Questions tagged [past-perfect]
Questions about Past Perfect tense
331
questions
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1answer
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Would you say, “She was quiet after she'd been back from school,” or “She was quiet after she'd gotten back from school”?
I don't know if these two choices are just preference or not.
On a side note, would it sound better if you say "ever since" or "since" in place of the word "after"?
...
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0answers
59 views
The first paragraph of “Leviathan Wakes” is driving me crazy. What do you think about it?
I feel like the author gets his tenses all mixed up as soon as he finishes the prologue. At the very least, the first paragraph is difficult to parse. Check it out:
A hundred and fifty years before, ...
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0answers
47 views
The Past Perfect in the narrative set in the present
Have been reading a lot of fanfics lately, so what follows is quotations from unedited stories published on AO3. These are real excerpts from the writings of the US and the UK authors:
She looks up ...
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0answers
25 views
Past Perfect Sentence structure for yes/no questions [closed]
Which of these is correct and why?
Had not you seen this movie before?
Had you not seen this movie before?
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0answers
31 views
A question concerning Past Perfect continuous
He had been drinking milk out the cartoon when mom walked into the kitchen
I'm reading past perfect continuous in my grammar book and the rule says it is used for an that began before a certain point ...
1
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2answers
38 views
Past perfect or present perfect?
We didn't go to the party last night because we have had a fever
Or
We didn't got to the party last night because we had had a fever
I know the past perfect describes an completed before a certain ...
1
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0answers
16 views
Present perfect or past perfect with Already
Look at the sentence :
• When we got to the theater, the play (already start)
how should I write it properly?
• When we got to the theater, the play already has started.
Or
•When we got to the theater,...
1
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1answer
36 views
A question concerning Past Perfect Tense [closed]
I met him in London in 1996. I had seen him last five years before.
This is an example given for Present Perfect Tense in my grammar book. Does the sentence mean the last time the speaker had met the ...
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0answers
20 views
**Primary English**Tony thought that his mother <has>/<had> already gone to work
Could any English master please help explain why the underline is HAS rather than HAD? Everything happened in the past, so I thought we should use had. Thanks a lot.
Tony loves dogs. He has two dogs. ...
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0answers
22 views
Simple past or past perfect?
Is this sentence grammatically correct?
I had felt a strange panic as I was parted from it. (Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller)
It seems rather strange to me to pair the past perfect with the simple ...
0
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0answers
36 views
Past Past Perfect
If we have one action, we can use Past Simple/Past Continuous
I found out
If we have two actions, we can use Past Perfect/Past Perfect Continuous for the one which is the most ancient and Past ...
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0answers
24 views
Using past simple tense after past perfect
When X happened, I had not taken my pills because I hadn't had them
with me.
When X happened, I had not taken my pills because I didn't have them
with me.
Is the second sentence ...
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0answers
26 views
Which is correct? A true warrior would never attack those who (had/have) hurt him
Regardless of the meaning of the sentence, what should it be? "Had" because I used "would" or "Have" because it is a general statement of a fact?
0
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1answer
45 views
Which would be the correct usage of tenses in this sentence?
A little bit of context:
Peter and Kevin were working on a mission together, and Peter had already planned (He was looking forward) to betray Kevin by the end of the mission. Kevin did not know Peter'...
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0answers
31 views
Past Perfect with an emphasis on result of an action in the past
As we all know, one of the main ways of using the Present Perfect is describing actions which happened in the past, but are still true or have a very important result (from British Council):
We use ...
1
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1answer
38 views
Which one should I use, past simple or past perfect?
In November 2001, he ran onto the pitch to play for Inter Milan against Lecce. The fans cheered; he hadn't played almost two years, since he _______ (damage) his knee... He fell down and didn't get up....
0
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1answer
21 views
Past simple transforms to past perfect?
I had a leg injury. Past simple.
I had had a leg injury. Past perfect.
But if I add word "until" past simple transforms to past perfect:
I had a leg injury until I was 15.
Is this sentence correct?
...
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0answers
24 views
English / Spanish parallels and confusion
In general, I'm pretty confident and familiar about all typical uses of the past perfect tense. However, I noticed a compelling case while studying Spanish years ago. In Spanish, there's the pretérito ...
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3answers
58 views
“He hadn't realized there'd been a lightning storm brewing.” Why is past perfect used in this sentence?
I'm seeing past perfect more often in these types of sentences and it doesn't make sense. What makes it different from using simple past here?
Edit: Thanks, I got it now.
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2answers
52 views
Why is the past perfect used here?
Why is the past perfect used in these cases? This is from George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Winston had seen O'Brien about twelve times in almost as many years. Years ago he had dreamed about O'...
1
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0answers
32 views
it's high time you {past perfect} something
I know that usually it should be "It's high time someone did something."
However, what about "the past perfect"? Is it possible to use? If yes, when should it be done and for what effect?
"It's ...
0
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0answers
28 views
Past Perfect or Past Simple?
I am writing a text on theatre. I would like to put in one sentence two different time references:
"The model has recently been popular in the academia"
AND
"It was theorized about 50 years ago by ...
1
vote
1answer
34 views
Past Perfect Simple vs Past Simple
By the time he had reached the door, he remembered the pink diamond.
By the time he reached the door, he remembered the pink diamond.
Are both sentences grammatically correct?
Thank you!
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0answers
33 views
“She didn't want to go until she had seen you”. Past perfect?
I understand past perfect as a tense for expressing an event before another in the past or as an experience on a longer timeframe in the past.
She didn't want to go until she had seen you.
She ...
0
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0answers
20 views
Using Have word to ask question related to past
Please check below sentence
Have you setup desktop software and mobile app?
This type of question, where the event has already occurred in past, always makes me feel that the question is not ...
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1answer
53 views
Which sentence is correct and why?
Which is the correct sentence below?
You never asked how I have been.
You never asked how I had been.
0
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1answer
44 views
Confusing uage of present perfect infinitive where past perfect should be used
In one of the renowned grammar books I've come across an example of confusing usage of the perfect infinitive, where in my opinion past perfect should be used instead:
He is thought to have been ...
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0answers
44 views
Uncommon subjunctive inversion in a negative clause in the pluperfect: “had not millions been swept away”
Voters in 2008 would have seen he didn’t measure up then, had not millions been swept away with emotion and wish-fulfillment. (source)
This line reads odd even jarring to me with a weird inversion ...
2
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1answer
53 views
Why do we use past perfect instead of past tense here?
"We couldn't put down the floor until the plumber HAD finished."
When 'finished' would do the same job much more perfectly instead of confusing.
0
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1answer
33 views
Using the past perfect tense
I came across this sentence while surfing the Web:
Yeah, I was sleeping the whole time.
I was wondering if the past continuous tense could be changed into the past perfect tense.
For context, the ...
1
vote
2answers
64 views
event order with simple past and past perfect
I am trying to understand the emphasized sentence in the following passage:
In the 1930s the work of Sigmund Freud, the 'father of psychoanalysis', began to be widely known and appreciated. Less ...
0
votes
2answers
81 views
Why is it grammatically correct to use the past perfect tense and then the past progressive tense?
My attorney had taken his shirt off and was pouring beer on his chest, to facilitate the tanning process.
It's from a book. Does it make sense to you? Because the author uses the past perfect tense ...
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2answers
353 views
“it has proved” or “it has been proved” [duplicate]
I've a concern regarding the usage of been in the following case.
It has proved that one of the main reasons for the rapid propagation
of false information is suspicious users.
It has been ...
0
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1answer
36 views
were or had been
I'm not sure about what sentence is right (and a little explanation why if it's not too much to ask would be nice):
1) Everybody was irritated when they were told they wouldn't be paid.
2) Everybody ...
0
votes
1answer
205 views
What's the difference between has entered and entered?
My uncle has entered many sailing boat races.
-In the past but I don't say when.
My uncle entered a sailing boat race in 2014 and won.
-In the past but I say when.
What's the difference between has ...
0
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2answers
36 views
Why Past Perfect In Specified Sentence
I am reading The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle.
And in the fourth chapter we have this part:
"It all could have been arranged. Mr Douglas was an American, or had lived in America for a long ...
0
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1answer
74 views
past perfect or present perfect
Which of the following is correct and why?
I hadn't observed such natural beauty until this very moment.
or
I haven't observed such natural beauty until this very moment.
0
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1answer
69 views
Does “I have been exposed to” imply that I still am?
I still don't seem to fully understand the difference between these three:
I've been exposed to English as a kid
I'd been exposed to English as a kid
I was exposed to English as a kid
Could someone ...
-1
votes
1answer
73 views
Will vs Would examples doubt
1. First Doubt:
I will have broken for lunch by 12:30.
This above sentence is from a grammer book, I think will should be would, for eg,
I would have broken for lunch by 12:30.
Am I wrong?
2. ...
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3answers
54 views
Past perfect instead of past simple in fiction
I read web fiction a lot and sometimes I notice sentences that, while being written in past perfect tense, might have been written in past simple tense as well.
For example:
He’d broken his ...
0
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1answer
36 views
The usage of Past Perfect tense
Good time of the day! I just wanted to clarify something with your help. Is it pertinent to use past perfect in this case, assuming that I am talking fully in the context of the past:
I wasn't able ...
0
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2answers
67 views
'having been' in past perfect
I am trying to understand how to move the expression having been better to past perfect case in the following sentence:
They consider some period in the past having been better than the times we ...
3
votes
1answer
100 views
The ways to indicate a state or an action which lasted and then ended at or before some point in the past?
I feel quite confused. If I want to say that something was true or was happening for a while before some point in the past, what ways does English give me to express that?
If I want to express that ...
2
votes
2answers
150 views
Using Past Simple when talking about an event which was happening for a while before another event
I always thought when a person is speaking of two past events, they should use the Past Perfect tense for the earlier event. Like this:
"I had been explaining (Past Perfect) this rule to you for ...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
Confusing double occurrence of Past Perfect in the same sentence
I am currently working with a grammar book designated for advanced English learners, and I have come across a strange usage of Past Perfect:
So, before the young man had had a chance to say anything ...
0
votes
1answer
44 views
Use the Past Perfect instead of the Simple Past here
I've seen that we should use the Perfect to say about prior events that happened at a certain time and that give us context. Now, in this sentence here:
A: Hello, Allie.
B: I don't wanna talk to you. ...
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1answer
290 views
Modal verbs and Past Perfect
Is it possible to use modal verbs in Past Perfect?
I know we can use modal verb + perfect infinitive to talk about the past, e.g. I shouldn't have said that. This is Past Simple tense, isn't it?
I ...
0
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2answers
60 views
When to use and not to use Past Perfect
This question has probably been asked many times, so I apologize in advance. I also apologize if it's too long and may not abide by all the rules. After seeing many examples of past perfect and past ...
1
vote
1answer
65 views
When can I omit the auxiliary verb in Past Perfect…?
I've come across two examples of past-perfect in the textbook and was wondering if someone could please explain why the latter sentences still use 'had' and why it shouldn't be omitted:
1) When I ...
-1
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1answer
63 views
About the past perfect and its proper use is a sentence
When they had celebrated their 50 anniversary, it was already popular.
Is this sentence correct? (I Think it must be just the other way around?)
