Here is a situation:
I had lunch with Jenny yesterday. Today she called me and said she had a wonderful time with me.
Is it possible to use a past perfect tense here, as ‘she said she had had a wonderful time with me’?
Another situation;
Jenny was supposed to have lunch with Tom and Steve. But when she got to the restaurant, Steve wasn’t there. Tom said Steve went back to his office because there was something came up.
Later Jenny told that to Kerry,
“When I got there, Steve had already gone back to his office.”
Is it possible to use a simple past tense here? Also, is it supposed to be ‘Tome said Steve had gone back’ or ‘Tom said Steve has gone back to’?
Thanks in advance.
I had lunch with Jenny yesterday. Today she called me and said she had a wonderful time with me.
Is it possible to use a past perfect tense here, as ‘she said she had had a wonderful time with me’?
Another situation;
Jenny was supposed to have lunch with Tom and Steve. But when she got to the restaurant, Steve wasn’t there. Tom said Steve went back to his office because there was something came up.
Later Jenny told that to Kerry,
“When I got there, Steve had already gone back to his office.”
Is it possible to use a simple past tense here? Also, is it supposed to be ‘Tome said Steve had gone back’ or ‘Tom said Steve has gone back to’?
Thanks in advance.
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Comments
In your first situation, both "had" and "had had" are possible.
In the second one, I'd use a past perfect in both cases. This is a reported speech in the past, and the action of "going back to the office" is anterior to the other one, so you need "had gone back"
Doesn’t ‘I had had a good time’ imply that their good time was completely over, that they wouldn’t have a good tome again?
There is no logic behind this to back up my concept, but I just feel that way.
So likewise you'd say, 'Steve couldn't make it because there had been something came up'?
I don't think that past perfect is either preferred or necessary here, as it is clear from the context that 'coming up' preceded 'making it'.
SO, on the same token, can you say this?
Tom told me that he came back from his trip to Italy three days ago.
Or it's better to use past perfect, to say 'he had come back from ...'?