Past Perfect

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Past Perfect

A: Sorry I’m late. My train was late because of the snow.
B: I was lucky. When I left home, they already cleared had already cleared the roads.
A: Is there any coffee?
B: There should be. When I looked in the kitchen a few minutes ago, someone has just put had just put the machine on.
A: Good. My feet are like ice. I need something hot to warm me up.
B: Like Jane. Her bus was very late. When it finally arrived, she was waiting had been waiting in the cold for over 40 minutes.

Forma

• Forma simples: had(n’t) + particípio
  • I arrived at 5.00. By 6.30 I had unpacked. I had had a shower. I hadn’t eaten.
  • Had you phoned home? – Yes, I had. / No, I hadn’t.
• Forma contínua: had(n’t) been …ing
  • When the bus came, I had been waiting for 3 minutes. I hadn’t been waiting long.
  • Had you been hurrying? – Yes, I had. / No, I hadn’t.

Uso

• O past perfect (pretérito mais-que-perfeito) indica algo que se encerrou.
  • 7 o’clock: Tom’s plane landed.
  • 8 o’clock: I got to the airport.
  • 9 o’clock (now): When I got to the airport, Tom’s plane had already landed.
• A forma contínua do past perfect indica que algo tinha começado antes de determinado momento no passado e estava durando até aquele momento. A duração freqüentemente é indicada com for ou since.
  • He had been waitingfor a whole hour / since 8 o’clock.
  • Ele já estava esperando havia uma hora / desde as oito horas.
• Verbos como know, have etc. não podem ser usados na forma contínua (veja lista na unit 4).
  • I hadn’t known (hadn’t been knowing) that he would take an earlier flight.

Diferenças de uso: past perfect continuous / forma simples – simple past

• A forma contínua enfatiza a ação e sua duração; a forma simples expressa o resultado final. A forma contínua não pode ser usada quando se indica um resultado (pergunta “quanto?”, “quantos?” (veja unit 12)
  • He had been looking round the airport shops.
  • He had bought a book and two magazines.
• Quando ocorrem duas ações consecutivas e a segunda expressa uma conseqüência lógica da primeira ou uma reação a ela, ambas são expressas pelo simple past.
  • We left the terminal building and went to the car park.
• Caso se queira expressar que a primeira ação foi concluída antes, ela fica no past perfect.
  • I had started the engine when Tom asked if he could drive.
• Em orações subordinadas com as soon as, after, before e until, pode-se usar o past perfect ou o simple past.
  • As soon as / After we (had) left the airport, it started raining. It didn’t stop before / until we (had) got home.

Cf. Present Perfect
Cf. Mais Tempos Verbais

RESUMO

• Use o past perfect quando algo foi concluído antes de determinado momento no passado.
• A forma contínua do past perfect enfatiza a duração de algo até determinado momento no passado.
• Não use a forma contínua do past perfect com verbos como know, have etc. e em respostas à pergunta “quanto?” / “quantos?”.

Referência: “Grammar – No problem” – Christine House e John Stevens, Disal Editora, 2005. Leia a resenha.