In English, “remote past” is not a
construction or a form; it is a meaning that the past perfect form can
express. Remember, past perfect, “had” + past participle, is a form, not a
meaning. It has meanings associated with it and one of those is “remote past.”
Herb
From:
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010
3:22 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Herb's remote past,
continued
Brad wrote: Please tell me what 'remote past' means
to you and how it works. And, importantly, illustrate it, if you please. .brhad.26feb10. When you use the
words 'remote past', what do you mean? What is it? By those two words,
'remote past', do you mean 'past perfect? Is 'remote past' the same
as 'past perfect'? If it is, you have us jousting with phantoms. .bradagain.
Your statement that people mistakenly use “had” before past tense
verbs, that they change past tense irregular verbs to past participles after
“had,” are not empirically testable statements. There is no way to know
or test the writer’s intentions. Your statement that those weak verbs
after what you claim are incorrect “had” are functionally past tense depends
of a meaning for “functionally” that is unlike the way any grammarian or
linguist uses the term. It is a subjective judgment of yours that
apparently no one else is able to replicate consistently. Herb From:
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