HARDLY, SCARCELY, BARELY, NO SOONER HARDLY / SCARCELY / BARELY ... WHEN NO SOONER ...

THAN When a story is told in the past tense, the adverbials hardly, scarcely, barely and no sooner are often used to emphasize that one event quickly followed another. The verb describing the earlier event is usually in the past perfect tense. If hardly, scarcely, barely and no sooner are in the initial position, the subject and auxiliary are inverted: Hardly had I arrived home when my phone rang. (I had hardly arrived home when my phone rang.) Scarcely had she finished reading when she fell asleep. (She had scarcely finished reading when she fell asleep.) Barely had they won the match when the coach had a heart attack. (They had barely won the match when the coach had a heart attack.) No sooner had the company launched its new product than it went bankrupt. (The company had no sooner launched its new product than it went bankrupt.) Note that hardly, scarcely and barely are followed by when, while no sooner is followed by than. (Sooner is the comparative form of soon.)

Past perfect for actions completed before a point in the past The past perfect tense is used to express that an action was completed before a point of time in the past. This point can be implied or expressed with a time expression or a clause with a verb in the past simple tense:

They had all arrived by 10 o'clock. When he tried to stand up, he realized he had broken his ankle. Contrary to a common misunderstanding, the past perfect does not express that something happened a very long time ago. What it expresses is not how long ago an event happened but rather that it happened earlier than something else: Julius Caesar attacked Britain in 54 BC. (This was quite a long time ago; still, the past simple tense is used here.) When I got home, they had already eaten everything in the house. (Maybe this only happened yesterday, but the point is that the eating happened before my arrival.) Expressions which are often used with the past perfect tense: by, till, until, before, when, by the time, no sooner, hardly, scarcely, barely. Danny had never seen a real cow till I showed him one last Friday. He didn't leave until he had talked with the boss. By the time she got to the theatre, the play had already begun. I had no sooner got home than the telephone rang. I had hardly/barely/scarcely fallen asleep when there was an earthquake.

Past perfect with FOR The preposition for is used with the past perfect tense to express that something started before a point of time in the past and was still true at that point: When they got married, they had already been together for three years.

The difference between the past simple and the past perfect When the events of a story are told in the order in which they occurred, the past simple tense is used: I missed the last bus, so I only got home at about 6 o'clock. I was really tired, so I took a hot bath. Then I made some dinner and watched a film. At 10, I was in bed. However, if the events are told in a different order or there are references to an earlier time, the past perfect tense is used to express the earlier events: I only got home at about 6 o'clock because I had missed the last bus. I was really tired, so I took a hot bath. Then I made some dinner and watched a film I had borrowed from my friend Sheila earlier that week. At 10, I was in bed. It had been a long day.

when; after; before; as soon as; the moment; till/until

These conjunctions are used essentially with past simple and past perfect tenses: *When / Before / As soon as / till ...........are followed by past simple. The main clause is past perfect When I came in; my students had written the date on the board. As soon as we reached the playground ; the match had started. She had eaten her lunch before she watched the film. The children had watched cartoons till they fell asleep.

* (After) is followed by past perfect, while the main clause is past simple. The train left after I had reached the station. They returned to their village after the war had been over.

* ( When) can also be followed by past simple and the main clause is in past simple, too: The match started when we arrived at the playground. ** These conjunctions are also used with other tenses. e.g. 1- For what is habitual: The two clauses are in present tense. We drink when we are thirsty. We eat when we are hungry. I pray after I wash. We pray before we have breakfast. We go home as soon as the bell rings. We usually study till it's 10 pm.