What is past perfect tense?

Definition
	Past perfect tense is an absolute-relative tense that refers to a time in the past relative to a reference point, which itself is in the past relative to the moment of utterance.

Example (English)
	The “had + verb” construction expresses past perfect tense, as in the following sentence: By that time, nearly everyone had left. The construction had left is in the past relative to that time, which itself is in the past relative to the moment of utterance.

Generic
	Past perfect tense is a kind of
	What is absolute-relative tense?

Sources
	Pei and Gaynor 1954 162, 170
	Mish 1991 861
	Comrie 1985b 65–66

Context for this page:

Concept module: past perfect tense
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): P
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

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