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English 1b3 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Past perfect here

I hadn't seen him since 1980, and he had aged a lot in the intervening years.

Why is the past perfect used here? (There was no additional context). I suspect we need context to justify its use--although I can't think of any logical context that would call upon the past perfect here.

And does intervening years mean the years between 1980 and the time this was uttered?

Thanks
  

Top answer

It sound like the speaker is talking about somebody that they used to see on a regular basis and then didn't see for years before then seeing him again. I think the Past perfect makes it sound more of a habit (he used to see him regularly). The invervening years are the period where the speaker didn't see the man, rather than the year until the narration.

— Dave Phillips

  • It sound like the speaker is talking about somebody that they used to see on a regular basis and then didn't see for years before then seeing him again.
  • I think the Past perfect makes it sound more of a habit (he used to see him regularly).
  • The invervening years are the period where the speaker didn't see the man, rather than the year until the narration.
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1 Answers
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It sound like the speaker is talking about somebody that they used to see on a regular basis and then didn't see for years before then seeing him again. I think the Past perfect makes it sound more of a habit (he used to see him regularly). The invervening years are the period where the speaker didn't see the man, rather than the year until the narration.
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