The Past Perfect

§ 29. The Past Perfect is an analytical form which is built up
by means of the auxiliary verb to have in the Past Indefinite and
the participle of the notional verb (e.g. I had worked. He had
worked, etc.). (On the formation of the participle see "Verbs", § 5
and Appendix.) The same auxiliary is used to form the interrogative
and the negative forms (e.g. Had you worked? Had he worked? It
had not worked. They had not worked). In spoken English the con-
tracted forms I'd, he'd, she'd, we'd, you'd, they'd are used in af-
firmative sentences and hadn't in negative sentences.

§ 30. The Past Perfect falls within the time sphere of the past
and is mainly found in narration. However, as will be seen, it may
be used in some of its meanings in present-time contexts as well.
The Past Perfect has three distinct uses which will be further re-
ferred to as Past Perfect I, Past Perfect II and Past Perfect III.

1) Past Perfect I serves to express an action accomplished be-
fore a given past moment and viewed back from that past moment.
It may be a single point action, an action of some duration or a re-
current action.

We often find this use of the Past Perfect in narration when a
string of consecutive actions is broken up because it becomes nec-
essary to refer back to a previously accomplished action. It is the
function of the Past Perfect to mark this step back in narration.

e.g. She was no fool. She had read much, in several languages, and

she could talk of the books she had read with good sense.
It was long afterwards that I found out what had happened.
He knew where Haviland lived, but he had never been there.

She mentioned not infrequently the fact that her grandfather
had been an ambassador, but never that he had been a
stable-boy.

She was in a dressing-gown and her hair was dishevelled. She
had evidently just got out of bed.

As is seen from the above example, Past Perfect I is struc-
turally independent and may be used in simple sentences as well as
in various kinds of clauses.

Note. The time of the action expressed by the Past Perfect need not be indi-
cated as the form itself shows that the action is accomplished before a given past
moment. Yet there may be indications of time if necessary.

e.g. Jolyon remembered that he also had talked a good deal about it in his first

year at Cambridge, and given it up in his second.
They were concerned with why the machine had not run the day before.

Sometimes the step back which is made in narration refers to
one single action which is then expressed by the Past Perfect (see
the examples above). Often, however, the step back in narration
involves a whole situation comprising a number of actions. These
actions may form a new succession of actions. In this case the Past
Perfect may be used for all the actions (a) or for the first action
alone. The other actions are then expressed by the Past Indefinite
(b). There seem to be no hard and fast rules here.

e.g. a) Adeline was selecting a book from the shelves. When she
had first come to the place there had been few books
there. To these she had added many volumes of poetry,
old and new, novels, works of philosophy, history, es-
says. It had been necessary to build new shelves to ac-
commodate the books she had collected.
He told her that he had recently recovered from an attack
of typhoid and had come to Switzerland to get back his
strength.

b) It was at Blackstable that I first met Edward. I was fifteen
and had just come back from school for the summer hol-
idays. The morning after I got home I took a towel and
bathing drawers and went down to the beach. Passing
the bank, I called in to say how-do-you-do to the man-

ager, and when I came out I met my uncle. He stopped
and shook hands with me. He was walking with a strang-
er. He introduced me to him.

2) Past Perfect II serves to express an action which began be-
fore a given past moment and continues into it or up to it. This
grammatical meaning is mainly expressed by the Past Perfect Con-
tinuous (see "Verbs", § 34). However, the Past Perfect Non-Contin-
uous is found in the following cases:

a) With stative verbs where its use is compulsory.

e.g. She began to do all the things that she had wanted to do for

years.
He suddenly understood that she had loved him all her life.

b) With some dynamic verbs of durative meaning where the
Past Perfect (Non-Continuous) may be used instead of the Past
Perfect Continuous with little difference in meaning.

e.g. Roy mentioned that he had dined at home since his return.

June had never before been in the upper boxes. From the age
of fifteen she had habitually accompanied her grandfather
to the stalls.

As to terminative verbs, they normally have the meaning of
Past Perfect I and never of Past Perfect II.

Since it is often difficult to draw the line between durative
and terminative verbs, it is recommended that students of English
should use the Past Perfect Continuous with all dynamic verbs to
express an action begun before a given past moment and continued
up to it or into it.

c) In negative sentences, when the action itself is completely
negated, Past Perfect II is preferred to the Past Perfect Con-
tinuous.

e.g. Young Jolyon and Soames had not met since the day of Bosin-

ney's death.
He mentioned that he had not played cards for three years.

Past Perfect II is associated with certain time indications: ei-
ther a whole period of the duration of the action is indicated or
its starting point (for details see "Verbs", § 16, 2).

e.g. I suppose every family has a black sheep. Tom had been a

sore trial to his for twenty years.
He was not aware how long he had sat there.
At ten o'clock he awoke and remembered that he hadn't seen

Lily since Saturday.
He told me he had been badly ill since he returned from

abroad.

Note. Note that in clauses of time introduced by Since the Past Indefinite is
commonly used (see the example above).

3) In adverbial clauses of time introduced by the conjunctions
when, before, after, as soon as and till/until to express a future
action viewed from the past. It shows that the action of the sub-
ordinate clause will be completed before the action of the princi-
pal clause which is usually expressed by the Future-in-the-Past.

This use of the Past Perfect is structurally dependent as it is
restricted only to the above-mentioned type of clauses. Besides, it
is found only in reported speech.

e.g. It was desperately early; he took up his book again, making
up his mind that he would not look at his watch till he
had read thirty pages.
You would have to talk to him before he had made up his

mind.

4) To express unreal actions. (For this see "Verbs", §§ 122-
126, 132-133, 144, 146-149, 153, 162.)

§ 31. As has been said above, the Past Perfect is usually found
in past-time contexts (see the examples above). However, it may
also be used in present-time contexts in its various meanings. Yet
even in this case its use is related not to the moment of speaking
but to a definite past moment expressed or understood from the
context or situation.

e.g. "We only learned about it before dinner," said Muriel. "We

had not expected anything so fantastic."

Roy hesitated. "I don't know whether Mother has told you.
Grace," he said, "but a friend of mine is arriving today.¹'
"Yes, I had heard," said Grace.

"Did you know the average housewife walks ten miles a day
about the house? I heard so on the radio today." "I hadn't
thought about it," he said.

§ 32. Note the following sentence patterns in which the Past
Perfect is or may be used:

1) In a simple sentence or in two co-ordinate sentences the Past
Perfect is often used in combination with the Past Continuous
when both actions are viewed from the same past moment. The
definite moment need not be indicated in this case as the pattern
itself shows that the actions are related to the same past moment.
One action is accomplished before that implied moment while the
other one is still in progress. This pattern is very widely used.

e.g. Ann had risen and was peering over his shoulder.

She had got up, and was breathing deeply, with her lips part-
ed and her cheeks very flushed.

All along the walls people were standing and at the far end of
the square boys had climbed into the trees.

As he went down the stairs I walked across to my window and
pulled the curtains. The sky had cleared and the moon was
shining on the snow.
With stative verbs and with some dynamic verbs of durative
meaning the Past Indefinite is used instead of the Past Continuous
in this pattern.

e.g. The rain had passed and the air was fresh and sweet.
She had changed her wet clothes and wore a light cotton dress.
2) In a complex sentence with a subordinate clause of time in-
troduced by the conjunction when. The time relations between the
action of the when-clause and that of the principal clause may be
of various kinds: the action of the principal clause may follow the
action of the when -clause, be fully or partially simultaneous with
it and even occasionally precede it. Accordingly, different finite
forms are used in the principal and the subordinate clauses:

a) The most commonly occurring kind of time relation is when
the action of the principal clause closely follows that of the when-
clause — the two actions form a succession of actions. The Past
Indefinite is usually used in both clauses in this case.

e.g. 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
his and sat down beside him.

Yet sometimes, with the same time relation between the two
actions, we find the Past Perfect in the when-clause. It is used in
this case to emphasize the completion of the action in the subordi-
nate clause and the when-clause then is close in meaning to that
of the clause of time introduced by the conjunction after (see fur-
ther below, p. 55).

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

news.

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?"

b) When the two actions are partially simultaneous, the Past
Continuous is usually found in the principal clause and the Past
Indefinite in the when-clause. The former represents the action in
its duration. The latter indicates a shorter action which occurs at
a certain moment of the development of the action in the princi-
pal clause.

e.g. Later that night, I was reading in my sitting-room when the

bell rang.
When he returned to the room she was sitting by the fire.

With stative verbs and some dynamic verbs of durative mean
ing, the same time relation is expressed by the Past Indefinite in
the principal clause.

e.g. He was still in a state of uncertainty when his brother re-
turned with a letter in his hand.
When the car stopped in front of the door he looked dazed.

c) When the two actions are fully simultaneous, the Past In-
definite is generally used in both clauses.

e.g. Ann Chester looked her best when she smiled.

I often felt sincere admiration when I talked to him.

Note. The same time relations as described under (a), (b) and (c) may be found
in this sentence pattern when the Past Perfect has to be used in the principal
clause to mark a step back in narration whereas the Past Indefinite remains un-
changed in the when-clause.

e.g. My friendship with Roy became the deepest of my life. I had met him first

when he was a boy of fifteen.

Ashenden remembered the iron grip he had given him when they shook hands
and slightly shuddered.

d) Occasionally the action of the principal clause may precede
that of the subordinate clause. In this case the Past Perfect is used
in the principal clause and the Past Indefinite in the when-clause.

e.g. He walked at my side under the trees by the edge of the
park. When he next spoke his tone had changed.

When he returned to the living-room, his wife hadn't moved,
and the radio continued to play into the silence.
3) In a complex sentence with a when-clause containing the
Past Indefinite in the subordinate clause and the negative form of
the Past Perfect in the principal clause.
e. g. I hadn't been in the pub two minutes when somebody brought
Tom in for a drink.
I hadn't gone a hundred yards from the corner when I noticed
there was a car behind me.
Note that there is always some indication of measure men-
tioned in the principal clause. Sentences of this kind are generally
rendered in Russian as не прошло и двух минут, как я пришел в
бар, как..., не прошел я и ста ярдов, как....

4) In a complex sentence with a subordinate clause of time in-
troduced by the conjunction as soon as when the action of the
principal clause closely follows that of the subordinate clause. The
two actions form a kind of a succession of actions. Hence, the Past
Indefinite is normally used in both parts of the sentence.

e.g. As soon as I had the chance I asked Mary-Ann what she knew
of the incident.

As soon as she arrived in my flat, she busied herself tidying
it up.

Occasionally the Past Perfect may be found in the subordinate
clause where it is used to emphasize the completion of the action

and then the meaning of the subordinate clause is close to that of
the subordinate clause of time introduced by the conjunction after
(see below).

e.g. As soon as he had gone, I spoke to Hanna.

5) In a complex sentence with a subordinate clause of time intro
duced" by the conjunction after (the action of the principal clause
follows that of the after-clause). Generally, the Past Perfect is found
in the after-clause and the Past Indefinite in the principal clause.

e.g. After I had dressed, I went up to Roy's room, and found him

in shirt-sleeves and black waistcoat studying his image in
the mirror.

After he had been through the grammar repeatedly, he took
up the dictionary and added twenty words a day to his vo-
cabulary.

The Past Perfect is used in the after-clause with terminative as
well as durative verbs. With terminative verbs, however, the Past
Perfect may be replaced by the Past Indefinite.

e.g. Shortly after we returned from Basel, Roy moved to London
After we rose from the table, James immediately went to
make a telephone call.

6) In a complex sentence with a subordinate clause of time in-
troduced by the conjunctions till or until when the action of the
principal clause is an action of some duration and precedes that of
the subordinate clause. Usually the Past Indefinite is found in
both the principal and the subordinate clause.

e.g. He read the manuscripts until he was dead tired.

I did not see him again till he returned to England for the

summer.

Sometimes, however, the Past Perfect is used in the till/until
clause to show that the action of the principal clause stopped only
after the action of the subordinate clause was accomplished.

e.g. That evening I took out a deck-chair, sat under one of the
apple-trees, and read until the summer sky had darkened
and I could not make out the print.
He waited till she had regained a certain calm.

7) In a complex sentence with a subordinate clause of time in-
troduced by the conjunction before, in which there may be two
kinds of time relations between the two actions:

a) The action of the principal clause precedes that of the be­ fore-clause. Hence, the Past Perfect is found in the principal
clause and the Past Indefinite in the subordinate clause.

e.g. Madge had given Dace a set of keys before they left the farm
on Wednesday morning.

He had heard the news before he ran up my stairs.
Sentences of this kind are rendered in Russian by means of до
Того как..., прежде чем..,, перед тем как....
Actually, however, the Past Indefinite is by far more common
in the principal clause, especially with terminative verbs.

e.g. He knocked at the door twice before a muffled voice asked:

"Who's there?"
It happened before you came.

b) The 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. Sometimes there are indi-
cations of measure in such sentences.

If the unaccomplished action is expressed in the principal
clause, its predicate verb is always negative in form.

e.g. 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 успе-
ли они... как, не успев проехать и..., etc.

If the unaccomplished action is expressed in the subordinate
clause, its predicate verb is affirmative in form but negative in
meaning.

e.g. I realized before you had been here a fortnight that you nev-
er were cut for this life.
I discovered the news before I had been in the house for an

hour.

Sentences of this kind are generally rendered in Russian as не
прошло и двух недель... как, не пробыл я в доме и часа... как, etc.

8) In a complex sentence with a subordinate clause of time in-
troduced by the correlatives scarcely... when, hardly... when, near
ly... when, and no sooner... than, the time relation between the
two actions is of a specific character — the action of the subordi-
nate clause takes place when the action of the principal clause is
hardly accomplished yet. Hence, the Past Perfect is found in the
principal clause and the Past Indefinite in the subordinate clause.
Such sentences are emphatic in meaning and scarcely, hardly and
no sooner may be placed at the head of the sentence with an in-
verted word order following.

e.g. He had scarcely entered the room when in a chair by the door
he perceived Ann Chester.

She had hardly sat down when a very stout gentleman wear-
ing a very small hat flopped into the chair opposite hers.

No sooner, however, had they established themselves in the
house than he perceived to his dismay a return of her
gloomy mood.

Note. When scarcely, hardly and nearly are used as adverbs and not as correla
tives, they may be associated with different finite forms whose choice is determined
by the situation.

e.g. He did not hate her, he scarcely seemed aware of her presence.
I hardly know what to say.

The Past Perfect Continuous

§ 33. The Past Perfect Continuous is an analytical form which
is built up by means of the auxiliary verb to be in the Past Perfect
and the ing-form of the notional verb (e.g. / had been working. He
had been working, etc.). (On the formation of the ing-form see
"Verbs", §11.)

In the interrogative form the first auxiliary verb is placed be
fore the subject (e.g. Had you been working? Had she been work
ing?, etc.). In the negative form the negative particle not is placed
after the first auxiliary (e.g. We had not been working. They had
not been working, etc.). In spoken English the contracted forms
I'd, he'd, she'd, we'd, you'd, they'd are used in affirmative and
hadn't in negative sentences.

§ 34. The Past Perfect Continuous has two different uses
which will be further referred to as Past Perfect Continuous I
and Past Perfect Continuous II.

1) Past Perfect Continuous I serves to express an action which
began before a given past moment and continued into it or up to
it. In this meaning it is parallel to Past Perfect II (see "Verbs",
§ 30, 2). Past Perfect Continuous I may be used with the same in-
dications of time as are already described in "Verbs", § 16, 2.

e.g. She suddenly realized that it was now completely dark and

that she had been walking for a long while.
He knew what she had been thinking about since she re-

ceived the telegram.
Grant Melville was charming, and quite a famous painter. He
had been coming to North Cornwall for years, he had a
shack up in the hills.

Ashenden assembled the observations that he had been mak-
ing for the past few days.
The Past Perfect Continuous can be used with dynamic verbs
of both durative and terminative meaning (see the examples
above). Stative verbs express this meaning with the help of Past
Perfect II (see "Verbs", § 30, 2). Past Perfect II is possible with
dynamic verbs of durative meaning but it is not found at all with
terminative verbs.

2) Past Perfect Continuous II serves to express an action
which was in progress just before a given past moment and it affects the past situation in some way. The precise time limits of
he action are not specified. In this meaning the Past Perfect Con-
tinuous is not parallel to Past Perfect II.
Past Perfect Continuous II is, as a rule, not associated with
any indications of time.

e.g. Winifred rose from the chair in which she had been sitting.
Adeline, who had been helping her mother, now joined them.
She and Sylvia talked in high excited tones about an antholo-
gy of poetry they had been reading.

Half-heartedly I asked what she had been thinking about.
Adeline came across the lawn to meet him, carrying roses she
had been cutting.

§ 35. In negative sentences the Past Perfect Continuous is not
common; the Past Perfect (Non-Continuous) is preferred in them
when the negation refers to the action itself but not to its circum
stances (see also "Verbs", § 19).

e.g. I knew they had not corresponded for years.

§ 36. It is noteworthy that Past Perfect Continuous I and par-
ticularly Past Perfect Continuous II may sometimes be found with
stative verbs.

e.g. Beside the porch he stopped to examine the web of a spider

which he had been noticing for a week or more.
Certainly the medicine had steadied her; the sinking feeling

she had been having was all gone.
Over tea she tried to find out whether I had been seeing Sheila.

§ 37. Note some sentence patterns in which the Present Per-
fect Continuous or the Past Perfect Continuous is found:

1) In a complex sentence with a subordinate clause of time in-
troduced by since, whose action indicates the starting point of the
action in the principal clause. Hence, the Past Indefinite is used in
the since-clause. As to the principal clause, the Present Perfect
Continuous (or Present Perfect II) is used in it in present-time
contexts (a) and the Past Perfect Continuous (or Past Perfect II) in
past-time contexts (b).

e.g. a) "They are bombs. You could blow the roof of the whole of
this building with what I've got here," said the lunatic
"I've been carting them from room to room since the
war began."
I've known him since we were kids.

b) Michael rose and clutched his hat. Wilfred had said exact
ly what he himself had really been thinking ever since
he came.

Mr Bentley was a publisher because ever since he was a
boy he had had a liking for books.

2) In a complex sentence with a subordinate clause of time in
troduced by the conjunctions while and since or by some connec-
tive words and expressions such as as long as, during the week, in

the short time (that), all the time (that), etc. The actions in both
clauses may be parallel, starting at the same time in the past and
continuing either into or up to the moment of speaking in present-
time contexts (a) or into or up to a given past moment in past-time
contexts (b). Accordingly, the Present Perfect Continuous (or
Present Perfect II) is used in both clauses in the former case and
the Past Perfect Continuous (or Past Perfect II) in the latter case.

e.g. a) Our friendship has been growing all the time we've been

working on the project.
I've been rather shut in since we've been here, with all

this bad weather.

b) We had been sitting on our beds while George had been

telling me this true story.

The suit had been neither pressed nor brushed since he
had had it.

3) In a complex sentence with a subordinate clause of time in-
troduced by the conjunction when. The action of the subordinate
clause may serve to indicate a given past moment into or up to
which the action of the principal clause, that had begun before
that moment, continued. The duration of the action is indicated by
some adverbial modifier of time. Accordingly, the Past Indefinite
is found in the when-clanse and the Past Perfect Continuous (or
Past Perfect II) in the principal clause. It should be noted that
this is a very commonly occurring pattern.

e.g. He had been sitting by the fire for nearly an hour when his
mother came into the room with a letter in her hands.

They had been walking for less than an hour when the moon
suddenly appeared between the heavy clouds.
The Future Indefinite

§ 38. The Future Indefinite is an analytical form which is
built up by means of the auxiliary verbs shall (for the first per-
son, singular and plural) and will (for the second and third per-
sons, singular and plural) and the infinitive of the notional verb
without the particle to (e.g. / shall see him tomorrow. He will see
'them tomorrow. You will see them tomorrow, etc.).

It should be mentioned that in present-day English there is a ten-
dency to use will for all the persons. Besides, the difference in the
use of shall and will disappears altogether in spoken English where
the contracted form ' l1 is used with all the persons (e.g. I'll see him
tomorrow. She'll see him tomorrow. They'll see him tomorrow, etc.).

The auxiliary verbs shall and will are used to build up the in-
terrogative and the negative forms, too (e.g. Shall we see you to-
morrow? Will they see him tomorrow? I shall not see you tomor
row. You will not see me tomorrow, etc.).

In spoken English the contracted forms shan't and won't are
commonly used in negative sentences.

§ 39. The Future Indefinite is found only in present-time con-
texts. It is by far the most common of all the finite forms refer-
ring an action to the future. Although it is widely used in English,
it is somewhat restricted in its application owing to a number of
reasons which will be dealt with below.

The Future Indefinite may be used to express:

1) a single point action that will be completed in the future,

e.g. It will ruin her.

I know I'm right, and one of these days you'll realize it.

2) an action occupying a whole period of time in the future,

e.g. I think I shall remain in love with you all my life.
I hope you'll live for many years.

3) a succession of actions in the future,

e.g. I shall wait in the next room and come back when she's gone.
We'll just talk about the weather and the crops for a few
minutes and then we'll have dinner.

4) some recurrent actions in the future,

e.g. I shall come along as often as possible.

I hope we shall see something of you while you are in London.

5) some permanent future actions generally characterizing the
person denoted by the subject of the sentence,

e.g. I'm afraid he'll be a bit lonely, poor darling.

The old age pension will keep me in bread, tea and onions,
and what more does an old man want?

The Future Continuous

§ 40. The Future Continuous is an analytical form which is
built up by means of the auxiliary verb to be in the Future Indef-
inite and the ing-form of the notional verb (e.g. / shall be seeing
him often now. He will be seeing them often now, etc.). (On the
formation of the Future Indefinite see "Verbs", § 38; on the forma-
tion of the ing-form see "Verbs", §11.)

In the interrogative form the first auxiliary verb is placed be-
fore the subject (e.g. Shall I be seeing him often now? Will he be
seeing them often now?, etc.). In the negative form the negative
particle not is placed after the first auxiliary (e.g. / shall not be
seeing him often now. He will not be seeing them often now, etc.).

In spoken English the contracted form '11 is used with all the
persons in affirmative sentences and shan't and won't in negative
sentences.

§ 41. The Future Continuous is used in the following cases:

1) To express an action in progress at a definite future moment.
The precise time limits of the action are not specified and the fu-
ture moment at which the action takes place is usually indicated
by an adverbial modifier or is clear from the context or situation.

e.g. We'll just be beginning the experiments then, and my con-
tract here ends this summer.

Now I feel absolutely dopy. God knows what I shall be saying
in a minute.

However, in present-day English this original meaning of the
Future Continuous is not so common since it is seldom required
by the situation.

2) To express an action which the speaker expects to take place
in the future in the natural course of events. It may be used with
or without time indications and generally refers to the near future
though it is also possible to use it for a more distant future.

e.g. I feel I shall be asking you the same question tomorrow.

Maurice is tired. He will be coming to bed directly.

"You haven't been out for a week," his mother said. "Five
days," Vincent put down his paper. "You'll be taking root
in that armchair. Your face is growing paler every day."

He yawned. "Another five minutes and I'll be explaining the
law of gravity to another set of my pupils. I'll be making
the same old jokes and they'll be laughing at them in the
same old way."

Bob will not be coming. He's been taken ill.

This use should be regarded as the main application of the Fu-
ture Continuous in modern English.

§ 42. Note the following examples in which the Future Contin-
uous is used with stative verbs.

e.g. "What's your brother like? I shall be knowing him at Ox-
ford," said Val.

Harris said, "We shall be wanting to start in less than twelve
hours' time."

"What sort of house has Laura?" "I didn't notice. I shan't be
seeing her again in any case."

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