195 Past and past perfect tenses in time clauses

A Clauses with when

When one past action follows another, He called her a liar, She smacked his face, we can combine them by using when and two simple past tenses provided that it is clear from the sense that the second action followed the first and that they did not happen simultaneously:

When he called her a liar she smacked his face.

When two simple past tenses are used in this way there is usually the idea that the first action led to the second and that the second followed the first very closely:

When he opened the window' the bird flew out.

When the play ended the audience went home.

When he died he was given a state funeral.

The past perfect is used after when when we wish to emphasize that the first action was completed before the second one started:

When he had shut the window we opened the door of the cage. (We

waited for the window to be quite shut before opening the cage.)

When she had sung her song she sat down. ('When she sang her

song she sat down" might give the impression that she sang

seated.)

When he had seen all the pictures he said he was ready to leave.

(When he had finished looking at them . . .) Compare with:

When he saw all the pictures he expressed amazement that one man

should have painted so many. (Immediately he saw them he

said this.)

The past perfect can be used similarly with as soon as, the moment, immediately. (For as as a time conjunction, see 332.)

В The past perfect can be used with till/until and before to emphasize the completion or expected completion of an action. But note that in till/until + past perfect + simple past combinations the simple past action may precede the past perfect action; and in before + past perfect + simple past combinations the simple past action will always precede the past perfect action:

He refused to go till he had seen all the pictures.

He did not wait till we had finished our meal.

Before we had finished our meal he ordered us back to work.

Before we had walked ten miles he complained of sore feet. Past perfect tenses in both time clause and main clause are also possible:

It was a very expensive town. Before we had been here a week we had

spent all our money.

С after is normally followed by a perfect tense:

After the will had been read there were angry exclamations.

D We have already stated (see 194) that actions viewed in retrospect from a point in the past are expressed by the past perfect tense. If we have two such actions:

He had been to school but he had learnt nothing there, so was now

illiterate

and wish to combine them with a time conjunction, we can use when etc. with two past perfect tenses:

When he had been at school he had learnt nothing, so he was now

illiterate.

But it is more usual to put the verb in the time clause into the simple past:

When he was at school he had learnt nothing, . . . Similarly:

He had stayed in his father's firm till his father died. Then he had

started his own business and was now a very successful man.

E Verbs of knowing, understanding etc. are not normally used in the past perfect tense in time clauses except when accompanied by an expression denoting a period of time:

When she had known me for a year she invited me to tea but

When I knew the work of one department thoroughly I was moved to

the next department or As soon as I knew etc. Compare with:

When I had learnt the work of one department I was moved.

F Time clauses containing past perfect tenses can be combined with a main verb in the conditional tense, but this is chiefly found in indirect speech, and some examples will be given in the next paragraph.