: He had lost his case and had to borrow Tom's pajamas.

Note! Unlike the present perfect the past perfect is not restricted to actions whose time is not mentioned. We could therefore say:

He had left his case on the 4.40 train.

2. Completed action before another past moment or before a particular time in the past (adverbials by 5 o’clock, by the time etc.):

We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.

By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.

John discovered that Leslie had lied to him.

Тhey were concerned with why the machine had not run the day before.

Compare:

By the time I got to the station, the train had left

The train left 5 minutes before I got to the station

Before he did military service he went to university

In the last two examples we talk about a sequence of past events in the order that they happened. The Past Indefinite is by far more common in such sentences, especially with terminative verbs.

He knocked at the door twice before a voice asked: "Who's there?"

It happened before you came.

The Past Perfect is not used simply to describe an event in the distant past. There must be another past event with which it contrasts. We use the Past Simple to talk about a single activity in the past:

Sorry, we are late. We took the wrong train.

Thus, past perfect can be used for an action which began before the time of speaking in the past, and

(a) was still continuing at that time

Bill was in uniform when I met him. He had been a soldier for ten years/since he was seventeen, and planned to stay in the army till he was thirty.

Ann had lived in a cottage for sixty years/ever since she was born, and had no wish to move to a tower block. (The past perfect continuous tense had been living would also be possible here.)

(b) stopped at that time or just before it.

The old oak tree, which had stood in the churchyard for 300 years/since before the church was built, suddenly crashed to the ground. (The past perfect continuous tense had been standing would also be possible here.)

Peter, who had waited for an hour/since ten o'clock, was very angry with his sister when she eventually turned up. (had been waiting would also be possible.)

(c) for an action which stopped some time before the time of speaking.

He had served in the army for ten years; then he retired and married. His children were now at school.

(Here we cannot use either since or the past perfect continuous). Note also that the past perfect here has no present perfect equivalent. If we put the last verb in this sentence into the present tense the other tenses will change to the simple past.

He served in the army for ten years; then retired and married. His children are now at school.

3. The past perfect is also the past equivalent of the simple past tense, and is used when the narrator or subject looks back on earlier action from a certain point in the past:

I had just poured myself a glass of beer when the phone rang. When I came back from answering it the glass was empty. Somebody had drunk the beer or thrown it away.

He met her in 1967 and again ten years later. Her hair, which had been grey at their first meeting, was now white.

But if we merely give the events in the order in which they occurred no past perfect tense is necessary:

He met her first in 1967 when her hair was grey. He met her again in 1977/He didn't meet her again till 1977. Her hair was now white.

Note the difference of meaning in the following examples:

She heard voices and realized that there were three people in the next room.

She saw empty glasses and cups and realized that three people had been in the room. (They were no longer there.)

He arrived at 2.30 and was told to wait in the VIP lounge. (he received his instructions after his arrival).

He arrived at 2.30. He had been told to wait in the VIP lounge. (he received them before arrival, possibly before the journey started).

4. In reported speech after past verbs like said, told, asked, explained, wondered etc. It refers to things that had already happened when the conversation took place.

I told her that I had done enough work for one day.

Note:

the Past Simple is often used instead of the Past Perfect in dependent clauses after a past perfect verb:

He told me that somebody had phoned when I was out.

If we have two such actions: ‘He had been to school but he had learnt nothing there, so was now illiterate’ and wish to combine them with a time conjunction, we can use when etc. with two past perfect tenses:

When he had been at school he had learnt nothing, so he was now illiterate.

But it is more usual to put the verb in the time clause into the simple past:

When he was at school he had learnt nothing,...

Similarly:

He had stayed in his father's firm till his father died. Then he had started his own business and was now a very successful man.

Note the use of the past perfect in the following examples:

When we returned from our holidays, we found our house in a mess What had happened while we had been away? A burglar had broken into the house and had stolen a lot of our things (Now that the time of the burglary has been established relative to our return, the story can continue in the simple past). The burglar got in through the kitchen window He had no difficulty in forcing it open Then he went into the living-room

Note the reference to an earlier past in the following narrative:

Silas Badley inherited several old cottages in our village He wanted to pull them down and build new houses which he could sell for high prices He wrote to Mr Harrison, now blind and nearly eighty, asking him to leave his cottage within a month Old Mr Harrison was very distressed (The situation has been established through the use of the simple past. What follows now is a reference to an earlier past through the use of the simple past perfect.) He had been born in the cottage and stayed there all his life His children had grown up there, his wife had died there and now he lived there all alone

5. The Past Perfect is used to express an unrealistic hope, wish etc. (hope, mean, intend, think etc.)

I had intended to make a cake but ran out of time.

They had hoped to get to the summit but Travers fell ill at base camp.

1. Clauses with when

a) When one past action follows another, He called her a liar, She smacked his face, we can combine them by using when:

When he called her a liar she smacked his face.

When two simple past tenses are used in this way there is usually the idea that the first action led to the second and that the second followed the first very closely or if the earlier action was a short one and they did not happen simultaneously:

When he opened the window' the bird flew out.

When the play ended the audience went home.

When I put the cat out it ran off into the bushes.

Compare:

When we got back the babysitter went home. (first we got back, then she went home)

When we got back the babysitter had gone home. (first she went home, then we got back)

b) The past perfect is used after ‘when’ when we wish to make it clear or to emphasize that the first action was completed before the second one started:

When I had read the letter, I started to cry. (I finished the letter before I started to cry.)

Compare with:

When I read the letter, I started to cry. (I started to cry after I started reading the letter.)

When he had shut the window we opened the door of the cage. (We waited for the window to be quite shut before opening the cage.)

When she had sung her song she sat down. (Note: 'When she sang her song she sat down " might give the impression that she sang seated. The same is: When I had washed the cat it ran off into the bushes).

In a moment the butler came in, to clear up. When he had left again, she said: "Your servant is an honest man, isn't he?"

Compare:

When he had seen all the pictures he said he was ready to leave. (When he had finished looking…)

When he saw all the pictures he expressed amazement that one man should have painted so many. (Immediately he saw them he said this.)

c) the Past Perfect is usual when the subjects of the two clauses are the same:

When I had put the cat out I locked the door.

When they had shown him round, fed him on their best, and thrust him into their softest chair, they eagerly demanded news.

Still, even if the subjects are the same the Past Simple is usually used when we are talking about people’s immediate reactions:

When she saw the mouse she screamed.

When they reached Grosvenor Square, Angela got out of the taxi and looked about her, puzzled.

When she returned with the grammar, she drew a chair near

2. We can also use the past perfect in this way with as soon as, the moment, immediately.

As soon as I had told her the news, I regretted it.

She ushered me out of the room as soon as I paid/ had paid my subscription

3. In after clauses

After the will had been read there were angry exclamations.

To emphasize that the second event is the result of the first we prefer the past simple for both:

She became famous after she appeared on the TV.

With terminative verbs the Past Perfect may be replaced by the Past Indefinite.

After we had passed our exams, we went out to celebrate.

We can also say:

After we passed our exams, we went out to celebrate.

Shortly after we returned from Basel, Roy moved to London.

After we rose from the table James immediately went to make a telephone call.

The use of the past perfect merely emphasizes the fact that the event in the after clause preceded the other event. It is correct to use either the past perfect or the past simple in after clauses.

4. The past perfect can be used with till/until and before to emphasize the completion or expected completion of an action.

If the Past Perfect action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used instead of the Past Perfect when before or after is used in the sentence. Both sentences below are correct.

She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996. She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.

If the Past Perfect action did not happen at a specific time, Past Perfect must be used at all times.

She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska.

a) in till/until + past perfect + simple past combinations the simple past action may precede the past perfect action;

He refused to go till he had seen all the pictures.

He did not wait till we had finished our meal.

b) in before + past perfect + simple past combinations the simple past action will always precede the past perfect action The Past Perfect here refers to a later action which was not completed or done in time It is rendered in Russian as прежде, чем я успел, смог:

Before we had finished our meal he ordered us back to work.

Before we had walked ten miles he complained of sore feet.

He died before I had had a chance to speak to him.

She went out before o had realized what was happening.

I discovered the news before I had bееn in the house for аn hour.

Уоu would have to talk to him before he had made uр his mind

Past perfect tenses in both time clause and main clause are also possible:

It was a very expensive town. Before we had been here a week we had spent all our money.

5. If action of one of the clauses is not fully accomplished before the action of the other clause occurs, the unaccomplished action is expressed by the Past Perfect.

They had not gone four miles before he understood that it was going to rain.

He had not been there for two days before he admitted that he should not have accepted the invitation.

Sentences of this kind are best rendered in Russian as не успели они... как, не успев проехать и..., etc.

6. Verbs of knowing, understanding etc. are not normally used in the past perfect tense in time clauses except when accompanied by an expression denoting a period of time:

When she had known me for a year she invited me to tea but

When I knew the work of one department thoroughly I was moved to the next department

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