Since + past perfect. Is it possible?

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grammarguy
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Since + past perfect. Is it possible?

Post by grammarguy »

I've heard that you have to use the present perfect in the main clause when you use the word "since". All the examples I've read in dictionaries use this tense. I am going to make up my own example with "since" in the past perfect.

my example:

(ex) Since I lost my job ten months ago, I had been unemployed for five months. Fortunately, my friend gave me a job lead which helped find a new job.

In my example, does the past perfect work in the main clause of the first sentence? I really haven't seen the past perfect tense used in the examples from the dictionaries.

Please give me your feedback on my first sentence. Thank you very much.
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Alan
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Re: Since + past perfect. Is it possible?

Post by Alan »

Yes, indeed. Past perfects with 'since' are perfectly possible.

However, your first sentence, while technically possible, would sound far more natural if you inserted a limitation to the time period that elapsed between the earlier time (ten years ago) and the later one (five months after that), e.g.

I had, by July 2007, been unemployed...
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