1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:02,600 Speaker 1: Did you ever wish you could add a little more 2 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:07,759 excitement and interest to your English conversations? Maybe you'd like 3 00:00:07,839 --> 00:00:11,199 to add some color and excitement to your English writing, 4 00:00:11,439 --> 00:00:15,919 especially when it comes to storytelling. Today, let's take a 5 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:19,640 deep dive into how the past perfect tents might be 6 00:00:20,039 --> 00:00:26,640 just the right spice for your next English dish. 7 00:00:27,519 --> 00:00:31,239 Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast coming to you from 8 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:35,159 New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael. 9 00:00:35,799 --> 00:00:40,039 Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael 10 00:00:40,079 --> 00:00:44,359 here from Happy English and I help people speak English better. 11 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:50,280 And this is Happy English Podcast Episode seven fifty four, 12 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:55,079 The past perfect Tents. Do you have a request for 13 00:00:55,119 --> 00:00:58,280 a topic here, feel free to send me a message 14 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:02,799 at my Happy English and let me know. Today we're 15 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:06,519 going to take a journey into the fascinating world of 16 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,760 the past perfect tense. Hey, don't worry, this isn't as 17 00:01:10,799 --> 00:01:15,840 complicated as it may sound. In fact, mastering this grammar 18 00:01:16,159 --> 00:01:20,719 can add wonderful layers to your English conversations and writing. 19 00:01:21,599 --> 00:01:25,319 What's fascinating about the past perfect tense is it's like 20 00:01:25,439 --> 00:01:29,719 a secret passageway in a story. It lets you move 21 00:01:29,799 --> 00:01:34,400 around in time without you know, interrupting the flow of 22 00:01:34,439 --> 00:01:38,359 the story. You can think of the past perfect as 23 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:43,120 a way to create flashbacks in your storytelling. The past 24 00:01:43,239 --> 00:01:48,359 perfect is like a time machine for your words. Imagine 25 00:01:48,519 --> 00:01:52,480 you're reading a mystery novel and the detective walks into 26 00:01:52,519 --> 00:01:57,799 a suspect's house. The sentence says, when the detective arrived, 27 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:04,760 the suspect eight dinner. That sentence seems like the suspect 28 00:02:04,879 --> 00:02:09,319 waited to eat until after seeing the detective. Right, But 29 00:02:09,439 --> 00:02:14,560 how about this one. When the detective arrived the suspect 30 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:19,319 had already eaten dinner. This tells us that the meal 31 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:25,520 was already finished when the detective walked in. The past 32 00:02:25,599 --> 00:02:30,319 perfect lets us know what happened before the present scene. 33 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:34,719 Imagine this, You wake up on a cold December morning. 34 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,599 You open the curtains. The sky is clear, but the 35 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:43,520 ground is covered in fresh snow. When you woke up, 36 00:02:44,039 --> 00:02:48,439 the snow had fallen and the sky had already cleared up. 37 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:53,159 It's easy to see the order of events with the 38 00:02:53,199 --> 00:02:56,759 past perfect. So you can tell your friend, when I 39 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,639 woke up this morning, the snow had fallen and the 40 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:04,680 sky I had already cleared up. See, the past perfect 41 00:03:04,759 --> 00:03:08,120 is not only convenient, but not as scary as you 42 00:03:08,199 --> 00:03:12,120 may have thought. And I know what you're thinking, Oh, Michael, 43 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:16,439 grammar is hard to learn. Well, here's some good news. 44 00:03:17,039 --> 00:03:22,080 Forming the past perfect isn't complicated at all. You simply 45 00:03:22,159 --> 00:03:26,639 take had and added to the past participle of your 46 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:32,039 main verb. You can say things like had finished, had eaten, 47 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:37,759 had gone, and so on. When I arrived at the party, 48 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:44,400 Jack had already gone, and thankfully dessert hadn't been served 49 00:03:44,439 --> 00:03:47,319 by the time I got there. Here are a few 50 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:51,520 scenes from some classic movies that use the past perfect. 51 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:56,039 In Titanic, Rose had stood at the front of the 52 00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:01,240 ship when Jack found her. In Forrest Gump, Forrest had 53 00:04:01,319 --> 00:04:05,919 run across America several times before deciding to go home. 54 00:04:06,919 --> 00:04:10,879 In Star Wars, Luke had never flown an X wing 55 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,759 before he joined the rebel attack on the Death Star. 56 00:04:15,639 --> 00:04:19,720 In all of these examples, we avoid time travel confusion 57 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:23,600 because we know which came first and which was next. 58 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:29,319 The past perfect tense introduces which came first? Easy peasy, 59 00:04:29,399 --> 00:04:34,920 right now, Let's check out one other common situation where 60 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:39,079 using the past perfect tense is incredibly useful for your 61 00:04:39,319 --> 00:04:44,839 English showing cause and effect. The past perfect is a 62 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:49,920 master at showing us how past actions led to later results. 63 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,360 Donna loved art and wanted to get better at painting. 64 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,879 She wanted to become an artist. Then she decided to 65 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:03,000 move to Paris. There's a lot of information in three 66 00:05:03,079 --> 00:05:08,680 long sentences. You could simply say that Donna moved to 67 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:13,240 Paris because she had always dreamed of becoming an artist. 68 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:20,279 Short and sweet Tommy aced the exam because he had 69 00:05:20,399 --> 00:05:24,680 studied hard for weeks because he had missed the bus. 70 00:05:25,319 --> 00:05:30,160 George was late for his job interview. Poor George. If 71 00:05:30,199 --> 00:05:33,959 he had gotten up earlier, he wouldn't have missed the bus. 72 00:05:34,439 --> 00:05:37,759 But for sure you didn't miss the bus. In terms 73 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:41,759 of this grammar point, keep in mind the best way 74 00:05:41,759 --> 00:05:45,040 to remember this grammar or any other word or phrase 75 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:48,199 in English is to take that grammar word or phrase, 76 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:52,079 write it in a sentence that's true for you or 77 00:05:52,759 --> 00:05:57,279 true in your world, and then memorize your sentences. Hey, 78 00:05:57,560 --> 00:05:59,480 did you know that you can get the chance to 79 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:05,199 practice this kind of English with me directly? Yeah. You 80 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:08,360 can get more practice using your English when you join 81 00:06:08,439 --> 00:06:13,240 my podcast Learner's Study Group. There you can make new 82 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:17,920 international friends. Join us for live group lessons every week 83 00:06:18,079 --> 00:06:23,079 where we practice these podcasts lessons together. Plus you get 84 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:27,160 access to the PDF, transcript and audio download for every 85 00:06:27,199 --> 00:06:30,839 Happy English podcast in the past and in the future. 86 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,839 And on top of that, each episode has exercises where 87 00:06:34,879 --> 00:06:38,680 you can practice this English point with speaking and writing 88 00:06:39,199 --> 00:06:43,439 checked by me. To learn more, just visit Myhappy English 89 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:48,839 dot com and choose podcast lesson seven fifty four. Remember, 90 00:06:49,199 --> 00:06:52,600 learning another language is not easy, but it's not impossible, 91 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,360 and I'm here to help you on your journey. 92 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,839 Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please 93 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,120 is that Myhappy English dot com. Show your support for 94 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,279 Happy English by leaving us a review. Get English, Get Happy, 95 00:07:08,519 --> 00:07:22,720 Happy English.