学习过去完成时“四步曲”

【第一步】掌握过去完成时的确切含义

过去完成时由“助动词had+过去分词”构成，它表示在过去某一时间或动作之前已经发生或完成了的动作，它表示动作发生的时间是“过去的过去”。请看下图：――――――

更早的动作(过去完成时)

过去某一时间或过去另一动作

现在将来时间

【第二步】掌握过去完成时的用法

过去完成时态常用于以下一些情况：

一、主语+过去完成时+when引导的从句(注：从句谓语动词为过去式)。，例如：

Tom was surprised that most of the guests______when he______at the party．

A．1eft；had arrived　B．1eft；arrived

C．had left；had arrived　D．had left；arrived

正确答案为D。guests先“离开”，Tom后“到达”。

二、主语+过去完成时+by短语。例如：

We______four thousand new words bv the end of last year．

A．had learned　B．have learned　C．1earned　D．will have learned

根据by短语中的last year得知，正确选项为A。

三、主语+过去完成时+by the time引导的从句(注：从句谓语动词为过去式)。例如：

He had already built his own lab by the time he was ten．到十岁时，他已经建起了自己的实验室。

四、主语+过去完成时+before引导的从句(注：从句谓语动词为过去式)。例如：

He had studied English for five years before he came here．来这儿之前，他已经学了五年英语了。

五、根据上下文的时间关系来确定。例如：

1．The pen I______I______is on my desk，right under my nose．

A．think；lost B．thought；had lost C．think；had lost D．thought；have lost

正确答案为B。“丢笔”是在“认为”之前发生的动作。

2．Helen______her keys in the office so she had to wait until her husband―――home．

A．has left；comes B．1eft；had come C．had left；came D．had left；would come

正确答案为C。had to wait说明事情发生在过去，而“忘带钥匙”的动作发生在“等丈夫回家”之前。

六、表示过去未曾实现的愿望、打算或意图，用过去完成时。常用动词有：hope，think，expect，intend，mean，suppose，want等。例如：

They had wanted to help but couldn’t get here in time．他们本来是要来帮忙的，但未能及时赶到。

七、It was+时间+since+主语+过去完成时。例如：

They asked me to have a drink with them．I said that it was at least ten yearssinge I_____a good drink．

A．had enjoyed B．was enjoying C．enjoyed D．had been enjoying

正确答案为A。

【第三步】掌握过去完成时与一般过去时的区别

一般过去时表示“现在”以前的任何时间发生的动作或情况，过去完成时则表示过去某一时间或过去另一动作以前发生的动作或情况。试比较：

1．误：They had seen five English films last month．

正：They saw five English films last month．上个月他们看了五部英文电影。

2．误：How many houses did they build in their village by the end of last year?

正：How many houses had they built in their village by the end 0f last year?

到去年年底他们村建造了多少房屋?

上面第一个例句表示“上个月(1ast month)”这个过去时间内完成的动作，因此用一般过去时；第二个句子表示“到去年年底(by the end of last year．”过去时间“以前”完成的动作，因此用过去完成时。如能弄清这个时间关系，就可以正确使用过去完成时。

【第四步】掌握不用过去完成时的情况

以下几种情况不用过去完成时：

1．句中如有yesterday，last year，in 1996，three years ago等表示很确定的过去时间的状语，谓语动词必须用一般过去时。例如：

They came to China ten years ago．他们十年前来过中国。

2．汉语中虽然有“了”、“曾”、“过”等字眼表示动作完成，但没有说明动作是过去某一时间以前完成的，译成英语时要用一般过去时，不可用过去完成时。例如：

He taught English for three years．他教过三年英语。

3．叙述在过去连续发生的两件以上的事，虽然时间有先后之别，仍用一般过去时。例如：

They decided to stay there，so they built their homes and made their farms．

Exercises：

单项填空：

1．I lost the book I_____．

A．have bought B．bought C．had bought D．had been bought

2．The bus had gone when I　at the bus stop．

A．have arrived B．arrived　C．had arrived　D．am arriving

3_Tom______of visiting his grandmother，but the bad weather made himchange his mind．

A．has thought B．thought C．had thought D．had been thought

4．－Did you meet Tom at the airport?

－No，he　bv the time I there． A．has left；got　B．had left；arrived　C．1eft；arrived　D．1eft：had got

5．―Why didn’t Tom attend the meeting yesterday．9

－He______Beijing．

A．has gone to　B．had gone to　C．went to　D．had been to

6．－I______t0 come to help you．

－But you didn’t come．

A．have meant　B．had meant　C．meant　D．will mean

7．Finally Mary was admittedby Beiijing University,for which she______five times．

A．had tiled　B．was trying　C．has tried　D．tried

8．－I have bought you the books you want．

－Oh，good，I______afraid you had forgotten．

A．was　B．am　C．had been　D．have been

Keys：1～5 CBCBB 6～8 BAA