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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Past perfect

Hi.

In this definition (from Cambridge Dictionary) for the word "wilderness" I have a problem understanding pert of it:

"an area of land that has not been farmed or had towns and roads built on it, esp. because it is difficult to live in as a result of its extremely cold or hot weather or bad earth"

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/american-english/wilderness

Why do they use "had" in this sentence?

I thought that past perfect is for an action that happend before other action, isn't it?

Why not to say "...or has towns and roads built on it..."?

Thanks.
  

Top answer

You have misunderstood the tense. It's not past parfect, it's present perfect, just like "has not been" is present perfect. It's just that the auxiliary "has" isn't repeated: an area of land that has not been farmed or [has not ] had towns and roads built on it...

— Cool Breeze

  • You have misunderstood the tense.
  • It's not past parfect, it's present perfect, just like "has not been" is present perfect.
  • It's just that the auxiliary "has" isn't repeated: an area of land that has not been farmed or [has not ] had towns and roads built on it...
  • CB
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2 Answers
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You have misunderstood the tense. It's not past parfect, it's present perfect, just like "has not been" is present perfect. It's just that the auxiliary "has" isn't repeated: an area of land that has not been farmed or [has not] had towns and roads built on it...

CB
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