The Simple Past Perfect Tense

1. The simple past perfect is used to express an action that happened before a given moment in the past.

When I arrived at the party, Lucy had already gone home.

If a number of past actions are described, the past perfect is used to express priority to the initial state or action, but if some details of the prior actions are given, the past simple is used.

She adored her new house. She had been to many shops and had found the right furniture. She bought it at a good price and had enough money left to buy an antique painting. Since then she hadn’t seen anything half so beautiful.

See how the given actions are connected: ‘had been / found’ and ‘had seen’ are prior to ‘adored’. ‘Bought and had’ followed ‘had found’.

2. It is not necessary to use the past perfect in time clauses introduced by ‘after, before, as soon as, etc.’ since it’s clear in which succession the events took place.

After he finished his exams he went to Paris.

As soon as I put the phone down it rang again.

However, if the speaker means to make the sentence emphatic, the past perfect should be used.

As soon as I had put down the phone it rang again. = That very moment.

After he had done military service, he went to university. = It’s important that when he went to university he had already done military service.

He went out before I had said a word. = Не успел я и слова сказать, как …

(Note that in sentences like the last one, a past perfect tense can refer to a time later than the action of the main verb.)

3. The simple past perfect (similar to the simple present perfect) can be used in a time clause introduced by ‘since’ when we mean ‘за тот период / за то время, что …’

I knew Paul had had two accidents since he’d had the car.

If the time clause introduced by ‘since’ is used only to determine some time in the past, the past simple is used.

I knew she had changed several jobs since she left school. = since 2002.

The Simple Future Perfect

The simple future perfect is used to express an action that will have been completed by a certain time in the future.

Don’t try to get in touch with them in the evening. They will have left by then.

Perfect forms with state verbs

Normally the perfect forms are not used in sentences like:

I’ll be home by five o’clock. (meaning ‘I’ll be home at or before 5.’)

By the end of the meal they were friends. (meaning ‘They were friends at the end of the meal and continued being friends later.’)

In these examples the state we are speaking about does not come to an end at the given moment. Compare:

By September he’ll be in Paris. – К сентябрю он будет в Париже.

By September he’ll have been in Paris. – К сентябрю он побывает в Париже.

However, if the duration of the given state is mentioned the perfect forms are used. (These are examples of the perfect progressive forms with verbs not used in continuous, though.)

By next Christmas we’ll have been here for eight years.

Nouns in Groups

In the noun+noun structure, the first noun modifies or describes the second, like an adjective.

A horse race – a kind of a race

A race horse – a kind of a horse

Note that the first noun is usually singular in form, even if it has a plural meaning.

A shoe shop – a shop that sells shoes

This rule also applies to compound nouns used as adjectives.

A ten-pound note

A ten-year-old boy

In measurement of time, however, the ‘…’s’ structure is often used.

A day’s journey

Three hours’ walk

Twenty minutes’ delay

Noun + noun structures are also possible.

A three-hour journey

A twenty-minute delay

Unit 3