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539 Glossary for any unfamiliar terms

Past time | 623

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Temporal subordinators and the past perfect

359d

Some time expressions occur with either the past simple or the past perfect, and it

is usually the choice of whether the information is considered background or

‘foreground’ that determines the choice, not the fact that something happened

before something else. Items in this category include after, as soon as, before,

until

, when:

She came through for a coffee 

after

she

’d finished cooking. 

(‘after she finished cooking’ would also have been correct, but with greater

foregrounding of the subordinate clause than the version with the past perfect)

It ended up with her having to go back on the Saturday so that my son could

come 

as soon as

she

’d gone. 

(‘as soon as she went’ would also be correct, but with a different, more

immediate emphasis)

✪

The construction after having + -ed participle is infrequent. After + -ing form is

more common, even in writing:

And 

after having worked very closely with Michael Blake for so many years

and 

having had so many people I think actually believing that he was a

member of the Press staff, it’s very nice finally to be able to welcome him as

a real member of the Press staff.

(infrequent: formal public speech)

I feel a bit better 

after lying down for a bit.

(more frequent than: after having lain down)