Sabtu, 11 Juni 2011

PAST PERFECT TENSE

Past perfect tense is used to indicate that one action occurred before another action in the past. In other words, past perfect tense indicates the first of the two actions.*
For example,
    When I woke up this morning, my roommate had left already. After I had eaten my dinner, I went to see a movie. Before I arrived at the theater, the movie had already begun.
Sometimes, when the meaning is clear from context, the simple past tense can be used.
    After I had gone shopping, I stopped at the health spa. After I went shopping, I stopped at the health spa. 

How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?

The structure of the past perfect tense is:
subject+auxiliary verb HAVE+main verb

conjugated in simple past tense
past participle
hadV3
For negative sentences in the past perfect tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect tense:
 subjectauxiliary verb
main verb 
+Ihad finishedmy work.
+Youhad stoppedbefore me.
-Shehadnotgoneto school.
-Wehadnotleft. 
?Hadyou arrived? 
?Hadthey eatendinner?
When speaking with the past perfect tense, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:
I hadI'd
you hadyou'd
he had
she had
it had
he'd
she'd
it'd
we hadwe'd
they hadthey'd
 
The 'd contraction is also used for the auxiliary verb would. For example, we'd can mean:
  • We had
    or
  • We would
But usually the main verb is in a different form, for example:
  • We had arrived (past participle)
  • We would arrive (base)
It is always clear from the context.
How do we use the past perfect tense? »
    The most common error with the past perfect is using it where it does not belong.
      When I was young, I had been a cowboy.When I was young, I was a cowboy. (Incorrect?no reference to other events)(Correct)
      Yesterday the Johnsons had opened their new business.Yesterday the Johnsons opened their new business. (Incorrect)(Correct)

    *In some very unusual cases, the past perfect tense can refer to the second past action.
      Before I had finished my homework, the telephone rang.(The telephone interrupted me before I finished my homework.)
    See also:Past Perfect (from Englishpage.com)
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    How do we use the Past Perfect Tense?

    The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past in the past. For example:
    • The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left.
    The train had left when we arrived.
    pastpresentfuture
    Train leaves in past at 9am.  
    9 9.15

     
    We arrive in past at 9.15am.  
    Look at some more examples:
    • I wasn't hungry. I had just eaten.
    • They were hungry. They had not eaten for five hours.
    • I didn't know who he was. I had never seen him before.
    • "Mary wasn't at home when I arrived."
      "Really? Where had she gone?"
    You can sometimes think of the past perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past.
    past perfect tense present perfect tense
    had |
    done |
    > |




    have |
    done |
    > |


     
    pastnowfuture pastnowfuture
    For example, imagine that you arrive at the station at 9.15am. The stationmaster says to you:
    • "You are too late. The train has left."
    Later, you tell your friends:
    • "We were too late. The train had left."
    We often use the past perfect tense in reported speech after verbs like said, told, asked, thought, wondered:
    Look at these examples:
    • He told us that the train had left.
    • I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong.
    • He explained that he had closed the window because of the rain.
    • I wondered if I had been there before.
    • I asked them why they had not finished.

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