This ring belonged/had belonged to my mother

[tulipflower]

This ring belonged/had belonged to my mother when she was young.

Which option is correct, belonged or had belonged?


Sources: English Files, Pre-intermediate level

 

[Tarheel]

This ring belonged to my mother when she was young.

What would be your reason for using "had belonged"?

 

[tulipflower]

This ring belonged to my mother when she was young.

What would be your reason for using "had belonged"?

It is an exrcise.The students should fill in the blank with 'simple past' or 'past perfect' verbs.

 

[tedmc]

You have not answered Tarheel's question. It is about a simple fact in the past.
We do not use the past perfect tense when the simple past tense suffices.

 

[Barque]

They are both possible, in the right context. If there's no context provided, it might be better to use the simple past.

 

[Tarheel]

I would expect to see (possibly) "had belonged" only under specific circumstances. Even then I would probably use simple past. (See below.)

The ring belonged to my mother. When she died Aunt Millie got it.

The ring belonged to my mother. She sold it for $300.

The phrase "belonged to" clearly denotes that the person owned the item once but doesn't anymore. It's hard to see what additional information would be added by "had" there.

There are some things that, while perfectly grammatical in form, that native speakers hardly ever use if at all.