Julie in GA Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Our Latin book (LiCT, Vol 2) describes the pluperfect tense (or past perfect in English) as referring to something which has happened a long long time ago. Example given: perfect tense: I studied yesterday. pluperfect tense: I had studied a long time ago. I thought that the pluperfect tense refers to a past action that, when compared to another past action, has already been completed. Example: By the time I turned 40, I had given birth to 4 children. This would be the opposite of the "imperfect" tense, which describes a past action that was still going on when compared to another past event (or any continual past action). Example: I was drinking tea when the lights went off. So is the "way long ago" definition just an easier one for kids to understand at first? Is that why its used? I need confirmation or correction. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 The pluperfect tense is sometimes called the past perfect tense. Pluperfect comes from two Latin words plus and perfect, and it means "more than perfect". A pluperfect action was completed before another past action. We use the helping verb had with this tense. HTH! Sounds like you know pluperfect better than they do :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaid Dad Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I'm not sure why the "long ago" definition is used, but I wouldn't teach that to children - it's inaccurate, and they'll just need to unlearn it later on. Your understanding of the pluperfect/past perfect is correct, and Sue explained it well. One way to think of it is to mentally insert the word "already" into the pluperfect clause: I had [already] finished dinner when the doorbell rang. One of my teachers used a sort of timeline with dots and arrows to explain the various tenses. I don't think I can reproduce it by typing, but the idea was to place an event by a dot (perfect tenses) or double-ended arrow (imperfect) and then place other events relative to that. Clear as mud, eh? Short answer: You're right. Carry on! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in GA Posted February 4, 2008 Author Share Posted February 4, 2008 And Plaid Dad, yes, the word "already" kept popping up in my head when I was trying to come up with examples. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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