[Grammar] wanted or had wanted

[DANAU]

When trying to apply what I have learnt about past perfect tense, I wonder if the two sentences below are both correct.

1. After our lunch just now, She wanted to buy coffee for all of you but the queue was too long.
2. After our lunch just now, She had wanted to buy coffee for all of you but the queue was too long.

My thought is that #1 should be the correct one, and if I were to remove “after our lunch just now”, then #2 should be the correct one.

I hope I have understood correctly.

 

[jutfrank]

No, they're not right, for a few reasons.

Why are you using After our lunch just now? Don't you mean 'Before'?

It seems you've misunderstood the basics of using past perfect.

Create your example like this:

1) Think of a past event.
2) Think of another event (or a state) that happened before the past event. Use the past perfect here.

 

[DANAU]

Hi jutfrank.

Why are you using After our lunch just now? Don't you mean 'Before'?

Over here, we have the habit of buying coffee back to our office after lunch. Sometimes, we do
buy for our colleagues too.

It seems you've misunderstood the basics of using past perfect.

Create your example like this:

1) Think of a past event.
2) Think of another event (or a state) that happened before the past event. Use the past perfect here.

For my sentences above, I was trying to apply the usage to express 'unrealised hopes and wishes'.
In this case, she was thinking of buying coffee back to office for her colleagues after she had taken her lunch.
Another example of this same usage could be "she had intended to cook dinner for us but she was too busy."

 

[jutfrank]

If you want to use had wanted, you need to think of an event that is in the past relative to the moment of speaking, but after the hope/wish.

Where did you get the idea of a use to express 'unrealised hopes and wishes' from? Are you thinking about use F on p.48 of Teaching Tenses?

 

[DANAU]

Where did you get the idea of a use to express 'unrealised hopes and wishes' from? Are you thinking about use F on p.48 of Teaching Tenses?

I got the idea from Practical English Usage by Swan under past perfect advance points.

Yes, I just realized Teaching Tenses also provides similar explanation in pg.48.

The two examples given in Practical English Usage are as follows:

1. I had hoped we would leave tomorrow, but it won’t be possible. (this is similar to the examples given in Teaching Tenses)
2. He had intended to made a cake, but he ran out of time.

My usage is based on example 2 which I understood as a wish to do something in the past, but could not do so for whatever reason.

Can you also let me know if the use of simple past tense in my first sentence “… she wanted to buy …” is correct?

 

[jutfrank]

I see. Well, you've missed the point of the past simple as a way to express the 'past of the past'.

In your original post, sentence 2 is fine as it's simply a statement of what happened at a point in past time. Sentence 2 is not correct.

 

[DANAU]

Thanks, jutfrank.

I believe you are saying that my sentence 1 is fine but sentence 2 is not correct.
OK, noted on 'past of the past' as the golden rule in the use of past perfect.