Grammar

Question

Please tell which one of the below sentence is correct:

I forwarded you the invitation that I had received from my friend.
OR
I forwarded you the invitation that I received from my friend.

Are the both above grammatically correct?

Your help will be much appreciated. Thanks

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Only the second is correct; the first is a wrong use of the past perfect. Past perfect is used like this:

I forwarded you the invitation that I had received from my friend when you called.

Ethan85 · Answer

Thanks for the answer Mister Micawber.

But the event "received the invitation" happened earlier in the past. I forwarded the invitation later.

Can you please elaborate why the first is not correct in this respect?

Canadian45 · Answer

ethan85 Please tell which one of the sentences below is correct.
I forwarded you the invitation that I had received from my friend.
I forwarded you the invitation that I received from my friend.

Are both of the above grammatically correct? In my opinion, yes they are.
The past perfect is not necessary, but is not incorrect. Unnecessary use of perfect tense is a common feature of English, especially in British English. (at least from the perspective of American English)

Mister Micawber · Answer

But the event "received the invitation" happened earlier in the past. I forwarded the invitation later.-- And that is obvious: common sense (hence no past perfect). Furthermore, the clause 'that I received from my friend' is merely an adjective modifying 'invitation', so that its verb form is not affected by the main verb:

I forwarded you the invitation that I received from my friend.
I will forward you the invitation that I received from my friend
I am forwarding you the invitation that I received from my friend..

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