Question

Read this sentence: 

M. Hamel had said that he would question us on participles. 

In the sentence above, the verb form “had said” in the first part is used to indicate an “earlier past”. The whole story is narrated in the past. M. Hamel’s “saying” happened earlier than the events in this story. This form of the verb is called the past perfect. Pick out five sentences from the story with this form of the verb and say why this form has been used.

Answer 1

(i) For the last two years all our bad news had come from there. Reason: The ‘coming’ of bad news happened earlier than the bulletin in the story. 

(ii) Hauser had brought an old primer. 

Reason : The event of ‘bringing’ happened earlier than Franz noticed it. 

(iii) That was what they had put up at the town-hall! Reason’. The ‘putting up’ of bulletin happened earlier. Now it is recalled. 

(iv) they had not gone to school more. 

Reason: The action of ‘not going* happened much earlier. 

(v) the hopvine that he had planted himself twined about the windows to the roof. 

Reason: The ‘planting’ of hopvine happened earlier than its twining about the windows.