The pigs had been dead for an hour. Scientists made their hearts beat again.

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Skrej

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Obviously, a result of the new lower USDA recommended pork cooking temp of 145 ºF from 160 ºF.
 

sadra1400

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It isn't passive. It's past perfect (had been) + adjective (dead).
And we can use " The pigs had died for an hour" instead?

Do you get the same sense from both sentences?
Additionally, are they seen as having the same meaning to native speakers?
 
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sadra1400

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No.

No.
No.
I apologize for asking so many questions. Could you give me a brief explanation? Unfortunately, the differences between the two weren't well-covered in the internet's resources.
If it is complex and lengthy, please provide me with a link.

Thanks a lot.
 
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5jj

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"The pigs had died for an hour."
This would mean that the duration of the death of the pigs was one hour - they died for sixty minutes and then came back to life.
 
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sadra1400

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This would mean that the duration of the death of the pigs was one hour - they gied for sixty minutes and then came back to life.
And what does the sentence "The pigs had been dead for an hour" refer to(mean)?
 

5jj

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And what does the sentence "The pigs had been dead for an hour" refer to(mean)?
They had died an hour before. They were, of course, still dead.
 
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tedmc

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The past perfect is used to distinguish the sequence of past events - which comes first.
 

jutfrank

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You should distinguish between the adjective dead, which describes a state, and the verb die, which describes an action or process.
 
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