Pluperfect Tense
The Pluperfect Tense
The Kind of Action of the Pluperfect Tense:
Linear and Punctiliar. The past tense of completed action with abiding results.
In this use, verbs that denote a present state in the perfect denote a past state in the pluperfect. These verbs are linear in force, functioning practically like imperfects when put into the past. The reality of the fact is stressed, which present it more strongly than could be done with the aorist. It must be translated into English by the simple past.
The Extensive Pluperfect
This use denotes a state following completed act in past time. Sometimes it is made clear by the context that a considerable space of time has intervened. It is used to take the reader behind the scenes. John uses it most frequently.
The Iterative Pluperfect
This use represents a past action as a series of events. It is very rare in the New Testament. Some have referred to it as the “Pluperfect of Broken Continuity”.
The Pluperfect of Conditional Sentence
This use denotes the continuance of the contingent result in a second-class condition to the time of speaking. The Pluperfect is used where the second-class conditions are determined to be unfulfilled in relationship to the past.
The Periphrastic Pluperfect
This use, which is formed by adding the perfect participle to an imperfect of εἰμί, occurs somewhat frequently in the New Testament. A majority of the occurrences are “intensive,” the rest are “extensive.”
© 2017 Luther Walker | All Rights Reserved | ISBN-10: 0-9993211-0-2, ISBN-13: 978-0-9993211-0-2 | This book or any potion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or […]