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I had bought myself a phone, and then one day, it got stolen.

I bought myself a phone, and then one day, it got stolen.

Is the meaning of first clearer than the second? Is there a difference in both the sentences' meaning? Is using the past perfect necessary here?

lekon chekon
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    "I bought me a phone" sounds like Pirate English. Something like what Tia Dalma might say in Pirates of the Caribbean. – Varun Nair May 18 '16 at 11:04
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    There are already numerous questions/answers discussing this very topic. Furthermore, in both of your sentences you're not the object of the verb, hence you ought to use “myself” in lieu of “me”. –  May 18 '16 at 11:29
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    "I bought a phone and then one day it was stolen." – Dave M May 18 '16 at 11:32
  • @VarunKN - Or if not pirates, cowboys. – nnnnnn May 18 '16 at 12:39

1 Answers1

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Past perfect is not strictly necessary here. Especially since you have extra words (and then one day) indicating the relation of time between the two events.

In situations like this had can serve to emphasize the "pastness" of an event.

Past perfect is not optional is when it is not referring to an action at a specific time. The following is excerpted from here:

Compare the examples below. Here Past Perfect is referring to a lack of experience rather than an action at a specific time. For this reason, Simple Past cannot be used.

Examples:

She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska. (Not Correct)

She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. (Correct)

Continuing to excerpt from that same source - note that past perfect can also express that "something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past."

Some sentences (like the second) will sound a bit "off" if you don't use past perfect here, and you should generally use past perfect when you mean this to be the most clear.

With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Past Perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past.

Examples:

We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.

By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.

They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.

Although the above use of Past Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.

LawrenceC
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  • Your bear and car examples are misleading. There's nothing 'Not Correct' about She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska or We had that car for ten years before it broke down, because there's nothing in those sentences establishing the time of the move or of the breakdown as your Reference Time. These, however, would have very different meanings, which probably are incorrect: She never saw a bear when* she moved to Alaska, We had that car for ten years when it broke down*. – StoneyB on hiatus May 18 '16 at 15:00
  • @StoneyB, do you have some time on your hands? I would like to be taught some stuff in the chat room. – lekon chekon May 18 '16 at 15:12
  • Not at present. Maybe next week. – StoneyB on hiatus May 18 '16 at 15:12
  • @StoneyB, Okay. :P – lekon chekon May 18 '16 at 15:14