Past perfect or not

Question

Hello,Example: He was no longer in the army and became a businessman instead.Is this okay, or must it be past perfect as in: he was no longer in the army and had become a businessman instead.Is the past perfect - had become - necessary in this instance?Mr. X

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Hi Mr. X;

AnonymousIs the past perfect - had become - necessary in this instance?

It is not correct. Past perfect is used for action that has completed in the past. These are OK:

After he had finished his obligatory service in the army, he became a businessman.
After he finished his obligatory service in the army, he became a businessman.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousExample: He was no longer in the army and became a businessman instead.
Is this okay, or must it be past perfect as in: he was no longer in the army and had become a businessman instead.

Is the past perfect - had become - necessary in this instance?

To my ear, both versions relate the same events, but the time focus is different.

The events are that he left the army and then became a businessman.

He was no longer in the army and became a businessman instead.
In the first version, we, the readers, are following the time line just as it unfolded.
1. He left the army. (We readers are now focused on the time he left the army.)

2. He became a businessman. (We readers are now focused on the time he became a businessman.)
Our time focus moves with the story.

He was no longer in the army and had become a businessman instead.

In the second version we are focused on some time after these events occurred.
0. We are now focused on a point after he left the army and became a businessman.
1. He was not in the army at this point in time. (Still at focus point of "0".)

2. He had already become a businessman by this point in time. (Still at focus point "0".)
Our time focus remains the same while it is explained how we got to the current time point.
_______

In my opinion it is not a question of "you must use the first one" or "you must use the second one", but rather, "you must use the one that says what you mean" and "you must use the one that fits the style and context in which this sentence occurs".

That said, I prefer the second version as an isolated sentence, because "was no longer in the army" seems to set the time focus and his becoming a businessman seems to me to precede this state of affairs. Presumably, however, you are using the sentence in the context of other sentences, and the other sentences will influence your choice.

CJ

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Hi Anon:
CJ is right. I was thinking about this afterward, and was a bit too rash and prescriptive in my answer.

Regards,
A-

s

BarbaraPA · Answer

It may amuse to know, A Stars, that I reacted almost exactly the same way in another forum. First I said no, and give three possible "correct" versions, and then I said, it could be yes, if you're doing a narrative of his life and got to the point when the Army is in the past and he's about to make the decision to become a businessman. Fortunately, no one answered between so I got to make both posts. <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/> Always good to know that different forums end up with the same answers.

Past perfect or not

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