difference BTW "past perfect" and "sim perfect"

[endeavor6636]

could we say : 1. in the year of 1977, i have been to england 3 times.
2. in the year of 1977, i had been to england 3 times,
3. in the year of 1977, i went to england.
(the sentences was only made up by myself , if there are any errors, would u please help me correct it?)

which one is correct , and what is the difference among these 3.
could anyone alarify for me ? thank you.

[DavyBCN]

Originally Posted by endeavor6636

could we say : 1. in the year of 1977, i have been to england 3 times.
2. in the year of 1977, i had been to england 3 times,
3. in the year of 1977, i went to england.
which one is correct , and what is the difference among these 3.
could anyone alarify for me ? thank you.

First, it is not normal to say "in the year of", except with something like "in the year of my birth". In 1977 is enough.

Because 1977 is finished past, you should use 3 - past simple tense for completed actions. However, you could say "In 1977 I had been to England 3 times before the summer, then I went to France." This is using the past perfect tense to talk about an action which happened in the past before another time or action in the past.

You would only use 1 i(present perfect tense) f you are talking about what has happened since a particular time in the past up to now. Examples:-

I have been to England 3 times (meaning in your life up to now)
I have been to England 3 times this year
I have been to England 3 times since last year/1990/etc.

Your examples 2 and 3 both refer to something which has finished. Using the present perfect really means "so far" - you may visit England again in the future.

[endeavor6636]

oh, so if wanted to say something that happened 3 time in the year 1977(past)

i should say : in 1977, i went to england 3 time?

[sciaco]

Yes, it's the right one!

[Tdol]

You could say 'by 1977, I had been to England three times'.