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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Use of past perfect in narrative concerning future events
Hello,
I was wondering if we could tackle the following. Sometimes I'd stumble across some sentence that would go as follows: "I figured that once I had saved up enough, I'd come back." I am a little puzzled by the use of past perfect here. The person is talking about future in a past narrative. Why use past perfect? It is because it's a conjecture, i.e. because there is a chance he might not save up enough in the end? Is the use of past perfect arbitrary in this case? Can this be changed to "I thought that once I saved up enough, I'd come back."
What about: "I told her I would do it once I received the money."
Should it be "I told her I would do it once I HAD received the money"?
I'd appreciate any help.
Many thanks,
Karl
I was wondering if we could tackle the following. Sometimes I'd stumble across some sentence that would go as follows: "I figured that once I had saved up enough, I'd come back." I am a little puzzled by the use of past perfect here. The person is talking about future in a past narrative. Why use past perfect? It is because it's a conjecture, i.e. because there is a chance he might not save up enough in the end? Is the use of past perfect arbitrary in this case? Can this be changed to "I thought that once I saved up enough, I'd come back."
What about: "I told her I would do it once I received the money."
Should it be "I told her I would do it once I HAD received the money"?
I'd appreciate any help.
Many thanks,
Karl
Top answer
In both cases, the past perfect is used to make clear that the saving and the receiving is complete before the coming back and the doing of it.
- In both cases, the past perfect is used to make clear that the saving and the receiving is complete before the coming back and the doing of it.
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2 Answers
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In both cases, the past perfect is used to make clear that the saving and the receiving is complete before the coming back and the doing of it.
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