In Phrasal verbs^x, Past perfect^x, Tenses^x

She belted most of a bottle of wine down before dinner had even begun.This is an example sentence provided for the entry on the 'belt down' in a Chamber's guidebook on phrasal verbs. And from what I have learned about Past Perfect, it seems to me that it is ungrammatical that 'had...

"Grammar and exercises are only requirements of the syllabus, not of learning a language. Did you learn the grammar of your mother-tongue when you were acquiring it? Most of you may still not know the grammar of your mother-tongue but you speak it effortlessly." If grammar means identifying...

Ant_222 wrote:«You have been on missions where you have had to jump out of a helicopter into icy water to perform the rescue.» Is this sentence ok¿ Shouldn't the second «have had» be changed to «had»?This is optional, but only when: --- Tense simplification in subordinate...

In #1, the verb is in the passive voice, the past perfect tense. In the active voice, it would be The gas explosion had blown out all the shop's windows. Blown out is a phrasal verb; had been blown out is a verb with auxiliaries.In #2, had is the (whole) verb and blown out is a past participle...