past perfect tense

[tommypun]

Dear Sir,
My name is Tommy,and come from Hong Kong,I feel confuse the present perfect tense and past perfect tense,could you tell me the different?
Best Regards!
Tommy

[vil]

Hi Tommypun,
The Present Perfect denotes a completed action connected with the present.

Stop that car! They have killed a child.
I am a little frightened for I have lost my way.

Tom is looking for his key. He can’t find it.

He has lost his key.

“He has lost his key” means that he lost it a short time ago and he still doesn’t have it.

The Past Perfect denotes an action completed before a certain moment in the past. The moment may be indicated by another past action expressed by a verb in the Past Indefinite or by an adverbial phrase.

They had walked only a few steps when a second group of tank drew up on the side road.
After she had cried out, she felt easier.
Fortunately the rain had stopped before we started.

I went to a party last week. Tom went to the party too. Tom went home at 10:30. So, when I arrived at 11:00 Tom wasn’t there.

When I arrived at the party, Tom wasn’t there.
He had gone home.

Regards.

V.

[Snowcake]

Hi Tommypun,

try this:

Present Pefect

Tom is looking for his key. He can't find it.
He has lost his key.

Which means: He lost it recently, and he still doesn't have it.

Present Perfect is used, when there is a conncention with now.
The action in the past has a result now.


Past Perfect

Imagine: You went to a party last week. A friend of yours, let's call him George, also went to the party. However, you didn't see each other. You left the party at 23 o'clock, but George arrived at midnight. So he came, but you weren't there anymore.
You had left the party before George came.

If you want to talk about things that happened in the past and you want to talk about something that happend before this time you use past perfect.

Compare this:

Present Perfect

We aren't hungry. We have just had lunch.

Past Perfect

We weren't hungry. We had just had lunch.



Does that help?

Snowcake

[Snowcake]

Hi Vil

obviously, we have the same book.

Snowcake

[vil]

Hi Snowcake,

The same books (moreover with highquality) and the same languages. I am an old worshiper of German language. (The Godfather or origin of the English language). I hope you know the story concerning the way of live of the both tribes: Angle and Saxen (the people of Slesving Holstein)?

Regards.

V.

[Snowcake]

Hi Vil,

oh, I'm afraid I don't know this story. But it sounds quite interesting to me. Would you tell me a bit or do you know some recommendable websites?
I've been studying history in northern Germany and I was born and grew up in Lower Saxony. So I'm VERY interested in learning more about the history of Angle and Saxen. Particularly because I have always had a liking for English.

Do you speak German?
I like this language, too, even if it does not sound as lovely as roman languages or for me personally the English language does (but then again, native speakers aren't the right persons to answer this question, I guess).
But German is a language of great variety, you can say something in many different ways. It's quite difficult to learn (grammar). I take my hat off to those who learn it and don't give up.

Regards,
Snowcake

[vil]

Hi snowcake,

There are some more links concerning the ancient history of some German tribes which are the founders of the contemporary Europe.


The Anglo-Saxons were also responsible for the establishment of the English language and a pattern of settlement that became characteristic of the medieval period and in part still survives today.

Visigoth: Definition and Much More from Answers.com
Ostrogoth: Definition and Much More from Answers.com
Anglo-Saxon: Definition and Much More from Answers.com
Angles: Definition and Much More from Answers.com
Saxons: Definition and Much More from Answers.com

Ethnic subgroups that are thought to be partially descended from these Saxons are the Banat Bulgarians and the Krashovani

I have a command of German language but predominantly the technical German language. But, it goes without saying, unlike many NES which have not the slightest idea of the literary heritage of Shakespeare, Byron, Shelly, Wilde, Dreiser, Fitzgeral, Faulkner, Steinebck, Hemingway... I know something about Goethe, Heine, Schiller, Kellerman, Feuchtwagner, Man, Kafka....

Regards.

V.