Hi,
I was wondering if someone can explain to me the difference between simple past and past perfect tense. When would you use one vs the other? For example, When would you say...
I had sent out an email yesterday
and..
I sent out an email yesterday
When would you have to use past perfect?
Thanks.
I was wondering if someone can explain to me the difference between simple past and past perfect tense. When would you use one vs the other? For example, When would you say...
I had sent out an email yesterday
and..
I sent out an email yesterday
When would you have to use past perfect?
Thanks.
Almost never, and certainly not in your example. Use past perfect when there are two past events in the same statement, and it is not clear which one came first, and you wish to clarify that relationship. http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/pastpf.htm is a bit more on the same.
When telling the story of something that happened in the past, you may want to refer back to situations which were in effect before the time the story happened. In that case you use the past perfect. Without establishing the past point of view there's no need for the past perfect tense.
You would have to use the past perfect in reporting the present perfect, thus:
Direct quote: "I have sent an e-mail".
As reported later: I said that I had sent an e-mail.
Similarly,
Dialog:
-- I'm waiting for a response.
-- A response?
-- Yes. I sent an e-mail yesterday, and now I'm waiting for a response.
As reported later: I was waiting for a response to the e-mail I had sent the day before.
(I was waiting establishes the past point of view. had sent is the past of that past, so to speak. It is even 'more past' than the past.)
CJ
You would have to use the past perfect in reporting the present perfect, thus:
Direct quote: "I have sent an e-mail".
As reported later: I said that I had sent an e-mail.
Similarly,
Dialog:
-- I'm waiting for a response.
-- A response?
-- Yes. I sent an e-mail yesterday, and now I'm waiting for a response.
As reported later: I was waiting for a response to the e-mail I had sent the day before.
(I was waiting establishes the past point of view. had sent is the past of that past, so to speak. It is even 'more past' than the past.)
CJ
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Comments
When time is stated, you need to use the Simple Past Tense.
Other examples:
I woke up late yesterday.
I was late for school last Monday.
After I had sent an email to my friend yesterday, I received a reply from him soon after.
The phrase 'had sent' emphasises that the sending of the email occurred first. The reply from your friend came later.
I hope this helps.
After I sent an email to my friend yesterday, I received a reply from him soon after.
Am I right?
After I ate my lunch, I went out.
After I had eaten my lunch, I went out.
Both sentences have the same meaning, that is, the same actions and the same sequence are involved.
I will explaine to you .....
For exemple there are too action ( too verbs) always you put the first action in past perfect & the second action in the past EXEMPLE: I had met my wife ,i married her.( you hav to meet befor to marry, you can not marry and after you meet)
I hope you understand
r2VwK
-don
Here is a link that may help clear the misperceptions:http://www.englishtenses.com/tenses/past_perfect