PAST PERFECT and PAST SIMPLE: what's the difference in English?

Understanding the Difference Between Past Simple and Past Perfect

Introduction to Tenses

• Agnieszka Murdoch introduces the topic of past simple vs. past perfect in English grammar, encouraging viewers to subscribe and access a free grammar booklet.

Explanation of Past Simple

• The past simple tense is used for a series of events that occurred sequentially in the past, such as "I got up, brushed my teeth, and made coffee."

• Specific time phrases (e.g., "last week," "this morning") clarify the order of events without ambiguity.

Introduction to Past Perfect

• The past perfect tense clarifies which event happened first when the order is not clear. For example, "my train had left when I got to the station" indicates that the train's departure occurred before arriving at the station.

Key Differences Illustrated

• In contrast to past simple ("my train left when I got to the station"), which implies arrival before departure, past perfect emphasizes that one action precedes another.

• The use of 'before' in sentences like "my train had left before I got to the station" makes it unnecessary to use past perfect since it already indicates sequence.

Practical Examples and Practice

• Example: "I had coffee" vs. "I had had coffee." The latter uses past perfect because it denotes an action completed prior to another event (seeing someone).

• Viewers are prompted with practice sentences where they must choose between using past simple or past perfect based on context.

• Example: “You wanted to watch Succession last night but I had already watched it” illustrates an action completed before another event.

Further Practice Scenarios

• Another example involves forgetting bread: “I didn’t make a sandwich this morning because I had forgotten.” This shows how one action (forgetting) occurred prior to another (not making a sandwich).

• A scenario about shopping highlights that using 'before' clarifies sequence; thus, “I went shopping before work” correctly employs only past simple.

Conclusion on Usage

• Final examples reinforce understanding by contrasting actions with temporal indicators like 'then,' which clearly delineate sequences without needing past perfect.