past perfect and simple past

Question

examples:-i already warned her.i had already warned her.what is the difference in the meaning of these two sentences?the confusion in using past perfect or simple past when i just want to talk about a "SINGLE INCIDENCE" that happened in the past has been bugging me for a very long time now.Could someone tell me when to use the past perfect and wen should we use the simple tense?

Aashita Sharma · Accepted Answer

please someone answer my question:(

Terryxpress · Answer

I hit him. He swore at me.
These are two actions, written in the Past Tense. The order of the actions indicates that the 'hitting' was before the 'swearing'.

So - how would you indicate to me, through the use of tense forms, that in fact, the 'swearing' action came before the 'hitting'?

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Aashita Sharma,

Aashita Sharmathe confusion in using past perfect or simple past when i just want to talk about a "SINGLE INCIDENCE" that happened in the past has been bugging me for a very long time now.

Sometime, a single past statement may trigger a past perfect use, as you wrote "I had already warned her". The reason is, this suggestive statement hints something unpleasant or bad had happened after your warning her earlier. You can geta much more detailed explanation by Googling "past perfect, usage" be cause it a lot more time-efficient. But for your particular inquiry, we can visualize the context like this:
1) your warning
2) A presumed mishap

I had warned her many times not to text while driving. My fear came true. She veered off the road and hit a pedestrian last night coming back from school. Therefore, ""I had already warned her" is absolutely correct.

Aashita Sharma · Answer

That is a wonderful explanation:).Thanks alot:):)

Aashita Sharma · Answer

another small doubt that i have in the following statement.

This pic reminds me of my sister when she put paint on my nails while I was asleep and guess what happened after I woke up... we had a deadly fight !!

Can we use "she had put paint" instead of "put nails"?if no then why?

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Aashita Sharma,

Aashita SharmaThis pic reminds me of my sister when she put paint on my nails while I was asleep and guess what happened after I woke up... we had a deadly fight !!

Aashita SharmaCan we use "she had put paint" instead of "put nails"?if no then why?
..you

In my opinion no. contrarily, it would be incorrect because conventionally speaking, contexts containing conjunctions like "when" and "while", "before" and ( and a few others), past perfect construction is not necessary because the or of events are chronologically clear. i.e. Sarah and I often went to the beach together during the summer when we were kids.
This is why past perfect is such a difficult area for learner.

The two underlined sentences are correct.

past perfect and simple past

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