Present Perfect versus Past Simple
Present Perfect is used to talk about actions taken place at an indefinite time in the past. With the Past Simple the time reference is very definite
With the Past Simple the period is over. With the Present Perfect not. We can talk about events which are still current. In other words, with Past Simple no connection with the present is observed, while with the Present Perfect – there is always some (today, this morning).
Some time expressions can be used with either tense depending on the attitude of the speaker.
I’ve seen him this morning. (the morning is not finished, and the speaker saw him at some point in it; but we can’t say this in the afternoon or in the evening)
I saw him this morning. (if the morning is not yet finished, then the speaker is looking back at an earlier part of the morning as if it is completely separate from the time of speaking, e.g. before coming to work)
Past Simple is used to give details about an action or events after it having been introduced in a conversation, report, etc. by means of the Present Perfect tense.
In questions beginning with when, how, where as they, as a rule, refer to past events, and we are more interested in the circumstances of the action than in the action itself.
NOTE: Present Perfect is possible in the question Where have you been? if it is asked a person who has just come.
Unit 7 past perfect and past perfect progressive
It falls within the time sphere of the past and is mainly found in narration. It indicates ‘past in the past’, that is a time further in the past as seen from a definite viewpoint in the past.
The house had been empty for several months (when I bought it).
The goalkeeper had injured his leg, and couldn’t play.
It had been raining, and the streets were still wet.
In meaning, the Past Perfect is neutral as regards the differences expressed by the Past Simple and Present Perfect. This means that if we put the events described by the Past Simple and Present Perfect further into the past they both end up in the Past Perfect.
They
tell me that the parcel arrived on April 15th.
the parcel has already arrived.
They told me that the parcel had arrived on April 15th.
the parcel had already arrived.
It’s used to denote:
an action completed before a certain moment in the past and viewed back from the past moment. It may be a single point action, an action of some duration or a recurrent action. The Past Perfect is only used when there’s this idea of a second or an earlier past; when we are concentrating on a later time (which will be in the past time), we want to go back to an earlier time just for a moment. When we talk about the past events in the order in which they happened, we don’t generally need to use the Past Perfect.
I explained that I had forgotten my keys.
I could see from his face that he had received bad news.
The Past Perfect is often used with conjunctions of time when, after, as soon as.
In when clauses it is used when we need to make it clear that the event in the when clause was completed before the event in the Past Simple started.
When I had read the letter I started to cry. (I finished reading the letter before I started to cry)
Compare with:
When I read the letter I started to cry. (I started to cry after I started reading the letter)
In after clauses:
After we had passed our exams we went out to celebrate.
But we can also say:
After we passed our exams, we went out to celebrate.
The use of the Past Perfect merely emphasizes the fact that the event in the after clause preceded the other event. It is correct to use either the Past Perfect or the Past Simple in after clauses.
Simple Past can often be used instead of the Past Perfect, if the earlier action was a short one.
When I had washed the cat, it ran off into the bushes in disgust.
When I put the cat out, it ran off into the bushes in disgust.
However, Past Perfect is usual when the subjects of the two clauses are the same.
When I had put the cat out, I locked the door and went to bed.
Even when the subjects are the same, the Simple Past tense is usually used when we are talking about people’s immediate reactions.
When she saw the mouse she screamed.
I got a real shock when I opened it.
With before the Past Perfect is sometimes used in a special way. It can refer to a later action which was not completed or which was not done in time.
He died before I had had a chance to speak to him.
She went out before I had realized what was happening.
an action which began before a given past moment and continued into it or up to it. Usually this meaning is expressed by Past Perfect Progressive especially with terminative verbs or to talk about longer actions or situations, which had been going on continuously up to the past moment that we are thinking about.
When she arrived I had been waiting for three hours.
I realized that I’d been overworking, so I decided to take a couple of days’ holiday.
However,
Past Perfect is used compulsory with the verbs that don’t admit of a continuous form;
Past perfect is used in negative sentences.
The Past Perfect can be used to express an unrealized hope, wish, etc.
I had hoped that he would be able to leave tomorrow, but it’s beginning to look difficult.
I had intended to make a cake, but I ran out of time.
The Past Simple is often used instead of the Past Perfect in dependent clauses after a past perfect verb to show simultaneousness of the action.
He told me somebody had phoned when I was out. (or……when I had been out)
They were quarreling about the property their father had left them when he died. (or……when he had died)
Past Perfect is used in adverbial clauses of time introduced by the conjunctions when, before, after, as soon as, till / until to express a future action viewed from the past. It shows that the action of the subordinate clause will be completed before the action of the principal clause which is usually expressed by the Future-in-the-Past.
You must talk to him before he had made up his mind.
He decided that he wouldn’t look at his watch till he had read thirty pages.
Past Perfect is used in complex sentences with clauses of time introduced by the conjunction when:
when the action of the principal clause closely follows that of the when-clause if we want to emphasize the completion of the action in the subordinate clause.
When they had shown him round, they demanded news.
Normally, the Past Simple is used in both clauses.
when the action of the principal clause precedes that of the subordinate clause, Past Perfect is used in the principal clause.
When he next spoke, his tone had changed.
in a pattern which contains the Past Indefinite in the subordinate clause and the negative form of the Past Perfect and some indication of measure in the principal clause.
I hadn’t been in the pub two minutes when somebody brought Tom in for a drink.
Sentences of this kind are generally rendered in Russian as: «не пробыл я там и двух минут, как…».
Occasionally, Past Perfect may be found in the subordinate by the conjunction as soon as to emphasize the completion of the action.
As soon as he had gone, I spoke to Hanna.
In complex sentences with a subordinate clause of time introduced by the conjunction before:
Past Perfect is used in the principal clause when the action of the principal clause precedes that of the before-clause.
He had heard the news before he ran up my stairs.
However, the Past Indefinite is more common in the principal clause.
It happened before you came.
Past Perfect is used to denote that the action in one of the clauses is not fully accomplished before the action of the other clause takes place.
If the unaccomplished action is expressed in the principal clause, its verb is always negative in form.
They hadn’t gone 4 miles before he understood that it was going to rain.
If the unaccomplished action is expressed in the subordinate clause, its predicative verb is affirmative in form but negative in meaning.
I discovered the news before I had been in the house for an hour.
In complex sentences with a subordinate clause of time introduced by the correlatives scarcely…when, hardly…when, nearly…when, no sooner…than, the action of the subordinate clause takes place when the action of the principal clause is hardly accomplished yet. Past Perfect is found in the principal clause.
He had scarcely entered the room when he saw Ann.
The Past Perfect is used as the equivalent of the Present Perfect. The Present Perfect looks back from the present and the Past Perfect looks back from the past.
Ann and Michael have just got married.
It was June 1992. Ann and Michael had just got married.
The Past Perfect can be used as the equivalent of the Past Simple when we want to narrate events looking back from a point in the past.
Jane McDonald was then 28. She had started working for the company when she was 18. She had quickly climbed the career ladder and was now the youngest managing director.
But for the reasons of style the narration is not likely to continue very long in the Past Perfect. The story usually returns quickly to the main time reference point, which is in the Past Simple.
The Past Perfect Continuous is the equivalent of the Present Perfect Continuous. The Present Perfect Continuous describes an activity looking back from the present and the Past Perfect Continuous describes an activity looking back from the past.
I’m very tired. I’ve been working all day.
I was very tired. I had been working all day.
Why are you so wet? What have you been doing?
Why were you so wet? What had you been doing?
The dog from next door has been barking for two hours.
It was 1 o’clock and the dog from next door had been barking for two hours.
‘It’s been raining here for days,’ she said.
She said it had been raining there for days. (Present Perfect Continuous becomes Past Perfect Continuous in reported speech)