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Lunchbox Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
past indirect discourse?
"I received a letter a year ago from a woman who had been saved by the people of Le Chambon when she was a young girl."
Why did they use past-perfect here? Couldn't "was saved" work perfectly fine as well? With the use of "had been", it makes it seem like she had been saved BEFORE she became a young girl, but that's clearly not the case.
Could my question be explained because the sentence was using "past indirect discourse"? I read it in a grammar book. It's used when "you are reporting what someone said in the past, you should use the past perfect tense in the clause describing what was said:"
He told the TA that he had written the essay that week. (correct)
He told the TA that he wrote the essay that week. (incorrect)
Thanks a lot! =)
Why did they use past-perfect here? Couldn't "was saved" work perfectly fine as well? With the use of "had been", it makes it seem like she had been saved BEFORE she became a young girl, but that's clearly not the case.
Could my question be explained because the sentence was using "past indirect discourse"? I read it in a grammar book. It's used when "you are reporting what someone said in the past, you should use the past perfect tense in the clause describing what was said:"
He told the TA that he had written the essay that week. (correct)
He told the TA that he wrote the essay that week. (incorrect)
Thanks a lot! =)
Top answer
The past perfect is frequently used as a flash-back device. That is, in the middle of telling a story (using the past tense), you want to mention something that happened before the time of the story itself . I was walking down the street one day and a stranger approached me.
- The past perfect is frequently used as a flash-back device.
- That is, in the middle of telling a story (using the past tense), you want to mention something that happened before the time of the story itself .
- I was walking down the street one day and a stranger approached me.
- Considering that < | < I had just been mugged the previous day in the same part of town, > | > I was apprehensive.
- In the case of your example sentence, things get even more complicated, because the point of view changes to the time of what happened before the time of the main story .
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7 Answers
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The past perfect is frequently used as a flash-back device. That is, in the middle of telling a story (using the past tense), you want to mention something that happened before the time of the story itself.
I was walking down the street one day and a stranger approached me.
I was walking down the street one day and a stranger approached me.
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<"I received a letter a year ago from a woman who (said/wrote/claimed that she) had been saved by the people of Le Chambon when she was a young girl.">
It's reported/indirect speech/writing with "said", or another reporting verb, and a pronoun omitted. Don't only focus on the isolated sentence to understand why the past perfect was used. Think about the rest of the letter.
It's reported/indirect speech/writing with "said", or another reporting verb, and a pronoun omitted. Don't only focus on the isolated sentence to understand why the past perfect was used. Think about the rest of the letter.
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So there is a rule that states that when you quote reported speech, you must use past perfect!? Honestly, I still don't quite understand.
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LunchboxSo there is a rule that states that when you quote reported speech, you must use past perfect!? Honestly, I still don't quite understand.Have you read anything at all on reported speech? Backshifting is not obligatory if the meaning is clear.
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You mean something like:
"He asked me if I had finished reading the newspaper"
The way "had finished" is used in this sentence makes sense to me, but not in the first sentence in my first post.
"He asked me if I had finished reading the newspaper"
The way "had finished" is used in this sentence makes sense to me, but not in the first sentence in my first post.
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LunchboxYou mean something like:Think of it this way. The Gestapo arrested people in Le Chambon. They then executed many of those people.
"He asked me if I had finished reading the newspaper"
The way "had finished" is used in this sentence makes sense to me, but not in the first sentence in my first post.
The time of her being
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"I received a letter a year ago from a woman who had been saved by the people of Le Chambon when she was a young girl."
This is the only correct formulation (using the past perfect) and this ISN'T reported or indirect speech. It's just the history of the events, what happened first.
The only reason the author uses was after when
This is the only correct formulation (using the past perfect) and this ISN'T reported or indirect speech. It's just the history of the events, what happened first.
The only reason the author uses was after when
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