Los tiempos de pasado y de perfecto en cláusulas temporales

[[A] He called her a liar, she smacked his face; When he called her a liar, she smacked his face. When he opened the window the bird flew out; When the play ended the audience went home; When he died he was given a state funeral. When he had shut the window we opened the door of the cage; When she had sung her song she sat down; When he had seen all the pictures he was ready to leave. When he saw all the pictures he expressed amazement that one man should have painted so many, (inmediatamente después de verlas dijo esto). [B] He refused to go till he had seen all the pictures; He did not wait till we had finished our meal. Before we had finished our meal he ordered us back to work; Before we had walked ten miles he complained of sore feet. It was a very expensive town. Before we had been here a week we had spent all our money. [C] After the will had been read there were angry exclamations. [D] He had been to school but had learnt nothing there, so he was now illiterate; When he had been to school he had learnt nothing, so he was now illiterate; When he was at school he had learnt nothing … He had stayed in his father’s firm till his father died. Then he had started his own business and was now a very succesful man. [E] When she had known me for a year she invited me to tea, pero: When I knew the work of one department throughly I was moved to the next department, o bien: «As soon as I knew» etc.  When I had learnt the work of one department I was moved.]

[A] Cláusulas con when

 Cuando una acción pasada sigue a otra, «He called her a liar, she smacked his face,» podemos combinarlas usando when y dos pasados simples, con tal de que quede claro por el sentido que la segunda acción sigue a la primera y no sucedieron simultaneamente:

• When he called her a liar she smacked her face.

Cuando dos pasados simples son usados de esta manera se da generalmente la idea de que la primera acción condujo a la segunda y de que la segunda siguió a la primera muy de cerca:

• When he opened the window the bird flew out.
• When the play ended the audience went home.
• When he died he was given a state funeral. 

El pluscuamperfecto se usa cuando queremos enfatizar que la primera acción fue completada antes de que la segunda comenzase:

• When he had shut the window we opened the door of the cage. (Esperamos a que la ventana estuviese completamente cerrada antes de abrir la jaula.)
• When she had sung her song she sat down. («When she sang her song she sat down» podría dar la impresión de que cantó sentada.)
• When he had seen all the pictures he was ready to leave. (Cuando terminó de verlas …)

Comparar con:

• When he saw all the pictures he expressed amazement that one man should have painted so many. (Inmediatamente después de verlas dijo esto.)

El pretérito perfecto puede usarse de manera parecida con as soon as, the moment, immediately.

[B] El pluscuamperfecto puede usarse con till/until y before para enfatizar la compleción o la esperada compleción de una acción. Pero notar que en las combinaciones ‘»till/until + pretérito pluscuamperfecto + pasado simple»‘ la acción en pasado simple puede preceder a la acción en pretérito pluscuamperfecto; y en las combinaciones de ‘»before + pretérito pluscuamperfecto + pasado simple»‘ la acción en pasado precederá siempre a la acción en  pluscuamperfecto:

• He refused to go till he had seen all the pictures.
• He did not wait till we had finished our meal.
• Before we had finished our meal he ordered us back to work.
• Before we had walked ten miles he complained of sore feet.

Pretéritos pluscuamperfectos a la vez en la cláusula temporal y la claúsula principal son también posibles:

• It was a very expensive town. Before we had been here a week we had spent all our money.

[C] after va normalmente seguido por un tiempo de perfecto:

• After the will had been read there were angry exclamations.

[D] Quedó dicho que las acciones vistas en retrospectiva desde un punto en el pasado se expresan por medio del pluscuamperfecto. Si tenemos dos acciones de esta clase:

• He had been to school but had learnt nothing there, so he was now illiterate.

y queremos combinarlas con una conjunción temporal, podemos emplear when etc. con dos pretéritos pluscuamperfectos:

• When he had been to school he had learnt nothing, so he was now illiterate.

Pero es más corriente poner el verbo de la cláusula temporal en pasado simple:

• When he was at school he had learnt nothing …

De la misma manera:

• He had stayed in his father’s firm till his father died. Then he had started his own business and was now a very succesful man.

[E] Los verbos de «conocer,» «entender» etc. no se usan en pluscuamperfecto en cláusulas temporales excepto cuando van acompañados por una expresión que denota periodo de tiempo:

• When she had known me for a year she invited me to tea, pero
• When I knew the work of one department throughly I was moved to the next department, o bien: «As soon as I knew» etc.  

Comparar con:

• When I had learnt the work of one department I was moved. 

[F] Cláusulas temporales que contienen pretéritos pluscuamperfectos pueden ser combinadas con un verbo principal en condicional, pero esto se encuentra principalmente en estilo indirecto, y se darán algunos ejemplos en el siguiente párrafo.