past perfect

S

sjhrshin

Senior Member
Korean
Hi..

If I say,

1) I worked for the company for one year.
2) I had worked for the company for one year.

Is the 2nd sentence still grammatically correct?
Can I use the past perfect tense without using any past verb?
Then what is the difference between the two?


Thanks in advance.
 
    • I'd say, past perfect is more preferable. It stresses the period of working.

    I had worked for the company for one year
     
    I feel that both sentences are grammatically correct, depending on the over-all context of what came before, or after. Isolated sentences out of context can sometimes be difficult to comment on without further contextual information.

    As far as the difference between the two, well there is a subtle difference, but it's difficult to explain without knowing the thought you are attempting to convey. Hopefully someone else will be able to "read between the lines."
     
    Thanks

    For example,
    If somebody ask me about my job experince,
    Can I still say like "I had worked for A for one year" to emphasize the period, as margo16 suggested?
     
    sjhrshin said:
    Hi..

    If I say,

    1) I worked for the company for one year.
    2) I had worked for the company for one year.

    Is the 2nd sentence still grammatically correct?
    Can I use the past perfect tense without using any past verb?
    Then what is the difference between the two?


    Thanks in advance.
    Click to expand...

    Using the past perfect means that you are about to follow with an event that is still in the past (from the perspective of the present narrative). For example:

    "I had worked for the company for one year. Then I got laid off. It took me a long time to recover from that."

    It's all in the past, and the past perfect pre-dates the events of the narrative that follow -- all of which are still in the past.

    "I worked for the company for one year" (simple past) could, by contrast, be followed by something in the present:

    "I worked for the company for one year. Now I'm looking for another job."

    Hope that is clear.
     
    Thanks coiffe.

    Your explanation is very clear.
    But I still don't think I can answer "I had worked for A for ~ years" as a reply for asking my job experience because there are no "past" context is provided. Am I right?
     
    sjhrshin said:
    Thanks coiffe.

    Your explanation is very clear.
    But I still don't think I can answer "I had worked for A for ~ years" as a reply for asking my job experience because there are no "past" context is provided. Am I right?
    Click to expand...

    Exactly right. You're just stating from the present perspective something from the simple past. "I worked there, there, and there."
     
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