past perfect with specific time

Question

John had gone for his medical examination last Monday.

I am a beginner English learner, I saw the above sentence in the grammar book, but I think past perfect shouldn't has specific time, so I think'had gone' should be replace with 'went', am I right? thanks.

Yoong Liat · Accepted Answer

II think'had gone' should be replaced with 'went', Am I right? Yes.

John went for his medical examination last Monday.

CalifJim · Answer

mycat415I think past perfect shouldn't have a specific time

That's not true. A sentence with a present perfect should not also contain a mention of a specific time. There is no such restriction on the past perfect.

That said, the time you mention must be stated in a way that relates to a past point in time, so 'last Monday' in your example is not good. You need something like this:

John had gone for his medical examination the previous Monday.

Of course, this sentence would occur in your story after you had already talked about something else that happened in the past.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks CJ.

I am learning English grammar through online English site. I am trying very hard to understand all the verb tenses and their usage. Every time I seem like understand their usage but when I want to write something, I still have difficult to choose which tense should I use. Moreover, I don't have chance to practice English.

Regarding the sentence that I mentioned in the first post, I saw it in a grammar book, it just said we can use past perfect when time is specified, and then give the said sentence as example. I have learned that past tense is used to expresses action in the past before another action in the past. so I thought it is wrong, it should be '' John went.....last Monday''. I think past tense cannot be used with specific time, but I never think is the use of 'last Monday' not good.

As CJ reply, past tense can be used with specific time, can I rewrite the sentence as:
Before John was sent to hospital, He had gone for his medical examination the previous Monday.

May I know is it possible to use 'last Monday' or 'last night' with past perfect? if yes, can give me an example.

Wow, this is my first time writing such a long post, I hope everyone can understand what I am writing. Thanks.

From
mycat415. ( I cannot login)

AlpheccaStars · Answer

I hope you don't mind my correcting your post, but generally learners benefit from correction.

I am learning English grammar through an online English site. I am trying very hard to understand all the verb tenses and their usage. (Be easy on yourself! This is a very difficult subject, and sometimes the choice of tenses is a matter of preference, rather than rule.) Every time I seem like I understand their usage and ~~but~~ ~~when I~~ want to write something, I still have difficulty in to choosing which tense ~~should~~ I should use. Moreover, I don't have a chance to practice English.

Regarding the sentence that I mentioned in the first post, I saw it in a grammar book. It just said we can use past perfect when a time is specified, and then gave the said sentence as an example. I have learned that past perfect tense is used to expresses an action in the past before another action in the past. so I thought it was wrong; it should be '' John went.....last Monday''. I think the (simple) past tense cannot be used with a specific time, but I never thought that the use of 'last Monday' was not good.

Per CJ 's reply, if the past tense can be used with a specific time, can I rewrite the sentence as:
Before John was sent to hospital, He had gone for his medical examination the previous Monday.

No, this does not work. The past perfect is an action before another action in the past.

Before John was sent to hospital last Monday (This is the action in the past - It happened last Monday), he had gone in for his medical examination. (and this is the action that happened some time before that.)

You can give a relative time measure between the two events.

Two weeks before John was sent to hospital last Monday, he had gone in for his medical examination. (So he went in for his exam, and two weeks later, he was sent to the hospital.) Note that "the hospital" is American English, and "hospital" is British English.

As CJ wrote, you can use past perfect with an absolute time without reference to another event in the past.

He had gone in for an examination last month.

Yoong Liat · Answer

AStars wrote: He had gone in for an examination last month.

CJ wrote: That said, the time you mention must be stated in a way that relates to a past point in time, so 'last Monday' in your example is not good. You need something like this:

John had gone for his medical examination the previous Monday.

Are both sentences fine? Thanks.

CalifJim · Answer

Yoong LiatAStars wrote: He had gone in for an examination last month.CJ wrote: That said, the time you mention must be stated in a way that relates to a past point in time, so 'last Monday' in your example is not good. You need something like this:John had gone for his medical examination the previous Monday.Are both sentences fine? Thanks.

I can see how this can get very tricky.

As an isolated sentence, I find something not quite right about He had gone in for an examination last month. last month relates to the time of utterance, and it should relate to the time (past) of the on-going narrative.

Still, if the on-going narrative takes place yesterday, the absolute time last month is before yesterday, so in that context the sentence seems more acceptable to my ear.

— John had surgery yesterday.
— I didn't know he had any problems of that kind.
— Well, he did. He had gone in for an examination last month, and the doctors found ....
____________

Bottom line: In the appropriate contexts, both sentences are fine.

CJ

Mycat415 · Answer

Thanks AlpheccaStars. I am very pleased that you are willing to take your time to correct my grammar error, really appreciate your help.

I need some time to digest all the reply. thanks.

past perfect with specific time

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