I can't figure out how to understand this.

Question

I can't figure out how to understand this. How do I know when to use the present or past. Please provide some guidance.

One or two below?

Last year, Joan gave me an annual subscription to Reader's Digest.

Last year, Joan had given me an annual subscription to Reader's Digest.

One or two below?

John said that Peter donated $1,000 to the local charity.

John said that Peter had donated $1,000 to the local charity.

Thanks for any grammatical illumination here, because I am totally lost on a dark path here.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

I can't figure out how to understand this. How do I know when to use the present or past. Please provide some guidance.

You seen to be asking about the Simple Past and the Past Perfect. There is no present tense in your examples.

Here's the broad idea of the Past Perfect.

It makes clear that an event in the pst happened before some other event in the past, or before some later point in the past. However, the key thing is that it is not usually used if the sequence is otherwise clear.

Here are some examples.

Tom came home from work at 6pm. His wife had cooked dinner. This means she cooked it before 6pm.

Before Tom came home at 6pm, his wife cooked dinner. There is no need for Past Perfect here, because the word 'before' makes the sequence clear.

Tom came home at 6pm. Mary cooked dinner. This strongly suggests that she cooked dinner after 6pm.

Do you have any questions about this?

If not, review your examples and see if you think you need Past perfect.

Best wishes, Clive

I can't figure out how to understand this.

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