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Marold Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
When + past perfect
Once I've already asked in the forum about this kind of clause. The fact I am wondering about concerns the When + past perfect clause. To my surprise, I have seen it a few times in the book Harry Potter where it was quite common.
When Harry had taken his place between Ron and Hermione, she said...
When they had eaten as many sandwiches as they could they rose and left the office, treading the familiar path to Gryffyndor.
My question is why J.K.Rowling doesn't use the past simple instead of past perfect in this kind of clause? She normally starts the sentence with when + past perfect, in my opinion, in order to emphasize the action in the first clause, which is then followed by the second clause (the second action), of course.
What are your opinions on the matter?
Thank you in advance.
When Harry had taken his place between Ron and Hermione, she said...
When they had eaten as many sandwiches as they could they rose and left the office, treading the familiar path to Gryffyndor.
My question is why J.K.Rowling doesn't use the past simple instead of past perfect in this kind of clause? She normally starts the sentence with when + past perfect, in my opinion, in order to emphasize the action in the first clause, which is then followed by the second clause (the second action), of course.
What are your opinions on the matter?
Thank you in advance.
Top answer
The past perfect stresses the completion of the previous action, which the adverb 'when' obfuscates somewhat. It is common in literature.
- The past perfect stresses the completion of the previous action, which the adverb 'when' obfuscates somewhat.
- It is common in literature.
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3 Answers
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The past perfect stresses the completion of the previous action, which the adverb 'when' obfuscates somewhat. It is common in literature.
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Writer's choice. The odds that Rowling got it right are pretty good. The girl can write.
"When Harry had taken his place between Ron and Hermione, she said.... " is equivalent to "Once Harry had taken his place between Ron and Hermione, she said...." or "After Harry had taken his place between Ron and Hermione, she said....", but "when" is better because it doesn't be
"When Harry had taken his place between Ron and Hermione, she said.... " is equivalent to "Once Harry had taken his place between Ron and Hermione, she said...." or "After Harry had taken his place between Ron and Hermione, she said....", but "when" is better because it doesn't be
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Perfectly explained! Yes, the odds are fairly high that she knows how to write.
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