Had kept/had bought

Question

He had kept the secret for so long. - Does this mean that the keeping started at some point in the past and lasted up to the moment of the utterance?

_____

He had bought the house because he had always wanted to tear it down. - This only means that he bought the house sometime in the past?

Are the past perfect in these two sentences used differently? The first sentence shows us that he'd kept the secret for some time in the past while the second sentence only shows us an event that happened sometime in the past. It doesn't show us any trace of a duration.

Can you help me with this?

Thanks.

Grammarfreak · Accepted Answer

whatchadoinHe had kept the secret for so long. - Does this mean that the keeping started at some point in the past and lasted up to the moment of the utterance?

What this sentence implied was that he already told the secret to someone. If the time of utterance was time in the past (last month/ year) and keeping of the secret took place before that, then the answer is "yes". Remember this: Past perfect is used to describe the relationship between two past events, not events from a past leading up to the present. So if the utterance is now, the past perfect incorrect is wrong.

whatchadoinHe ~~had~~ bought the house because he had always wanted to tear it down. - First, You don't need the "had" in the main clause. A simple past tense was all is needed.
Secondly, Without further context, this sentence in essence says, he hated the house so much that he bought it for the purpose of tearing it down, or destroying it. If that is the case, then it is correct, as revised.

This only means that he bought the house sometime in the past?
Is there any doubt? "Bought" is past tense. So of course he did the buying in the past. I don't get your point.

Had kept/had bought

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