Past simple or past perfect
I find the following sentence from one of books that I've read.
By the year 2000, 12% of US population had reached the age of 65 or more, although this was slightly lower than in 1990 when it had peaked at 12.6%.
The above sentence states that "in 1990 it had pecked at 12.6". But, my question is why they used past perfect tense instead of past tense when we know the year. I know past perfect usually address some events more past than past tense. But, as far as I'm concerned, when we know when something happened, use should use past tense. Therefore, I would really appreciate it if someone could explain this usage of past perfect further.
Top answer
The viewpoint of this sentence is the year 2000, which is in the past. 1990 is further back in the past than 2000. One past event before another past event is the trigger for the past perfect.
- The viewpoint of this sentence is the year 2000, which is in the past.
- 1990 is further back in the past than 2000.
- One past event before another past event is the trigger for the past perfect.
- Having said that, in this case we probably would not notice a problem if the simple past had been used instead.
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The viewpoint of this sentence is the year 2000, which is in the past. 1990 is further back in the past than 2000. One past event before another past event is the trigger for the past perfect. Having said that, in this case we probably would not notice a problem if the simple past had been used instead.
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