Linguistics

[كاميليا رضوان]

Pluperfect

The plu-perfect is formed with the auxiliary HAD, followed by the past participle of the main verb

He had always wanted to travel in Africa.
-She had already left when Philippe arrived.
-I bought the book that Corinne had recommended to me.

The plu-perfect shows that the action has been done before another action (in the past). Adverbs such as "already" reinforce this impression.

-She learned to love the dog that had bitten her the week before.
-When I got home, I had already heard the bad news.
-The children ate all the cookies that their father had bought

The plu-perfect is often used in hypothetical expressions with "if", in conjunction with the pastconditional:
-I would not have come if I had known he was ill.
With the adverb "just", the plu-perfect indicates the immediate past in a past context:
-He had just eaten lunch when I arrived.

TEST -

Fill in the gaps with the verbs (plu-perfect):
1. I went to Paris two days ago. I ______________ (already to be) to Europe several years before.
2. I ate the apple I ________________ (to buy) in the supermarket.
3. _________________ you _________________ (to do) your homework when your friend arrived?
Answer 1: Yes, I _________________
Answer 2: No, I _________________
Answer 3:
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MODEL ANSWERS
1. I had already been to Paris.
2. I had bought.
3. Had you done your homework... Yes, I had. No, I hadn't.