Publications and Research
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Summer 7-2025
Abstract
This paper extends existing linguistic analyses of the English simple past tense (e.g., took) and pluperfect tense (e.g., had taken) by thoroughly examining communicative effects. It also proposes a pedagogical application. The analysis is based on authentic contextualized discourse (primarily a single published text). In distinction to the simple past, the pluperfect establishes a communicative link between a past time and an event before that time. In this way, the pluperfect makes conceptional connection (which could be termed "tethering") through temporal priority. The meaning of the pluperfect thus contributes to textual cohesion. The distinction made is communicative, not a matter of syntactic government by another clause. The analysis is followed by a suggested lesson for adult learners of English based on Form-Focused Instruction, including an authentic text and an innovative cloze exercise. With a more complete understanding of the pluperfect's meaning, English language learners will be able to use the two tenses more effectively.
