Past perfect simple or past simple

[mailis]

Hello everyone,

I have a question:

In the case of "Past perfect simple or past simple?": is there a rule which indicates which tense should follow the time expressions "after & before"? Shouldn't it be after+Past perfect simple & before + past simple? or we could use both tenses in either case?

thank you in advance for your help!

[Raymott]

Hello everyone,

I have a question:

In the case of "Past perfect simple or past simple?": is there a rule which indicates which tense should follow the time expressions "after & before"? Shouldn't it be after+Past perfect simple & before + past simple? or we could use both tenses in either case?

thank you in advance for your help!

No, it only seems that way because the action in the simple past normally occurs after an action presented in the past perfect; and hence the action in the past perfect occurs before an action presented in the simple past.
After he had been to London, he visited Paris.
Before he finally came home, he had managed to visit many of the European capital cities.

But the following are also right:
He got married before he had finished his degree.
After he left the house, he drove off in his car.