Happened

Question

It has something to do with what had already happened. Or

It has something to do with what has already happened.

Are both useable and what's the difference in meaning?

I'm describing something that happened in the past.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

The first defies logic when I try to analyze it—there is no 2nd past referent for the past perfect.

PreciousJones · Answer

Mister MicawberThe first defies logic when I try to analyze it—there is no 2nd past referent for the past perfect.

I will change it to:

It has something to do with what already happened.

Is this correct?

Thanks!

CalifJim · Answer

PreciousJonesIt has something to do with what already happened.Is this correct?

That's fine.

Also, in the past:

It had something to do with what had already happened.

CJ

PreciousJones · Answer

Mister MicawberThe first defies logic when I try to analyze it—there is no 2nd past referent for the past perfect.

Here is the context. See if it'll work better here. My friend as gotten a few rhinoplasty procedures in the past and she's about to get another revision. And I ask her why are you going under the knife again. And she replies with:

Because it's got something to do with what had already happened.

Would this reply be acceptable now?

Thanks!

PreciousJones · Answer

CalifJim PreciousJonesIt has something to do with what already happened.Is this correct?That's fine.Also, in the past:It had something to do with what had already happened.CJ

Here is the context. See if it'll work better here. My friend as gotten a few rhinoplasty procedures in the past and she's about to get another revision. And I ask her why are you going under the knife again. And she replies with:

Because it's got something to do with what had already happened.

Would this reply be acceptable now?

Thanks!

Mister Micawber · Answer

I see no call for past perfect there, either: it is a simple past reference.

CalifJim · Answer

PreciousJonesMy friend as gotten a few rhinoplasty procedures in the past and she's about to get another revision. And I ask her why are you going under the knife again. And she replies with:Because it's got something to do with what had already happened.

Because it's got something to do with what had already happened.

When she answers like this, she is putting herself mentally at the time she had the procedures, so anything that happened before she had those procedures should be expressed with 'had happened'. Before she had those procedures, something had already happened.

That's not, however, the time period she's talking about, at least I don't think so, because she's telling you why she is going to have more surgery in the future. Consequently, I don't really understand why she would have used "what had already happened". It's understandable, and I wouldn't call it a terrible error, but I think most people would just have said, "what already happened".

On the other hand, maybe she really is talking about something that had happened before those rhinoplasty procedures. In that case, "what had already happened" is appropriate. It's really impossible to know exactly what was in any speaker's mind when they spoke.

I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure it made sense to her at the time she said it.

CJ

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