1) 過去完成時表示過去某時前某事業(yè)已發(fā)生(可說是過去的過去):
When I arrived Jane had just left. 我到時簡剛剛離開。
The play had already started when we got to the theatre. 我們到劇場時戲已經開始了。
Up till then we had only covered half the distance. 到那時我們才走了一半路程。
She had rushed out of the door before I could stop her. 我還沒來得及攔阻她已沖出門去了。
By the end of June they had treated over 10,000 patients. 到六月底他們已治療了一萬多病人。
Before daybreak they had already wiped out all the enemy troops. 拂曉前他們已把敵軍全部殲滅。
2) 過去時間有時由一時間狀語表示出來(如上例),但在更多情況下時間都由上下文表示出來:
She found she had left her case on the train. 她發(fā)現(xiàn)她把箱子遺忘在火車上了。
It was the first time I had been in a foreign country. 那是我第一次到國外。
She had changed so much I couldn't recognize her. 她變了那么多,我都認不出她來了。
He had served in the army for ten years, last year he retired. 他在部隊干了十年,去年退役了。
He showed me the poems he had written. 他讓我看他寫的詩。
They took us to see the hydroelectric plant they had built. 他們帶我們去看他們修建的水力發(fā)電廠。
He believed that he had done the right thing. 他相信他做的事是對的。
I didn't know I had given you so much trouble. 我不知道給你添了這么多麻煩。
3) 這個時態(tài)還可用在故事中追敘更早時間發(fā)生的事:
Tom was 23 when our story begins. His father had died five years before. Since then Tom had lived alone. His father had advised him not to get married till he was 35, and Tom intended to follow this advice. 我們的故事開始時湯姆二十三歲。他的父親五年前已經過世。從那時起湯姆一直一個人生活。他父親曾勸他到三十五歲再結婚,湯姆打算照這個意思做。
Lao Bai was a poor peasant. Back in 1933 he had come to settle in Yuan Mao. He had been a hard worker and had cleared fifty mu of land. One year, the rainfall was unfavourable. He began... 老白是一位貧苦的農民,1933年來到元茂村落戶。他辛辛苦苦開了五十畝荒地。有一年雨水不調,他開始…
還可描述一幅景像:
Dusk had fallen. The moon was shining faintly on the winding road. Silence reigned in the village. 夜色已經降臨,淡淡的月光照在蜿蜒的路上,村子里一片寧靜。
在下面情況中我們常可使用過去完成時:
1) 用在賓語從句中(特別是在間接引語中):
He said that he had been in China for over ten years. 他說他在中國已經有十多年了。
He told me that he had known her since he was a child. 他告訴我他從小就認識她。
I heard that they had made an important discovery. 我聽說他們有了一個重要發(fā)現(xiàn)。
She learned that scientists had made a breakthrough in the treatment of that disease. 她了解到科學家在治療那種疾病方面有了突破。
I was afraid I had offended her. 我擔心我得罪了她。
2) 用在狀語從句中:
When she had sung her song she sat down. 她唱完歌后坐了下來。
I found the letter long after he had gone away. 他走后好久我才找到那封信。
Before we had finished our meal he ordered us back to work. 不等我們吃完飯他就命令我們回去干活。
He refused to go till he had searched all the rooms. 他把所有房間搜查了一遍后才離開。
I didn't begin the work until he had gone. 直到他走了我才開始這工作。
As soon as he had done it, he knew it was a mistake. 他剛一動手就知道做錯了。
3) 用在定語從句中:
She showed me the pictures she had painted. 她把她畫的畫拿給我看。
The old oak tree, which had stood in the yard for a hundred years, suddenly crashed to the ground. 這棵老橡樹在院子里已挺立了一百年,有天突然倒了下來。
Peter, who had waited for an hour, was very angry when his sister came up.彼得等了一個鐘頭,當看見他妹妹出現(xiàn)時他很生氣。
She wore the necklace her mother had left her. 她戴著她母親留給她的項鏈。
4) 和time這個詞一道用:
It was the first time I had made such a mistake. 這是我首次出這樣的錯。
It was the second time he had been in that house. 這是他第二次進那座房子。
It was the third time she had been out with him. 這是她第三次和他外出。
5) 用在than或as引導的從句中:
We finished the work earlier than we had expected. 我們早于預期完成了這項工作。
The concert was more successful than they had thought. 音樂會比他們預想的還要成功。
We didn't get along as well as we had hoped. 我們相處得沒有希望的那樣好。
6) 用于hope, intend, mean, think等動詞表示未實現(xiàn)的愿望:
I had hoped to be back last night, but I didn't catch the train. 我本來希望昨晚回來的,但沒搭上火車。
I'd intended visiting him this weekend but I wasn't able to make it. 我本想這個周末去看望他的,但這次去不成了。
We had thought to return early but they wouldn't let us go. 我們本想早回來的,但他們不讓我們走。
1) 過去完成進行時表示持續(xù)到過去某時的一個動作:
He was tired. He had been working since dawn. 他很累,天亮起就一直在工作。
It had been snowing all night. The ground was covered with thick snow. 下了一夜的雪,地上覆蓋著厚厚一層白雪。
They were just back. They had been skiing in the mountains. 他們剛回來,他們一直在山里滑雪。
The war had been going on for two years until they agreed on a cease-fire.戰(zhàn)爭進行了兩年直到他們達成了一項?;饏f(xié)議。
She had been trying to find a job. She still hadn't found one. 她一直在設法找工作,但仍沒找到。
He asked how long I had been waiting. 他問我等多久了。
2) 過去完成進行時和現(xiàn)在完成進行時的用法是一致的,只不過是把時間從現(xiàn)在移到了過去:
現(xiàn)在完成進行時 過去完成進行時
* * *
* * *
I've often been thinking of you. I had often been thinking of you.
He's been worrying about her safety. He'd been worrying about her safety.
Obviously she's been crying. Obviously she'd been crying.
All these years he's been travelling. All these years he'd been travelling.
3) 過去完成時和過去完成進行時的差別是,前者表示動作業(yè)已完成,后者表示動作一直在繼續(xù)(可能還在進行):
過去完成時
(動作業(yè)已完成) 過去完成進行時
(動作可能還在進行)
* * *
* * *
She had cleaned the kitchen. She had been cleaning the kitchen.
4) 這個時態(tài)??捎迷谀承木渲校?
I didn't know you had been waiting for me. 我不知道你一直在等我。
He couldn't guess where she had been hiding. 他猜不出她躲在哪里。
Nancy told me she'd been looking for me. 南希告訴我她一直在找我。
That was what I had been trying to do. 那正是我一直想要做的事。
That was the letter she had been expecting. 這正是她一直盼著的信。