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Marek Štefanec Posted 6 years ago
Grammar

Past perfect along with “by”

Hey ?? I’d love to ask about this particular sentence:

The fighting which started in the night had petered out by the morning

The way I learned past perfect was to use it before some event in the past. For instance: 

We had already left the party by the time she arrived

So as you know, we left earlier, therefore the past perfect is used there. However, the sentence I’m inquiring about should use the past perfect in the first half of the sentence (at least based on my knowledge so far):

The fighting which had started in the night petered out in the morning

I have this strange feeling that “my version” of the sentence is bound to be wrong, but why?


I’m so grateful for any reply in advance!

And may you have a wonderful Christmas time!

  

Top answer

You need to understand that In cases where the sequence of events is clear, we very,very often use just Simple Past instead of Past Perfect. eg In 2015 I received my BA. In 2019, I got my MA.

— Clive

  • You need to understand that In cases where the sequence of events is clear, we very,very often use just Simple Past instead of Past Perfect.
  • eg In 2015 I received my BA.
  • In 2019, I got my MA.
  • eg In 2019 I got my MA.
  • In 2015 I received my BA.
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2 Answers
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You need to understand that In cases where the sequence of events is clear, we very,very often use just Simple Past instead of Past Perfect.

eg In 2015 I received my BA. In 2019, I got my MA.

eg In 2019 I got my MA. In 2015 I received my BA.

eg After I ate breakfast, I called my friend.

eg Before I called my friend, I ate breakfast.

eg The fighting which started

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Marek ŠtefanecThe fighting which started in the night had petered out by the morning.
The way I learned past perfect was to use it before some event in the past.

Yes, but that "event in the past", which we could call "the anchor event", can be hidden somewhere in the context.

In this example the anchor event is "the morning came". Before that eve

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