Grammar for Teachers, Andrea DeCapua, c.2008. Available at Amazon for $56.
(Dr. Andrea DeCapua is Associate Professor of
Multilingual, Multicultural Studies in the Graduate School at The College of New
Rochelle.)
Section 5: Perfect
Underline the past perfect verb phrases
A. Forty-eight thousand dollars was still a lot of money. More than he <had> ever had in his life. And since he <had> never intended to split it with Earl, it was all his. But his bad luck <hadn't stopped> didn't stop there. Earlier today, he
<had> learned through
Rose's cousin in Toledo that Arturo Garcia <had> showed up at her house, put a knife to her throat and demanded to know where Ian was. Marie, who was afraid of her own shadow, <had> claimed to have had no choice but to tell him the truth. (C. Heggan, c.2003, Deadly Intent, page 95, Ontario: Mira.)
B. Her rounds finished, Abbie returned to the kitchen, feeling much more relaxed than she <had been> was twenty minutes earlier. Agonizing over a man who <had> apparently vanished was stupid and nerve-racking. Whoever <had> attacked her was gone, and so was Ian. (Ibid, page 164.)
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Eleven 'had's in A & B above. Nine wrong, two right. (No past perfects) Error rate: 82%. In a grammar text.
Look at the title. It's a book written for you, Grammar
Teachers. It's been out for three years but who has complained? Who has said, "Wait a minute; that's not right"?
Geoffrey said, "State your case". Is this better, Geoff?
.br-had.02aug11.
"You can't make a past tense
verb into a past perfect verb by putting 'had' in front of it."
.
.