Had been

Question

The ideas are written in the cultural firmament where they had already been numbered by Plato – and were indeed numbers, incapable of increase and immutable. - Is this past perfect tense in bold?

Why can't it be written as this:

The ideas are written in the cultural firmament where they were already numbered by Plato – and were indeed numbers, incapable of increase and immutable.

Or

The ideas are written in the cultural firmament where they had been numbered by Plato – and were indeed numbers, incapable of increase and immutable.

Please explain the difference between the original text and the two sentences I've created. Thank you.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

PreciousJones Is this past perfect tense in bold?

Yes. (passive voice)

PreciousJonesPlease explain the difference between the original text and the two sentences I've created.

The first alternate is simple past, passive voice.
Without prior context, it's not different from the original.
As I'm sure you know, the past perfect allows for the exact sequencing of a prior event, while the simple past does not.
No such prior event is mentioned here, so the difference is irrelevant.

The second alternate is in the same tense as the original, missing only the word "already."
Again, with no prior context, the presence of "already" is irrelevant.
We had already eaten when the guests arrived. (The "already" doesn't add any information.)

However, in the simple past, "already" can make a difference in meaning.
When I arrived, the guests were numbered. This is ambiguous. Did they do the job when I arrived?
When I arrived, the guests were already numbered. In this version, we know the guests were numbered prior to my arrival.

Had been

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