Ungrammatical? "She belted most of a bottle of wine down before dinner had even begun."

Question

She belted most of a bottle of wine down before dinner had even begun.This is an example sentence provided for the entry on the 'belt down' in a Chamber's guidebook on phrasal verbs. And from what I have learned about Past Perfect, it seems to me that it is ungrammatical that 'had even begun' is in Past Perfect tense. I reckon it should be 'She had belted most of a bottle of wine down before dinner even began' instead. I know it is probably presumptuous to say this, but anyhow, I will be virtually over the moon if I got this right.ThanksPBF

Marius Hancu · Accepted Answer

No,  it's correct.

New2grammar · Answer

MH, could you highlight the structure of this construction so I know what to memorize?

My example:

She arrived before her mother had reached her hotel?

Marius Hancu · Answer

She drank before dinner had (even) begun.

New2grammar · Answer

So I got it right in my example?

Marius Hancu · Answer

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http://books.google.com/books?id=aiN6AAAAIAAJ&q=%22before+work+had+even+begun%22&dq=%22before+work+had+even+begun%22&lr=
by Neil D. Orpen, Henry James Martin - http://books.google.com/books?q=:%22World+War,+1939-1945%22&lr= - 1982

By 26 July, before work had even begun on the high Esino bridge, Maj. Browne was continuing his reconnaissance onward to Castel ...

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Peaceblinkfriend · Answer

Don't you use the past perfect tense to talk about actions that occur before another past actions?

Thanks

PBF

Marius Hancu · Answer

yes, but this is a special case

New2grammar · Answer

Is my example correct? in case you didn't notice my previous post.

She arrived before her mother had reached her hotel?

CalifJim · Answer

Peaceblinkfriendfrom what I have learned about Past Perfect, it seems to me that it is ungrammatical that 'had even begun' is in Past Perfect tense.

No. It's grammatically correct to use the past perfect tense when the before clause indicates that an event has not yet happened at the time of the main clause, but suggesting that perhaps the event was going to happen. This construction can (correctly) give the impression that events occurred in the reverse order from what was expected, customary, or desirable. (In the case at hand, the writer expected that the dinner would begin first and the wine drinking would take place later.)
She belted down the wine before the dinner had begun
= The dinner had not yet begun [when / at the time] she belted down the wine.
See
CJ

CalifJim · Answer

New2grammarShe arrived before her mother had reached her hotel?

Fine.
= Her mother had not yet reached her hotel when she arrived.
The expected (intended) order is: Her mother arrives at the hotel, and then she arrives.
The actual order is: She arrives at the hotel, but her mother is not there; her mother has not yet arrived.
Or, backshifting: She arrived at the hotel, but her mother was not there; her mother had not yet arrived.
CJ

Ungrammatical? "She belted most of a bottle of wine down before dinner had even begun."

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