L'emploi du past perfect en anglais

Thèmes abordés

Linguistique, grammaire, anglais, past perfect simple, past perfect progressif, past perfect modal, subordonnées, passé antérieur, prétérit, action ponctuelle, present perfect

Résumé du document

Le past perfect simple est un temps que l'on utilise en anglais pour parler de faits passés antérieurs, qui nous sert de point de référence. On peut l'employer en parallèle du prétérit lorsque l'on parle d'une action ponctuelle (ex : "When I called her yesterday, she had left for Australia the day before").

On peut également l'employer en parallèle au présent perfect, avec un complément de temps marquant un rapport avec un certain moment du passé comme par exemple : that day, that week, that year... (ex: "He had worked a lot that day").

Extraits

[...] Had I been rich If he had resigned, he would have regretted it all his life Had he resigned après quelques expressions pour exprimer un souhait/ un regret dans le passé If only I hadn't spent so much money I wish + sujet + past perfect modal Je regrette qu'il ne lui dise pas : I wish he told her Je regrette qu'il en lui ai pas dit : I wish he had told her. Je regrette de ne pas lui avoir dit : I wish I had told him. [...]

[...] Emplois parallèle à ceux du prétérit Lorsque l'on parle d'une action ponctuelle When I called her yesterday, she had left for Australia the day before Pour des actions répétées When I came back home, my husband told me that my mother had called 3times. Action qui avait duré She was moved when she came back to Paris last year, she had lived there for 3years during the war. emplois parallèle à ceux du présent perfect Avec complément de temps marquant un rapport avec un certain moment du passé That day, that week, that year . He had worked a lot that day. He called the police because he had received three letters in the past 3 weeks. Always, never, yet, before . [...]

[...] He asked for the report but his secretary hadn't typed it yet. She had always refused but yesterday, she accepted. It was the first/ second time . It was the first time I had come to that restaurant. It was the second time he had met the boss. Avec just When I arrived, he had just left. pour un état de fait non terminée à un point du passé pris comme référence. [...]

[...] I wish you had written to him. I'd rather + sujet + past perfect modal I'd rather you went alone ( prétérit modal : je préférerais que tu ailles seul ) I would prefer you to go alone I'd rather you had gone alone : j'aurais préféré que tu y ailles seul I would have preferred you to go alone. I'd rather she had told him before : j'aurais préféré qu'elle lui en parle avant. I would have preferred her to tell him before I would have preferred to tell him before I'd rather have told him before Formes emphatique / mise en relief Il y a / cela fait dix ans que It is / It has been ten years since . [...]

[...] Synthèse des temps In winter, it rains. Regarde il pleut look it's raining Il pleut depuis trois jours It has been raining for 3 days. Or : It is three days since it started raining Il a plu endant 3jours it rained for 3 days Quand ils sont arrivés au refuge, il pleuvait when they arrived at the refuge, it was raining. Il pleuvait depuis 3 jours quand ils ont décidé d'annuler le festival it had been raining for 3days when they decided to cancel the festival. [...]