than I expected与than I had expected的区别

问题描述

They arrived earlier than I expected. 他们比我预料的到得早。

这个句子为什么用 than I expected 呢？应该是用 than I had expected 才对嘛！

因为“我预料”肯定在先，“他们到达”肯定在后，这是显然的啊！

老师答疑

陈老师：

▲推荐答案

1. They arrived earlier than I expected

2. They arrived earlier than I had expected

以上两个句子都是正确的。但是第一句不如第二句正式。

▲原因解析

1. 标准的句子应该是第二句，但是老外们有时不够严谨，所以造成过去时代替完成时情况的屡见不鲜。正如一个美国佬所言： Using “...than I had expected” is certainly correct. Many native speakers aren't always that careful with their tenses, so you can often hear them using versions like the first version.

2. 在口语交流中，had的发音有时几乎听不见，导致它与过去时几乎混同，所以老外们有时索性就用过去时来代替完成时了。 请看这个英国佬的观点：When it is contracted in speech it is almost inaudible if the word after 'd starts with a consonant, like“.... than I'd（这里的d几乎听不见了） thought ”, so if it isn't necessary, why bother at all

▲善意提醒

在比较正式的文体中，或者在考试中，我们提倡严格遵照规范。

▲祝您进步

Hope it's clear enough. Good luck.

陈老师：

说明：你的句子用 than I expected 与 than I had expected 均可以，没有什么区别——若要说有区别的话，那就是当强调动作的先后关系时，用过去完成时；否则用一般过去时即可——这种用法（指用一般时态代替完成时态的用法）尤其在一些从句中比较常见。

又如：He said he was sorry for what he said. 他说他对自己说的话感到后悔。

按理说，这里的 what he said 应用 what he had said，因为从时间上看，应该是先说，然后才感到后悔，但这里用了一般过去时（当然，对于学生而言，这里用过去完成时肯定“更正确”）。

建议：如果是在考试中，最好还是按“规矩”来，在此类情况下，使用“更正确”的过去完成时。

黎老师：

    《牛津英语用法指南》第三版580.7节指出：“如果意思清楚，在从句中经常用一般过去时动词形式，而不用现在完成时和过去完成时动词形式。...... For thirty years , he had done no more than he (had) needed to . 三十年来，他只干了他需要干的工作。”

    所以，下面两个句子都正确，意思也相同，但是第1句更常用：

    1. They arrived earlier than I expected.

    2. They arrived earlier than I had expected.