Past
Perfect
· is used to
express actions in ‘if clauses that did not take place:
If you had listened to me, you could’ve avoided mistakes.
(=You didn’t listen to me and so you
couldn’t avoid making mistakes.)
If you’d explained your problem
to your boss, he’d have understood it.
(=you didn’t explain your problem
to your boss and so he didn’t understand it.)
If she hadn’t married him, she’d
be living now.
(=She married him and now she is
no more.)
· expresses
unrealized hope or wish:
I had hoped we would be able to leave tomorrow but I have an
emergency operation.
I had intended to see my mother but I have to stay back and finish
my report.
I wish I had taken your advice. [ But I did not]
We had expected you to stay at least a week [But you are not]
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Past Perfect Progressive
This expresses
1. duration of past actions:
It was getting dark and he was exhausted because he had been digging
since
morning.
2. repeated past actions:
He had been trying to get
on the phone, but he was unsuccessful.
3. duration of actions earlier than the
completed ones:
When I opened the door I found him on his knees outside. I knew
he had been looking through the keyhole.
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