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Read this sentence.
M. Hamel had said that he would question us on participles.
In the sentence above, the verb form “had said” in the first part is used to indicate an “earlier past.” The whole story is narrated in the past. M. Hamel’s “saying” happened earlier than the events in this story. This form of the verb is called the past perfect.
Pick out five sentences from the story with this form of verb and say why this form has been used.
In the following sentences, two activities of past, occurring at two different points of time in the past, are indicated. The one that happens earlier takes the “had” + past form of verb (V3), while the one that follows it takes the simple past form of verb (V2).
|
Sentences in past perfect form |
Reason/ Explanation |
| I had counted on the commotion to get to my desk without being seen; but, of course, that day everything had to be as quiet as Sunday morning. | The protagonist decided to depend on the commotion to sneak into the classroom before he encountered the quietness at the school. |
| Not till then, when I had got a little over my fright, did I see that our teacher had on his beautiful green coat … prize days. | Getting over the fright happened before he noticed his teacher’s green coat. |
| …Hauser had brought an old primer, thumbed at the edge, and he held it open on his knees with his great spectacles lying across the pages. | Of the two actions, Hauser’s bringing of the old primer happened before he held it open on his knees. |
| It was because they were sorry, too, that they had not gone to school more. | The feeling of regret comes after they realise they did not go to school more than what they did. |
| My books, that had seemed such a nuisance … were old friends now that I couldn’t give up. | The books were a nuisance earlier. It is only later that the protagonist talked about them in a different light. |
(A model answer has been provided for students' reference. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)
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