I had worked/worked...

[Banglardon]

Should I past perfect or simple past in the following sentence with until?


1- I had worked in the garden until he came from his work.


2- I worked in the garden until he came from his work.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

It depends on the context.

 

[Banglardon]

It depends on the context.

Could you please explain?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Could you please explain?

Yes. I mean that which tense to use depends on the rest of the story or conversation.

Number 2 is more likely. You used until correctly in both.

 

[TheParser]

1- I had worked in the garden until he came from his work.


2- I worked in the garden until he came from his work.

NOT A TEACHER

As Mr. Bernstein said, it all depends on the context. I cannot think of a context that would explain the difference. But I did check the Web and found two example sentences that helped me to better understand the concept of "context."

The poster explained that it depends on the "time frame."

1. "I SHARED a room with my brother until I turned seventeen. That closeness still affects our relationship today."

2. "I HAD SHARED a room with my brother until I turned seventeen. That closeness continued to affect our relationship in later years."

Some contributors pointed out that many native speakers would consider "shared" acceptable in both sentences.

You can read the whole explanation by going to Google and typing in these words: Past or Past Perfect + Until Word Reference Forums

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

My dad was Mr. Bernstein! I'm Charlie.