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Such a strange trial ...1/2 Past perfect - English lesson

Remember, the tense used for narration is the   simple past .

       ex : 'The Peckam murder' led to the most unexpected murder trial I had ever seen.

    * As usual, if  two simultaneous past actions happened at the same time, then :

 the long (and important one) is in the -ing preterite and the short action interrupting it , is in the  simple past.

     ex:  While she was looking through her window, Mrs Salmon saw a man in Mrs Parkers's garden.

    * If a past action happened  before an action in the simple past, it must be in the past perfect simple (or in the past perfect in -ing

(if we want to insist on the duration of the action ) :

              had + verb in the past participe   or had + been + verb + ing  

ex: Mrs Salmon said that she had seen the murderer in her neighbour's garden ...

   *   If you have to use the simple future, remember that it doesn't get on well with the past ...   You'll have to use  the 'conditional' : would + verb

     ex :  Being so sure of herself, Mrs Salmon would never imagine that the culprit could escape the hanging !

   *  You will need modal auxiliaries :  can => could   indicate a physical or intellectual capacity, and a permission (in informal language).

  * I would also like to insist again on  the verbs of involontary perception  which can be followed either by an infinitive without to or by an -ing  form :

   ex : Mrs Salmon heard a chair falling (= the action was in progress.)

   ex : She had seen the murderer run away from the garden ... (= the whole action had been witnessed.)

Now, you must be ready to penetrate this mysterious case, after reading carefully the vocabulary I have decided to give you before entering this universe that, I suppose, you don't know very well ... As for grammar, you're ready ! Do not hesitate to save your answers in the middle of the test if you're feeling tired !

Go for it !

'Technical' vocabulary  :

During a murder trial, the main characters are the judge, the lawyers ( the counsel for the defense vs. [versus] the counsel for the prosecution), the witnesses. The suspect can be found guilty(= adjective /the culprit = noun) or not guilty in which case he will be released after being acquitted. Everything will depend on  proofs (evidence= uncountable noun).

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'The Peckham murder’ givengiveshas givengaveI don't know room to the strangest murder trial people ever sawhad seen everever had seenhad ever seenI don't know ... Mrs Parker, an elderly lady, was beatenbeathas been beatenhad been beatenI don't know to death with a hammer, and Mrs Salmon and 3 other witnesses had clearly seenclearly had seenhave clearly seenhad seen clearlyI don't know the culprit.
At 2 o’clock in the morning, Mrs Salmon cannot sleepmight not sleepcouldn't sleepcouldn't have sleptshouldn't sleepI don't know and through the very thin walls of her villa, she was being heardhad been hearinghad heardwas hearingI don't know a noise, like a chair falling and some commotion in Mrs Parkers’s home. Consequently, out of curiosity, she had been goinghad gonewas goinghas gonewentI don't know to the window and had been seeingwould seehad seenhas seenI don't know Adams, the suspect, leftto leaveleavinghad leftI don't know the house and dropto dropdroptdroppedI don't know a hammer into the laurel bushes. The man had turnedhas turnedhad been turningturnedI don't know around, and looked up at her … and since then, she hadn't been ableoughtn'thadn't been allowedhadn't hadI don't know to forget him … He was tall and strong, but his face was unforgettable ; he had horrible, bulging bloodshot eyes that nobody could forget. In the witness stand, the counsel for the defense had beenhad been beingwashas beenI don't know very hard on Mrs Salmon. He was having questionedquestionedhas questionedhad questionedI don't know her so insistently about her certainty : Yes ! she was sure of herself ! The man standing in the box was the man she had been seing goingshe saw goingshe had seen goingI don't know out of Mrs Parker’s garden … She asked to pointwas asked to pointwas asked pointinghad asked pointingI don't know at the culprit, and didn't hesitate. The man she had been shownshowedshownhad showedI don't know was wearing a blue suit and a striped tie and had these horrible eyes that had been hauntinghad hauntingwere hauntinghauntedI don't know Mrs Salmon’s nightmares since then … Of course, she was sure ! Could you have imagined the suspect would releasewas releasedwould be releasedwas being releasedI don't know ? Of course not ! Suddenly, all went wrong … The counsel asked Mr Adams to stand upshould stand upto standing upstanding upstand upI don't know, and there, at the other end of the court room, was the exact image of the man in the dock : his twin-brother, dressed in the same blue suit and striped tie ! Mrs Salmon couldn’t believe her eyes … and couldn’t swear which of the twins she had seen … Of course, both had alibis …
Therefore, Adams was being acquittedwas acquittedwere acquittedhad being acquittedI don't know for lack of evidence ….

(to be continued …)