Chapter 5 完成时态
5.10 过去完成时
5.10 过去完成时
5.3节中讲过，完成时态的本质思维就是用来“回顾”。比如现在完成时就是站在“现在时间”的角度回顾过去，表示一个从过去持续到现在的事件。同理类推，过去完成时就是站在“过去时间”的角度回顾更远的另一个过去，表示一个事件从这个更远的过去持续到离现在较近的过去。所以，对于过去完成时态的用法，关键首先是要确定过去时间的坐标，这一点将在下一节中详细讨论。过去完成时同现在完成时一样，可以表示延续事件、重复事件和单一事件这三种意义。因此，本节内容安排如下：
5.10.1 在“过去”回顾“更远的过去”
5.10.2 延续事件、重复事件和单一事件的过去完成时
5.10.3 过去完成时的其他意义和用法
5.10.4 过去完成时与一般过去时的比较
5.10.1 在“过去”回顾“更远的过去”
完成时态本质的思维特征就是“回顾”。现在完成时态就是站在“现在”回顾“过去”，而过去完成时态就是站在“过去”回顾“更远的过去”。现在完成时态以“现在”作为时间参照物来谈论过去，过去完成时态则是以“过去”作为时间参照物来谈论更远的过去。因此，可以说现在完成时和过去完成时本质的思维是一样的，区别只是参照的时间不同——前者是“现在”，而后者是“过去”。
现在完成时态的参照时间“现在”往往潜含在语境中，并不需要明确地表达出来。比如我们说：
1 I have been a school teacher for 28 years.
妙语点睛 这里的for 28 years就是表示距离现在有“28年”了，相当于“I have been a school teacher for 28 years now.”。
再比如，其他用于现在完成时态的典型时间状语，如since 1980表示“自从1980年以来”，这里显然是指从1980年一直到“现在”。所以，现在完成时态的参照时间“现在”可以隐含在语境中而不明确地说出来。
但是，对于过去完成时态，其参照时间“过去”则一般是要明确地在上下文中给出。说得更具体点，就是必须先有一个过去时，然后以这个过去时作为参照的时间点，来谈论更远的过去，此时这个更远的过去才能用过去完成时态。因此，过去完成时态可以说是一个不能独立使用的时态，它必须依附于一个在上下文中出现的一般过去时。下面我们通过一个故事——《最珍贵的礼物》，来阐明过去完成时与一般过去时的这种依赖关系。
（一）
最珍贵的礼物
（He packed his bags. He left where he was and went elsewhere to look for The Precious Present.
After many frustrating years, the man grew tired of looking for The Precious Present. He had read all the latest books. He had looked in the mirror and into the faces of other people. He had looked for it at the tops of mountains and in cold dark caves. He had searched for it in dense, humid jungles and underneath the seas. He had gone to extraordinary lengths. He had wanted so much to find The Precious Present. But it was all to no avail. His stressful search had exhausted him.
The man returned wearily to the old man’s side…）
故事讲到这里，读者一定知道了这份能让我们永远幸福的“最珍贵的礼物”是什么了吧？现在言归正传，来分析一下上文中的过去完成时态（had done）的思维和用法。
在上面的故事中，开头几句用的是一般过去时态（如the man grew tired of looking for The Precious Present），但其他黑体部分用的是过去完成时态：
2 He had read all the latest books.
3 He had looked in the mirror and into the faces of other people.
4 He had looked for it at the tops of mountains and in cold dark caves.
5 He had searched for it in dense, humid jungles and underneath the seas.
6 He had gone to extraordinary lengths.
7 He had wanted so much to find The Precious Present.
8 His stressful search had exhausted him.
这是因为在英语思维里，陈述一件过去的事件（如上文中的the man grew tired of looking for The Precious Present）的时候，再回顾联想到在这个过去的事件之前所发生的另外一个事件（如“He had read all the latest books.”），对这个“过去之前的过去（the past before the past）”就须用“过去完成时态（had done）”的动词形式。换言之，过去完成时是站在“过去时间”的角度回顾更远的过去，即谈的是“过去的过去”的情况。从这个意义上讲，过去完成时态是一个不能独立存在的时态，它必须依附于一个一般过去时态，也就是说，要先有一般过去时态，才可能有过去完成时态。
比如在上文中，grew表示过去，而接下来的一系列活动都是发生在grew之前的，所以都用了过去完成时态，说成had read，had looked in，had looked for，had searched，had gone，had wanted和had exhausted等。
现在我们再回到刚才讲的故事中。当历经数年苦寻而终无结果之后，这位unhappy young man决定放弃寻找。而此时奇迹出现了，他突然顿悟：原来自己苦苦寻找的、希望能带给自己永远幸福的“最珍贵的礼物”——不是过去，不是将来，而是现在，是最宝贵的当下的生活（The Precious Present is just The Present, not the past and not the future, but The Precious Present.）！
最珍贵的礼物“The Precious Present”不就是最珍贵的现在时刻（The Precious Present）吗？而每一个现在时刻的幸福不就是永远的幸福吗？
其实，这个故事要告诉我们的道理很简单，就是要活在当下！因为：
My past was the Present; my future will be the Present. The Present moment is the only reality I ever experience. As long as I continue to stay in the Present, I am happy forever: because Forever is always the Present! The Precious Present is something precious that I can give to and receive from myself, for I am precious. I am The Precious Present!
（二）
下面来看第二个故事。这是马克·吐温（Mark Twain）写的一篇关于自己母亲的文章，题目是This Was My Mother：
9 This Was My Mother
She was 82 and living in Keoluk when, unaccountably, she insisted upon attending a convention of old settlers of the Mississippi Valley. All the way there, and it was some distance, she was young again with excitement and eagerness. At the hotel she asked immediately for Dr. Barrett, of St. Louis. He had left for home that morning and would not be back, she was told. She turned away, the fire all gone from her, and asked to go home. Once there she sat silent and thinking for many days, then told us that when she was 18 she had loved a young medical student with all her heart. There was a misunderstanding and he left the country; she had immediately married, to show him that she did not care. She had never seen him since and then she had read in a newspaper that he was going to attend the old settlers’ convention.“Only three hours before we reached that hotel he had been there,”she mourned.
She had kept that pathetic burden in her heart 64 years without any of us suspecting it. Before the year was out, her memory began to fail. She would write letters to school mates who had been dead 40 years and wonder why they never answered. Four years later she died.
妙语点睛 在文章标题“This Was My Mother”中，过去时was表明“母亲”已经不在人世，那么后面的经历都是过去的，这个was为下文的过去完成时态奠定了“过去”的时间视角。在翻译时，如果把“This Was My Mother”简单直白地译成“这是我的母亲”，那么显然没有译出was的含义。我们不妨把它译成“回忆母亲”，用“回忆”表明母亲已不在人世——与英语的was有异曲同工之妙。
文章最后说道，母亲的记忆力差了，但尽管如此，母亲依然记得自己的初恋。这一段感情母亲深藏了64年，而且至今依然爱着，这就是为什么母亲非得坚持去参加那个聚会。
现在来分析其中的过去完成时态：
1） At the hotel she asked immediately for Dr. Barrett, of St. Louis. He had left for home that morning and would not be back, she was told.
妙语点睛 这里的had left是发生在过去的动作asked之前的，所以用了过去完成时。
另外值得注意的是，这里还有一个具体的过去时间that morning。对于这样一个具体的过去时间，句子若采用一般过去时态是没有问题的，而这里用了过去完成时态。由此可见，过去完成时态可以与具体的过去时间状语连用。这不同于现在完成时态，因为现在完成时态是绝对不可以与具体的过去时间连用的。具体的过去时间之所以可以与过去完成时连用，是因为只要这个具体的过去时间是表示“过去的过去”，就符合过去完成时态的根本使用原则——表示“过去的过去”之情况。比如这里的that morning是在asked这个过去的时间之前，所以出现that morning与过去完成时had left搭配使用的情形。
2） Once there she sat silent and thinking for many days, then told us that when she was 18 she had loved a young medical student with all her heart.
妙语点睛 这里的had loved发生在过去的动作told之前，所以用了过去完成时。
3） …she had immediately married, to show him that she did not care.
妙语点睛 这里的had married是相对于was而言的，发生在过去的动作was之前，所以用了过去完成时。
4） She had never seen him since and then she had read in a newspaper that he was going to attend the old settlers’ convention.
妙语点睛 含有since的主句中一般是用现在完成时态，但这里用了过去完成时had never seen，这是因为这里的since所表示的时间段不是到目前说话时为止，而是到当时为止——即她去世时为止。所以，要用过去完成时。
5）“Only three hours before we reached that hotel he had been there,”she mourned.
妙语点睛 这里的had been是发生在过去的动作reached之前的，所以用了过去完成时。
6） She had kept that pathetic burden in her heart 64 years without any of us suspecting it.
妙语点睛 这里的had kept是相对于was而言的，是在was之前持续了64年，所以用了过去完成时。
7） She would write letters to school mates who had been dead 40 years and wonder why they never answered.
妙语点睛 这里的had been dead是相对于过去的动作would write而言的，所以用了过去完成时。
下面来比较一篇文章，这篇文章讲的不是mother而是grandmother：
10 My Grandmother
My grandmother is a woman who used to crack Brazil nuts open with her teeth, a woman who once lifted a car off the ground, when there was an accident and it had to be moved. She has been representing her death as imminent ever since I’ve known her—twenty-five years—and has discussed, at length, the distribution of her possessions and her lamb coat. Every time we said goodbye, after our annual visit to Winnipeg, she’d weep and say she’d never see us again. But in the meantime, while every relative of her generation, and a good many of the younger ones, has died (usually nursed by her), she has kept making knishes, shopping for bargains, tending the healthiest plants I’ve ever seen.
妙语点睛 作者在文章的一开头用了一般现在时的is，向读者表明，他的祖母还没有去世，所以，说话的时间视角是“现在”，那么下文中要“回顾”过去的经历时，就自然会用到现在完成时态（比如has been，have known，has discussed，has died，has kept和have ever seen），而不可能出现过去完成时态。
（三）
下面我再给出几个场景，读者可以体会一下过去完成时对一般过去时的这种依附关系。
11 场景一：当国会下院议员的感受
A: You have been a member of Parliament for five or six weeks now. Is it as you expected it to be?
B: I had an idea of what being a member of Parliament was like. I had been on a local authority for four years, and as a journalist and as a political activist I had visited the House of Commons, so it’s more or less what I expected.
妙语点睛 在这段对话中，B一开始回答就用了一般过去时态had an idea，表示他以前就对当议员的生活有所了解，而不是在当上议员之后才知道的。后面他紧接着就解释他为什么会对议员的生活有了解，因为他自己以前曾经在（had been）一个地方当局（a local authority）工作过四年，并且常常拜访（had visited）国会下院。这里的had been和had visited都是基于前面的一般过去时态的had an idea基础上的一个更远的过去事件，所以都用了过去完成时态。也就是说，因为前文先有了had an idea，所以后文再往过去回顾就得用过去完成时had been和had visited。
但如果B是在做了五六个星期的议员后到现在才了解议员工作的，那么他就会用一般现在时态说成“Since I have been a Member of Parliament for five or six weeks now, I have an idea of what being a member of Parliament is like.”。
言外之意，他以前对议员工作是不了解的。没有了一般过去时态作为时间参照，那么后文再对过去的事件进行陈述就无法用过去完成时态了，而应该改用一般过去时态。比如他会说：“…I was on a local authority for four years and…I visited the House of Commons,…”。
但是，从前后两部分的逻辑关系来看，后文的had been和had visited是对前文的had an idea…的解释，如果改成一般现在时态后说成have an idea，那么后文的was和visited就与前文的have an idea在逻辑语义上没有联系了，因此也就无法对have an idea进行解释说明了。由此可见，时态在上下文语境中的灵活与正确的使用对于句意及话语的逻辑关系的表达是多么重要。
（作者注：英国的国会叫作Parliament，the House of Commons是英国国会下议院，the House of Lords指英国国会上议院。）
12 场景二：母羊如何辨认小羊羔
I had always wondered how the ewes knew their own lambs; now I learned that it was partly by voice, but chiefly by smell, looks not entering into it.
妙语点睛 在这句话中，had wondered同样是表示在learned之前的过去，即过去的过去，所以用了过去完成时态。如果后面说成now I learn that…，那么前面就得改为一般过去时态说成“I always wondered…”，因此整个句子就需要说成“I always wondered how the ewes knew their own lambs; now I learn that it is partly by voice, but chiefly by smell, looks not entering into it.”。
13 场景三：大风吹毁花园
Yesterday the wind blew very hard. It had never blown that hard before. I knew when it first began that it would be bad for my garden. The plants that grew out in the open were hurt badly. Only a few which had already grown strong survived the windstorm. If I had only known, I would have planted them closer to my house.
妙语点睛 这里的yesterday就为下文定下了时间基调，所以才会出现had never blown和had already grown这样的过去完成时。
前面讲过，过去完成时可以和过去的具体时间连用，而现在完成时态是不可以的。请看下面的短文：
14 The Call of the Wild
Sheba the shark floated just centimeters away from me. I could have reached out and touched her. Could have, that is, if the thick Plexiglas wall hadn’t been there. The wall curved above my head, forming a tunnel through the aquarium. The tunnel allowed me to visit the home of Sheba and 3,000 other sea animals.
When my undersea tour had ended, I rode the escalator back to the mall. I felt a little strange. Moments ago, I’d been in the dark, beautiful world of the ocean floor. Now crowds of people and brightly lit stores surrounded me.
Located in Minnesota’s Mall of America, Underwater Adventures offers visitors a virtual tour of the ocean floor. It does so in the convenience of a shopping center. This park is just one of many in the rapidly expanding world of animal parks.
妙语点睛 这里有moments ago这样的过去的具体时间，但它与过去完成时的“I’d been in the dark, beautiful world of the ocean floor.”连用。
另外，by the time常常可以与过去完成时搭配使用，具体结构是：“过去完成时+by the time+一般过去时”。请看下面这个笑话：
15 A: It was my grandmother’s birthday yesterday.
B: Is she old?
A: Well, by the time we lit up the last candle on her birthday cake, the first one had gone out!
妙语点睛 因为by the time本身的意思是“在……之前”，所以过去的动作lit之前发生了had gone out的动作，故用过去完成时态。
最后，请读者做下面的这道考研真题：
16 She felt suitably humble just as she ______ when he had first taken a good look at her, hair waved and golden, nails red and pointed.
A. had
B. had had
C. would have had
D. has had
正确答案 A。
妙语点睛 这道题有一定的难度，它考查考生对时态的掌握。首先看到这里主句的谓语felt是表示过去的时间。其次，时间状语从句when的谓语had taken是过去完成时。综合这两点，现在需要判断as引导的方式状语从句的谓语需要用什么时态。显然，as引导的从句的谓语动作发生在felt之前，故也需要用过去完成时态，因而可以排除C和D选项。而选项B即had had是一个完整的谓语，谓语动词是had，但该句中没有“had（有）”的意思。于是只能填A即had。
分析到这里，也许还是有读者不明白为什么要填A。其实，这里的A是一个省略形式，完整的谓语应该是had done，done可以省去。这里的done代替了felt。因此，真正的谓语是had felt，相当于as she had felt humble，即表示“就像他当初见到她时，她感到谦卑那样”。
从以上的分析可以看出，这道题其实是测试考生对过去完成时态的灵活运用。如果没有深厚的时态功底，这道题很难理解和答对。
思维总结
本小节的内容是过去完成时态的核心。在这里，我们强调了过去完成时态是一个不能独立存在的时态，它必须依附于一个一般过去时态，也就是说，要先有一般过去时态，才可能有过去完成时态。对此，读者应该真正地理解并灵活运用。
思维训练 5.10.1 Key
一、请用括号中动词的适当形式完成下面句子。
1. I ______ (just, sit) down in the recliner（躺椅） to watch TV when I ______ (hear) a knock on the door. When I ______ (open) the front door I ______ (see) a young man standing there staring at me.
2. I ______ (just, pour) myself a cup of tea when the phone ______ (ring). When I ______ (come) back from answering it, the cup ______ (be) empty. Somebody ______ (drink) the tea or ______ (throw) it away.
3. A: It’s already 10 o’clock. I guess Bob and Amy won’t be coming to the party.
B: They ______ (call) at nine to say that they ______ (hold up).
二、用括号中动词的适当形式完成下面这则笑话：
4. Surgeon: How ______ the patient ______ (be) since I ______ (operate) on his heart?
Nurse: He is fine except that he seems to have a double heartbeat.
Surgeon: Ah, so that’s where it’s gone! I was wondering where I ______ (lose) my watch!
5. When her daughter ______ (arrive) home from a party, Mrs. Thompson asked her if she ______ (thank) her hostess.“No,”she said.“The girl in front of me thanked her and the lady said ‘Don’t mention it’ so I didn’t.”
6. Kenneth is so stupid. He phoned his teacher at school yesterday to say he couldn’t come to school because he ______ (lose) his voice!
7. A: A beggar stopped me the other day and said he ______ (not, have) a bite for days.
B: What did you do?
A: I bit him!
8. A: Mum! Mum! Dad ______ (fall) over a cliff.
B: Is he okay?
A: I don’t know. He ______ (not, stop) falling when I left.
5.10.2 延续事件、重复事件和单一事件的过去完成时
现在完成时是站在“现在时间”的角度回顾过去。同理类推，过去完成时是站在“过去时间”的角度回顾更远的过去（The Past Perfect indicates“the past before the past”—what film makers call a“flashback”in time.），即谈的是“过去的过去”的情况。这里同样涉及两个时间点：一个事件从更远的过去开始发生，然后“延续”到另一个较近的过去，或者“重复”到另一个较近的过去，或者在过去的某一时刻已经结束，这就分别构成了延续事件、重复事件和单一事件，类似于现在完成时，区别只是“坐标时间”由“现在”移至“过去”。因此，过去完成时态同样具有三种含义——延续事件、重复事件和单一事件。具体来说，过去完成时是用来表示在过去的某一时刻之前（即过去的过去）就已开始的动作，这一动作：
1. 在该过去时刻仍然在继续，或在该过去时刻刚刚停止（延续事件）；
2. 在该过去时刻之前的一段时间内重复的动作（重复事件）；
3. 在该过去时刻之前的某一时刻停止的动作（单一事件）。
下面分别举例解释说明。
一、过去完成时表示“延续事件”
如同现在完成时，过去完成时可以表示开始于过去之前（即过去的过去）的动作或状态在过去这一时刻仍在持续。具体来说，就是表示一个动作或状态在过去的某一时间之前已经开始，这一动作或状态一直持续到这一过去时间，并且到这一过去时间还未结束并仍有可能继续持续下去。
图示如下：
（图中的虚箭头表示动作可能继续持续下去）
请看例句：
1 I had stayed in America for two years when he moved here.
妙语点睛 moved是过去的动作，stayed发生在moved之前，即过去的过去，并且在moved之后还将会继续下去，因此用过去完成时had stayed。
2 I had learned 1,000 words by the end of last year.
妙语点睛 learned在过去的时间the end of last year之前已开始发生，到“去年年底”之后还将可能持续下去，因此用过去完成时had learned。
再比如，谈到学英语的时间，可以这么说：
3 We had studied English for six years when we entered college.
妙语点睛 studied在过去的动作entered之前已开始发生，并且继续延续，因此用过去完成时had studied。
当然，也可以谈一般的情况，此时when引导的从句的谓语可以用一般现在时态，那么主句就要改成现在完成时态了。比如说成：
4 We have studied English for six years when we enter college.
再来看其他例句：
5 A: It’s already 10 o’clock. I guess Bob and Amy won’t be coming to the party.
B: They called at nine to say that they’d been held up.
妙语点睛 现在的时间是10点，在9点钟这一过去的时间打电话时，Bob和Amy已经“有事被耽误了”，所以“被耽误”应该用过去完成时had been held up。
6 Why Did the Easter Islanders Disappear?
Isolated in the middle Pacific Ocean, Easter Island has attracted anthropologists ever since its discovery in 1772. This civilization had lived for 1,200 years on this small island. Who were they, and why did they sculpt those big stone heads with staring eyes?
妙语点睛 这里的过去完成时had lived一直持续到另外一个过去的时间its discovery in 1772。
复活节岛位于太平洋中央，自从人们于1772年发现它以来，已经吸引了许多人类学家。该文明在这座小岛上延续了1,200年。他们是谁？他们为什么要雕刻那些大头、瞪眼的石头雕像？
或由上下文明确告知动作或状态持续到过去这一时刻即停止。
图示如下：
请看例句：
7 Former Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who had been in a coma （昏迷） for six weeks, died of a cerebral （大脑的） infarction （梗塞） at a Tokyo hospital.
8 I had waited for her for two hours in such a severe winter when she eventually turned up, which of course drove me mad.
9 He had served in the army for ten years; then he retired and married. His children were now at school.
10 There had been fifty colleges in our city up till 1993. 到1993年时，我们的城市里已经有了50所大学。
二、过去完成时表示“重复事件”
如同现在完成时，过去完成时可以表示在过去之前开始的动作，在过去之前的一段时间内重复发生。
图示如下：
下面这篇短文谈到了著名影星奥黛丽·赫本（Audrey Hepburn）：
11 In 1988, Audrey became a special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF fund helping children in Latin America and Africa, a position she retained until 1993. She was named to People’s magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. Her last film was Always in 1989. Audrey Hepburn died on January 20, 1993 in Tolochnaz, Switzerland, from colon cancer. She had made a total of 31 high quality movies. Her elegance and style will always be remembered in film history as evidenced by her being named to Empire magazine’s“The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time”.
妙语点睛 这里的过去完成时had made显然是表示过去重复的动作，且该动作只重复到过去，没有一直持续到现在，所以用过去完成时。读者可以将该句与5.5.1小节的有关汤姆·克鲁斯（Tom Cruise）的这个例句进行比较：He moved to New York and appeared in a few teen movies before starring in his first big hit, Top Gun in 1986. Since then he has made hit after hit movies.
因为阿汤哥现在还在世，因此他拍电影这一活动就可能一直重复到现在直至将来，所以这里要用现在完成时has made。
再来看一则关于2003年爆发的SARS的新闻报道：
12 Students at Northern Jiaotong University are welcomed with flowers after being discharged from quarantine yesterday afternoon in Beijing. Nearly 400 students were in isolation in a dormitory compound for a fortnight. More than 10 severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS） cases had been reported in the building before it was sealed off on April 24. No new cases were found during the isolation period. Quarantine measures were also lifted yesterday at a residential building of Beijing’s Central University of Finance and Economics, where some 38 families had been isolated since April 24.
妙语点睛 在过去的动作was sealed off之前，reported的动作“重复”发生了十多次，即文中说的more than 10 severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS），故该用过去完成时had been reported。另外，对于过去完成时had been isolated，既可能有延续的含义，也可能有重复的含义。这里出现了since，虽然与since搭配的主句一般是现在完成时态，但这里用了过去完成时态的had been isolated，因为“被隔离”只持续到上文出现的yesterday afternoon，而没有持续到现在。这里的yesterday afternoon就相当于一个过去的参照时间。
请看其他例句：
13 I had proposed to her five times, but she still refused to marry me. 我已经向她求婚五次了，但还是被拒绝。
14 I had written her 100 letters when she finally promised to marry me. 我给她写了100封信，她最后终于答应嫁给我了。
15 Clint had written three letters by the time she arrived. 她到达的时候，克林特写了三封信。
三、过去完成时表示“单一事件”
如同现在完成时，过去完成时可以表示开始于过去之前的动作到过去这一时刻之前即已停止。具体来说，就是表示一个动作或状态在过去的某一时间之前已经开始，并在这一过去的时间之前即告结束，而没有持续到这一过去的时刻。这时过去完成时的动作通常是短暂动作。
图示如下：
请看例句：
16 She had made everything ready before I came.
妙语点睛 这里made的动作在came之前已经完成，故用过去完成时had made。
17 Her baby had fallen asleep when she went into the room.
妙语点睛 这里fall的动作在went之前已经完成，故用过去完成时had fallen。
18 I had just poured myself a cup of tea when the phone rang. When I came back from answering it, the cup was empty. Someone had drunk the tea or thrown it away.
妙语点睛 在过去的动作rang之前pour的动作已经完成，故用过去完成时had poured。同理，在过去的状态was empty之前drink和throw的动作已经完成，故两者都用过去完成时had drunk和（had） thrown。
19 I had just sat down in the recliner to watch TV when I heard a knock on the door. When I opened the front door I saw a young man standing there staring at me.
妙语点睛 在过去的动作“听(heard)”之前“坐(sit)”的动作已经完成，故用过去完成时had sat。
5.10.3 过去完成时的其他意义和用法
本节将来总结一下过去完成时的其他用法。
一、表示“非真实”的过去
主要是指intend，mean，hope，want，plan，suppose，expect，think，propose和wish等动词用于过去完成时，可表示过去未能实现的计划、设想、意图或希望等。请看例句：
1 I had intended to watch just one program, but somehow I couldn’t make myself switch off the TV.
2 I had intended to see you, but I was busy. 我本打算去看你，但是我太忙了。
3 I had planned to go shopping with you, but my mother came to see me just when I was about to go.
4 She had hoped that he would come to date her, but he didn’t show up.
5 They had hoped to see you off at the airport, but they got there too late.
6 A: Peter had hoped to have his apartment painted by this time.
B: But he hasn’t even started yet, has he?
7 A: Are you glad you came to China?
B: Yes. Indeed. I’d considered going to Tokyo or Singapore, but I’ve never regretted my decision.
二、用于最高级句型
这一点完全类似于我们在5.8节中讨论过的现在完成时的用法，即用在“It was the+序数词（first, second…） ”或“最高级+名词+that从句”句型中。例如：
8 It was the third time that someone had interrupted me that night. 那是那天晚上我第三次被打断。
9 On his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen. He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they’d be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.
妙语点睛 因为有过去时的bought表明是过去的时间，所以在最高级the largest的后面要用过去完成时态had seen。
5.10.4 过去完成时与一般过去时的比较
比较1： 两个或两个以上相继发生的动作，用and或but按动作发生的先后顺序连接，此时要用一般过去时，而不用过去完成时。过去完成时则强调主语在过去的某一时刻“回顾”更早的动作。具体来说，如果在谈论过去某一事件时，又想到在这之前已发生的某事，就要用过去完成时态。例如：
1 He opened the door and entered, but found nobody. 他打开门进去了，但一个人都没看见。
请读者比较：
2 1） He served in the army for ten years; then retired and married. His children are now at school.
2） He had served in the army for ten years; then he retired and married. His children were now at school.
妙语点睛 在例句1）中，因为有了are表示现在的时间，作为现在的参照时间，所以在此之前的serve的动作，应该用一般过去时served。在例句2）中，因为有了were表示过去的时间，作为过去的参照时间，所以回顾在此之前的serve的动作，应该用过去完成时had served。
3 He had served in the airforce for ten years before he died in the jet-crash incident.
妙语点睛 因为有了died表示过去的时间，作为过去的参照时间，所以回顾在此之前的serve的动作应该用过去完成时had served。
4 I heard voices and realized that there were several people in the next room.
5 I saw empty glasses and cigar butts on the table and realized that someone had been in the room.
6 I realized that we had met before. 我意识到我们以前见过面。
这里不说“I realized that we met before.*”。
比较2： 在表示两个相继发生的动作时，用过去完成时可以表示一个动作完成以后，另一个动作才开始发生，从而使得两个动作相互独立，彼此脱离开来。用一般过去时，则可能表示一个动作“导致”另一个动作的发生，或两个动作之间有因果关系。例如：
7 When I had opened all the windows, I sat down and had a cup of tea. 我把所有的窗子都打开后，就坐下来喝了杯茶。
不宜说“When I opened all the windows, I sat down and had a cup of tea.*”。
8 When I opened the window the cat jumped in. （比说When I had opened…更自然。）
9 When I had written my letters I did some gardening. 我把信写完后，就到花园里干了些活。
不宜说“When I wrote my letters I did some gardening.*”。
10 When I wrote him a letter, he came at once. 我给他去了封信后，他立即就来了。
11 When the singer had sung her song, she sat down. 这名歌手唱完歌以后，就坐下了。
上面这句话若说成“When the singer sang her song, she sat down.”，则可能给人造成这种印象：这位歌手喜欢坐着唱歌。
思维训练 5.10Key
请阅读下面故事，并认真分析其中黑体部分的过去完成时态的含义。
An Appointment with Love
Six minutes to six, said the clock over the information booth in New York’s Grand Central Station. The tall, young Army lieutenant lifted his sunburned face and narrowed his eyes to note the exact time. His heart was pounding with a beat. In six minutes he would see the woman who had filled such a special place in his life for the past 13 months, the woman he had never seen, yet whose written words had sustained him unfailingly.
Lieutenant Blandford remembered one day in particular, during the worst of the fighting, when his plane had been caught in the midst of a pack of enemy planes. In one of his letters he had confessed to her that he often felt fear, and only a few days before this battle he had received her answer,“Of course you fear…all brave men do. Next time you doubt yourself, I want you to hear my voice reciting to you: Yeah, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for thou are with me…”He had remembered, and it had renewed his strength.
Now he was going to hear her real voice. Four minutes to six.
A girl passed close to him, and Lieutenant Blandford started. She was wearing a flower, but it was not the little red rose they had agreed upon. Besides, this girl was only about 18, and Hopis Meynell had told him she was 30.“What of it?”he had answered.“I’m 32.”He was 29.
His mind went back to that book he had read in the training camp. Of Human Bondage it was, and throughout the book were notes in a woman’s handwriting. He had never believed that a woman could see into a man’s heart so tenderly, so understandingly. Her name was on the bookplate: Hollis Meynell. He had got hold of a New York City telephone book and found her address. He had written, and she had answered. Next day he had been shipped out, but they had gone on writing.
For 13 months she had faithfully replied. When his letters did not arrive, she wrote anyway, and now he believed that he loved her and that she loved him.
But she had refused all his pleas to send him her photograph. She had explained,“If your feeling for me has any reality, what I look like won’t matter. Suppose I’m beautiful. I’d always be haunted by the feeling that you had been taking a chance on just that, and that kind of love would disgust me. Suppose I’m plain (and you must admit that this is more likely), then I’d always fear that you were only going on writing because you were lonely and had no one else. No, don’t ask for my picture. When you come to New York, you shall see me and then you shall make your decision.”
One minute to six…he pulled hard on a cigarette. Then Lieutenant Blandford’s heart leaped.
A young woman was coming toward him. Her figure was long and slim, her blond hair lay back in curls over her delicate ears. Her eyes were as blue as flowers, her lips and chin had a gentle firmness. In her pale-green suit, she was like springtime come alive.
He started toward her, forgetting to notice whether she was wearing rose or not, and as he moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips.
“Going my way, soldier?”she murmured. He made one step closer to her. Then he saw Hollis Meynell.
She was standing almost directly behind the girl, a woman well past 40, her graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick ankle feet were thrust into low-heeled shoes.
But she wore a red rose on her rumpled coat. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly. Blandford felt as though he were being split into two, so keen was his desire to follow the girl, yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and upheld his own, and there she stood. He could see her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible and her gray eyes had a warm twinkle.
Lieutenant Blandford did not hesitate. His fingers gripped the worn copy of Of Human Bondage, which was to identify him to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, a friendship for which he had been and must ever be grateful…
He squared his shoulders, saluted, and held the book out toward the woman, although even while he spoke he felt the bitterness of his disappointment.“I’m John Blandford, and you…you are Miss Meynell. May…may I take you to dinner?”
The woman smiled.“I don’t know what this is all about, son,”she answered.“That young lady in the green suit, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said that if you asked me to go out with you, I should tell you she’s waiting for you in that restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of a test.”