Understanding the Past Perfect Tense: ‘Would Have’ and ‘Had Had To’

Understanding the nuances of verb tenses in English is essential for effective communication. Two very important aspects of the past are the past perfect tense and the expression would have, as well as the phrase had had to. This article will explain how these expressions work and their significance in telling stories and conveying obligations from the past.

The Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is used to describe an action that occurred before another event in the past. It often forms part of a report or a narrative providing a sequence of events. For instance, if you were to describe events in chronological order, you might use the past perfect tense to indicate that one action was completed before another. However, in your writing or speech, you might also use would have in certain contexts to reflect a completed action in the past. Let's explore some examples:

Using 'would have'

The phrase would have is employed to indicate that a specific action was considered a necessity or a requirement, and this strong obligation was fulfilled in the past. Here are a few examples:

You would have to do this assignment by tomorrow. Sheila said she would have to visit her aunt in Mumbai. My mother said I would have to help her with household chores daily.

These examples show that in the past, certain actions were essential and had to be accomplished regardless of the conditions or obstacles.

Will Have vs. Would Have

In English, the use of will have and would have can indicate different aspects of future time frames or past conditions. Let's break it down:

Will Have

Will have is used to predict a future time frame, where an action is expected to be completed by a specific point in the future. Here are some examples:

By the end of the decade, scientists will have discovered a cure for influenza. N I will phone at six o'clock. He will have got home by then. N It is half past five. Dad will have finished work by now.

Would Have

Would have is the past tense form of will have. It is used to describe a situation that had occurred in the past, and it can also be used in conditional sentences to describe scenarios that did not happen in the past. Example usage:

If I had phoned at six, I knew he would have got home by then. If it was half past five, my dad would have finished work. He would have been very angry if he had seen me; however, he didn't see me, so he was not angry.

Had Had To

Had had to is a way to express a past obligation that happened before another past action. It is used to describe a situation where one was forced to do something in the past. For instance:

If we had had to pay the entire bill, we would have gone bankrupt.

This sentence means that the speaker and their company were obligated to pay the whole bill, and the consequence would have been severe.

A Practical Example

Let's consider a hypothetical scenario:

John and Jane go to a restaurant and split the bill. However, the bill is significantly higher than they expected. In the end, John pays the whole amount. This is an example of the past perfect tense in action:

Sequence of Events

He had had to pay the bill alone, as Jane could not contribute her share. John had had to lose many times before properly getting back at the game.

In both of these sentences, the past perfect tense is used to establish a sequence of events, where one happens before another.

The key takeaway from this discussion is that the past perfect tense, combined with would have and had had to, can be immensely powerful in conveying a sequence of past events and obligations. Mastery of these tenses will enhance your ability to narrate and describe past situations accurately and engagingly.