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原书主词条 · 5 个连续词条

past perfect tense

原书 PDF 第 1148—1150 页

past perfect tense1

问

Tom was disappointed that most of the guests ____ when he ____ at the party.

A. left; had arrived B. left; arrived

C. had left; had arrived D. had left; arrived(全国高考)

答案为 D。但是,我不明白为什么不可以选 C。

答

首先要搞清过去完成时的用法:过去完成时是指“过去的过去”。这就是说,使用过去完成时要有一个过去时间 (T2)\left(\mathrm{T}_{2}\right) 为参照点(不管是否有时间状语表达出来),其动作就是在这个过去时间参照点 (T2)\left(\mathrm{T}_{2}\right) 之前完成的。

这个过去时间参照点常常用时间状语来表达,例如, before, the day before, by five o'clock, by now, by then, by the time ..., before 从句, when 从句等。在你所提出的那道高考题中, when 从句便是表示过去时间的参照点 T₂ (when he arrived at the party), that 从句中的动作是在此之前实现的, 故应用过去完成时 had left。可见, 过去完成时是一个相对的时态: 相对于某个过去时间来使用。如果选 C, 便无法表达这种时间的先后关系。类例:

  1. John had left the day before. 约翰是在头一天走的。

  2. John had left by five o'clock. 约翰是在 5 点之前走的。

  3. How many English stories had you read by the end of last term? 到上学期末你读了多少英文故事了？

  4. When the police arrived, the thieves had run away. 当警察赶到时，窃贼已逃之夭夭了。

  5. By the time he got married he had studied history ten years. 到他结婚时,他研究历史已有10年了。

  6. The film had already begun when I got to the cinema. 当我到电影院的时候电影已经开演了。

  7. Before the competition started, the girls chatted with each other. Some of them had come from different towns and were not used to being away from home. 比赛开始之前，姑娘们彼此在聊天。他们中有些人来自不同的城镇，离开家还不大习惯。

  8. We talked and wondered about the people who had lived here before. 我们谈论着,很想了解那些在这住过的人们的情况。

  9. Her husband had built up a large business during his lifetime, and when he died ten years ago in 1989 he left all his money to his wife. 她丈夫在世时创立了一个大企业。他在十年前的1989年去世时，把他全部的钱财都留给了他的妻子。

  10. When everyone had taken his/her place, the lawyer spoke as follows. 当大家就座以后，律师作了如下的发言。

  11. Just now we all watched you sign to show that you had received the cheque. 刚才我们大家都看到了你签名，表明你收到了那张支票。

  12. When the police officer had taken away Hope Darwin, Tom Goode turned to the lawyer.

当警官把霍普·达尔文带走以后，汤姆·古德转身对律师说。

  1. ... in the morning it was found that the lion had escaped. ……今天早上发现那头狮子已经跑了。

  2. Langdon had known this question was coming, and yet he still felt uncertain exactly how to tell her. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 虽然兰登早就意料到她会提出这样的问题,但还是一时不知从何说起。(《达·芬奇密码》)

练习

  1. The little girl ____ her heart out because she ____ her toy bear and believed she wasn't ever going to find it.

    1. A

      had cried; lost

    2. B

      cried; had lost

    3. C

      has cried; has lost

    4. D

      cries; has lost(北京高考,02-21)

  2. By the end of last year, another new gymnasium ____ in Beijing.

    1. A

      would be completed

    2. B

      was being completed

    3. C

      has been completed

    4. D

      had been completed(上海高考,03春-27)

  3. A thief who broke into a church was caught because traces of wax, found on his clothes, ____ from the sort of candles used only in churches.

    1. A

      had come

    2. B

      coming

    3. C

      come

    4. D

      that came(全国四级,99.6-63)

  4. When I arrived at the meeting, the first speaker ____ and the audience ____.

    1. A

      had finished speaking, were clapping

    2. B

      had finished speaking, had clapped

    3. C

      finished speaking, clapped

    4. D

      finished speaking, were clapping(全国英语专业四级,92-47)

  5. ——Did Alan enjoy seeing his old friends yesterday? ——Yes, he did. He ____ his old friends for a long time.

    1. A

      didn't see

    2. B

      wouldn't see

    3. C

      hasn't seen

    4. D

      hadn't seen(全国高考重庆卷,07-23)

  6. They became friends again that day. Until then, they ____ to each other for nearly two years.

    1. A

      didn't speak

    2. B

      hadn't spoken

    3. C

      haven't spoken

    4. D

      haven't been speaking(全国高考安徽卷,07-26)

  7. At the end of the meeting, it was announced that an agreement ____.

    1. A

      has been reached

    2. B

      had been reached

    3. C

      has reached

    4. D

      had reached (全国高考江苏卷, 07-23)

  8. The student said there were a few points in the essay he ____ impossible to comprehend.

    1. A

      had found

    2. B

      finds

    3. C

      has found

    4. D

      would find(全国英语专业四级,07-59)

Markdown：英语常见问题解答大词典-6.md · 9692—9775 行PDF：第 1148—1150 页 · past perfect tense (过去完成时)

past perfect tense2

过去完成时与连词 after, as soon as, when

问

I told them after you left.

after 从句的动作发生在主句动作之前,为何不用过去完成时 had left?

答

由于 after, as soon as, when 等连词能清楚地表达从句动作与主句动作的先后关系, 所以可以用一般过去时来代替过去完成时: I told them after you left. = I told them after you had left.

再如：

  1. As soon as I got home my brother went out. 我刚一到家，我兄弟就走了。

  2. As soon as I (had) put the phone down it rang again. 我刚把电话放下, 就又响了。具有“紧接……之后”含义的 when, 也能明确表达时间的先后关系, 所以, when 从句也可以使用一般过去时来代替过去完成时:

  3. I ate my lunch when Sandra came back from her shopping. 我是在桑德勒购物回来之后吃的午饭。

  4. When I put the cat out, it ran off into the bushes in disgust. 我把那只猫放出去，它就厌恶地跑开，钻进了灌木丛。

past perfect tense 3^{3} (过去完成时)

过去完成时表达未实现的愿望 见 expect 5^{5} , mean 9^{9} , intended to do

Markdown：英语常见问题解答大词典-6.md · 9776—9800 行PDF：第 1148—1150 页 · past perfect tense (过去完成时)

past perfect tense4

过去完成时/一般过去时

问

John left before we got there. 我认为上句中的 left 应改为 had left, 因为它是在 before 从句所表达的时间之前发生的。

答

由于从属连词 before 能明确地表示主句和从句的时间关系,所以含 before 从句的主句可以使用一般过去时来代替过去完成时:

  1. I slipped out before the lecture started. 在报告开始之前我溜了出去。
  2. They arrived at the station twenty minutes before the train was due. 在火车应到达前 20 分钟他们就到了火车站。 past perfect tense 5^{5} (过去完成时) since 从句中的过去完成时/一般过去时 见 since 3,4^{3,4}
Markdown：英语常见问题解答大词典-6.md · 9801—9816 行PDF：第 1148—1150 页 · past perfect tense (过去完成时)

past perfect tense6

问

近日，在给高三学生做家教时，碰到一个试题，来源于《北大、清华尖子生必做题目》（英语）：

Where on earth have you been? We ____ you back much earlier.

A. are expecting B. were expecting C. expect D. had expected

我在讲解此题时将选项 D 定为正确选项。这道题不是太难，主要是考查时态问题。expect 这一动作是发生在过去的过去，应当用过去完成时，故选项 D 为正确答案。但是学生向我指出书中给出的正确答案为选项 B，且英语老师讲解时也将选项 B 列为正确选项。我感到十分不解，现向您这位英语专家请教，如果我错了，请指出我错在哪儿。

答

正如我们在 past perfect tense 1^{1} 中所指出的,过去完成时是一个相对的时态,使用它的前提是:要有一个过去的时间参照点。而在上面的试题里根本就没有过去时间的参照点,因此,在这里使用过去完成时是错误的。上题所提供的时间参照点是“现在”,这一点可以从问句的时态(现在完成时)看得出来。选项 B 是正确的,因为它表示“在此刻以前我们一直期盼你(更早些回来)”。

Markdown：英语常见问题解答大词典-6.md · 9817—9828 行PDF：第 1148—1150 页 · past perfect tense (过去完成时)

past perfect tense7

问

谢谢您在电话里对我的问题(指上条[问])所作的回答。但是,我的观点是基于以下英语著作对 had expected 的解答而得出的:

A.《贺氏英文法全书》(上册, p. 595) 上说: hope, wish, expect, think, intend, mean, suppose 等的过去完成式是叙述过去没有实现的希望、打算、计划，也表示了失望或出乎意料之外等情结，例: I hadn't for a minute supposed(expected) that I should get the first prize.

B. 薄冰教授编写的《高级英语语法》(世界知识出版社, p. 218):

过去完成时有时表示一种未实现的愿望和想法,过去时间往往用过去一般时表示。例如:We had only expected twenty people to register for the course, but twice as many showed up on the first day of classes.

C. 张鑫友教授编写的《英语语法难题新探》(词法篇)(中国地质大学出版社, p. 272): 过去完成时可以表示过去未曾实现的设想、意图、打算或希望, 同时兼有一种对过去希望的破灭的惋惜之情。这种用法仅限于少数动词。例: hope, expect, think, intend, mean, suppose。例如: They had expected to see the film, but couldn't get tickets.

基于以上几本权威辞书的论述,我才认为 D 项,即 had expected 是正确的选项。

答

您在引用这些例句时忽略了一点:以上所有例句中的 had expected 都是以过去时间为参照点的(时间坐标是过去)。例 1 的过去时间参照点是:I did get the first prize(即在我获得头等奖之前未曾料到)。例 2 的过去时间参照点是:showed up(即在 twice as many showed up 之前曾预料)。例 3 的过去时间参照点是:couldn't get(即在未能买到电影票之前曾预料)。为了说明这一点,让我们再举一些实例:

  1. I had expected to be near my objective by now, but everything still seemed alien to me. (New Concept English, Book 3, L. 57) 我原以为此刻我已接近目的地，但是这里的一切仍使我感到很陌生。

  2. I had meant to come, but something happened. 我本想来，但发生了点事，没有来。

  3. I had intended to speak, but time did not permit. 我本来想发言，但是时间不允许。

  4. I had hoped to send him a telegram to congratulate him on his marriage, but I didn't manage it. (LEG) 我本想在他结婚的时候给他打个电报表示祝贺，但是我却没有做到。

  5. Langdon nodded but still felt circumspect. He had wanted to bring the London police with them, but Sophie's fears of who might be involved put a damper on any contact with the authorities. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 兰登点了点头，但还是显得很谨慎。他本想带伦敦警察一块到这里来，但索菲担心警方的参与将会妨碍他们日后与官方的联系。（《达·芬奇密码》）

Markdown：英语常见问题解答大词典-6.md · 9829—9856 行PDF：第 1148—1150 页 · past perfect tense (过去完成时)