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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Past Perfect before Simple Past

I have been under the impression that a past perfect action happens BEFORE a simple past one.

I came across these two sentences in another website:

The removal van arrived before they had finished packing.

Shouldn't it be?
The removal had van arrived before they finished packing.

What is the difference in meaning between the two versions of the event?

Many thanks for your comments.
  

Top answer

Anonymous I have been under the impression that a past perfect action happens BEFORE a simple past one. In principle, it is true. e.

— Dimsumexpress

  • Anonymous I have been under the impression that a past perfect action happens BEFORE a simple past one.
  • In principle, it is true.
  • e.
  • ) past perfect construction may not be required, such as your.
  • Also for example: My alarm clock woke me up before you called this morning.
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2 Answers
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AnonymousI have been under the impression that a past perfect action happens BEFORE a simple past one.
In principle, it is true. But there are times when a context involves a conjunction (i.e. when, before, while, as after etc..) past perfect construction may not be required, such as your.
Also for example:
My alarm clock woke me up before you called t
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AnonymousI have been under the impression that a past perfect action happens BEFORE a simple past one.
Not exactly true, the sequence of events can be controlled by adverbs (before, after). The past perfect is used with the action that we want to emphasize.

The cat woke up after the mouse had returned to its hole in the wall.

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