PAST PERFECT and PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
I’ve been back in London for almost a month now, and today I got a call from Katie. Before I left, I was very busy moving and getting ready for my freelance job. I knew she was also busy, but I never asked her about what she was doing. She told me that by the time I left New York, she had finished her own job interview.
Belle: Katie, I had no idea you had an interview! Did you get the job?
Katie: Yes, I did! Sorry I didn’t let you know about it - we had both been busy preparing. I wish you were here to celebrate with me.
Belle: Me, too. Maybe you can come to London soon.
What’s Katie’s news?
Why didn’t Belle know about it before?
PAST PERFECT and PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Past Perfect: had(n’t) + past participle verb
Katie had done her job interview by the time I left New York.
I hadn’t finished packing when Katie asked me to come over.
Past Perfect Continuous: had(n’t) + been + verb + ing
I had been working for Big Ideas until I moved to London.
We had been drinking for two hours when Brian arrived.
Past Perfect
I couldn’t sleep well because ...
I didn’t wake up on time for work because ...
My cell phone didn’t work because ...
Past Perfect Continuous
By the time my friend arrived at the station...
When the delivery person rang the door bell...
Before I moved to my current apartment...
Complete the dialogue with the correct form of the verbs.
Belle: When I left, I didn’t know you ______________ (get) a job interview.
Katie: Well, at that time, I _________________ (think) about changing jobs for a while.
Belle: If you ___________ (tell) me before I left, we could have celebrated!
Discuss events in your life with your lesson partner.
“When I finished college, I had learned to speak a little Chinese.” “I had been studying English for a year before I joined this school.”
HAD DONE and HAD BEEN DOING
過去完了・仮過去完了進行形
Day18では、過去完了・過去完了進行形を紹介します。英語ではPast Perfect / Past Perfect Continuousと言います。まず、過去完了のイメージは、現在完了形の「過去から現在に迫ってくる感覚」がより遠くへ遠のいたものです。すなわち、現在の時点における完了形が、ある過去の時点における完了形になったものが、過去完了形「had + 過去分詞」というわけです。「そのときまでに～していた／～があった」となります。
そのため、過去完了形では、いったいどの時点における完了形なのかをはっきりさせるために、過去をあらわす語句と一緒に用いられることが多いのです。例えばwhenやbefore、あるいはby…などで始まる文です。
例1：When I arrived at the airport, the plane had taken off.
（私が空港に着いたときには、飛行機は離陸していました。）
例1では、Whenから始まる分の「空港に着いたとき」を過去の時点とし、それを基準にして振り返ってみると、そのときには「飛行機は離陸していた」となることから、過去完了形が用いられます。
過去完了進行形について
次に、過去完了進行形です。現在完了進行形が、「もうずーっと～している」と、動作が連続していることを表現したい場合に用いられたことを思い出しましょう。過去完了進行形では、過去のある時点から振り返り、「もうずーっと～していた」と言える場面で使います。「had + been + 動詞のing形」で表現します。
例2：Before she was a high school student, she had been playing the piano for ten years.（高校生になる前、彼女はピアノを10年間ずっと弾いていました）